T 1290.pdf - Pondicherry University DSpace Portal

orn orphan he had to "dl9 with my flnger nails for aliving" (TF 13). At the age of ten, he was apprenticed in thetrade of a 'fixer'. Inspite of hls hard work he suffers fromdire poverty. His wife, Raisl, after five and a half years of abarren marriage has left hlm, eloped with some gentilestranger. Except for his father-in-law Shmuel, he has no otherfamrly. Nor has he any meaningful relationship with othermembers of the shtetl community. Yakov was recruited to theRusso-Japanese war, but was discharged as he was an asthmatic.At last, Bck grows slck of his life in the shtetl, whichto him is like a prison. He decides to venture on his new lifein Kiev. He thrr.ks his knowledge of Russlan and love forSpinoza would secure hlm a llvlng there. At Klev 'the Jerusalemof Russla' Yakov lives rn constant fear of belng recognized asa Jew. The thnuqt oi returnlnq t i,him.the shtetl 1s like death toIronically, Bok 1s rnvolved in the hysterical anti-semitism. In a moment of compassion he saves a druken Russian,Lebedev, from snowy death. The grateful Lebedev offers hissavlour a job as a foreman In hls brickworks. To accept the jobBok conceals his identity from Lebedev and the public. In themeantime Zhenia ~clov, a twelve year old boy is murdered. Thepandora's box is opened and Bok's mlsfortunes begin. He isaccused of 'ritual murder' and as he plans to escape toAmsterdam, he 1s arrested by the police. As he 1s carried to