42 pages • 1 hour read
Michael GoldJews Without Money
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1930A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
Jews Without Money by Michael Gold, set in the early 20th century Lower East Side of New York City, follows Mike, a boy growing up in a Jewish immigrant family struggling with poverty and hardship in a tenement. His experiences in this crime-ridden, impoverished neighborhood, surrounded by a supportive yet exploited community, shape his views and inspire his later socialist beliefs.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Jews Without Money by Michael Gold is praised for its gripping portrayal of poverty and immigrant life in early 20th-century New York, with vivid characters and rich detail. However, some criticize its heavy-handed political commentary and melodramatic tone. Overall, the novel remains a significant, emotionally impactful depiction of its era.
Who Should Read Jews Without Money?
A reader who would enjoy Jews Without Money by Michael Gold is someone interested in early 20th-century immigrant life in America, social realism, and labor history. Fans of works like The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and Call It Sleep by Henry Roth will find Gold's depiction of poverty and resilience in New York's Jewish Lower East Side compelling.
RecommendedReading Age
18+yearsBook Details
Auto/Biographical Fiction
Historical Fiction
American Literature
Trauma / Abuse / Violence
Class
Poverty
Society: Immigration
Society: Class
Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice