Malamud, << MA luh mood, >> Bernard (1914-1986), was an American author. Most of Malamud’s fiction describes in a humorous but sympathetic way the misfortunes of city dwellers, particularly Jews.
Malamud’s early stories, collected in The Magic Barrel (1958), are often comic and sometimes rely on supernatural elements for their humor. But many critics argue that he was at his best in realistic novels. These novels lead the reader to a deeper awareness of how even ordinary people can rise to noble stature, as in his first novel, The Natural (1952).
Malamud’s novel The Assistant (1957) portrays the empty existence of Frank Alpine, a young man who robs a poor Jewish grocer. Alpine repents his crime and works for the grocer. In the process, he learns goodness and moral strength. After the grocer dies, Alpine converts to Judaism. Malamud won the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Fixer (1966). This novel examines how moral strength can be gained through oppression. The main character is a Russian Jew arrested for the murder of a Christian child. Although wrongly accused, he suffers quietly until a deepening sense of principle allows him to reach spiritual freedom.
Malamud’s other novels are A New Life (1961), The Tenants (1971), Dubin’s Lives (1979), and God’s Grace (1982). Malamud was born in New York City on April 26, 1914. He died on March 18, 1986. The Library of America published Novels & Stories of the 1940’s and 1950’s and Novels & Stories of the 1960’s in 2013, after Malamud’s death.
