The entertainer and the dybbuk

An interesting premise, and a very easy read for such a heavy topic. The author said he wanted to pay tribute not only to the suffering of the Jews, but to their uplifting sense of humor. and I think he succeeds in this. The premise is that a Jewish spirit, a dybbuk, possesses a ventriloquist,

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talking as his dummy. He manages to work on some unfinished business in this way, namely, finding the SS man who murdered him and getting revenge.

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A terrific, fast-moving and *moving* young adult novel about a the spirit of a Jewish child killed in the Holocaust, who takes possession of a ventriloquist and goes out for revenge against the SS officer who killed him and his sister. Sounds menacing but it's a lively, engaging, quick read that I

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think most people would enjoy.

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When I think of Sid Fleischman’s books, I think – humor. This one is a little different. It certainly has its entertaining elements, but the underlying story is serious.

Freddie is a ventriloquist. Unfortunately, not a very good one. A solider in World War II, Freddie hangs around Europe after

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the war to ply his trade. One day a ghost shows up in the closet. It’s the ghost of a Jewish boy killed by Nazis, who is looking for revenge. Or perhaps “justice” is a better word. He becomes a dybbuk, a spirit who inhabits a living body. Freddie’s. Freddie doesn’t really know much about Jews, but he gets some lessons pretty quickly. He gets one more thing – the ability to throw his voice without moving his lips, because the voice is the dybbuk’s, not his own. This is historical fiction with an unusual slant.

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I'm not sure how I'll remember this book in years to come. On some level, it's an accessible read about the Holocaust and possibly a good jumping-off point for parents and their children, but the subject matter is almost too terrifying. The story didn't always hang together for me, either, although

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the writing was solid.

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A cute story, not heavy with details about the holocaust. A story about revenge. It was a fast read.

I first picked up this book because it had a ventriloquist dummy on the cover. I was not sure what a dybbuk was but learned that it was the equivalent of a Jewish Ghost. This is the story of a ventriloquist who is not very successful. That is until he returns to his room one night and finds someone

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waiting. He finds out the someone is a dybbuk. He wants something from the Ventriloquist. He needs to inhabit his body in exchange he will help him. Against the entertainer's wishes the dybbuk enters his body and soon begins to speak for the dummy. They become a hit. The dybbuk needs the help of the entertainer to track down someone from his past. It seems the dybbuk, when alive was a young boy named Avrom Amos Poliakov. When is was alive he and his sister Sulka were hiding from the SS officers who took great pleasure in hunting down Jewish children, bagging them and then killing them. Avrom watched helplessly as his sister was poisoned and died. Avrom was eventually shot by the same officer. As a dybbuk he has unfinished business. Find the SS officer who now lives as a Jewish victim and get revenge.

I loved this book. The mystery of why the dybbuk was possessing the entertainer and for how long kept me reading. As I neared the end I was on the edge of my seat to see what the dybbuk would do. I was very pleased with the way the book ended. About the time I think I have heard all of the things the Nazis did to the Jews I learn something new. This was based on historical fact. The author did a wonderful job of telling it like it was and in a most respectful way. He let the dybbuk and his humor tell the story. I can't wait to recommend this now that I truly understand what this book is all about

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Booklist (September 1, 2007 (Vol. 104, No. 1))

Grades 6-9. Motivated, as he explains in his afterword, to create a personal remembrance of the 1.5 million Jewish children killed in the Holocaust, Fleischman pairs Freddie, a struggling, ex-GI ventriloquist, with Avron, the ghost of one such victim,

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in a short, provocative tale that leavens the tears with laughter. Freddie’s career isn’t exactly taking off as he wanders postwar Europe—until he opens a closet and discovers smart-mouthed Avron, who offers to put a better line of patter into Freddie’s mouth in exchange for help finding a certain murderous SS officer. Countering Freddie’s understandable reluctance with both gags and gut-wrenching war stories, Avron moves in, and Freddie begins to display stunning vocal tricks to ever-larger audiences. Avron then cajoles his host into keeping kosher, and even undergoing an ersatz (or is it?) bar mitzvah. Ultimately, the search takes the two to America, where in a satisfying (if credulity-straining) climax, they find their quarry standing trial for a new crime, and Avron exacts a triumphant revenge for the old ones. The narrative voice here sounds adult, but the talented Fleischman is still both entertaining and thoughtful. Avron’s wisecracking will counterbalance matter-of-fact accounts of Nazi cruelty for young readers, but it’s likely to be older ones who will best appreciate the novel’s eloquent “inner voice” of conscience, which takes on a definite symbolic cast, and the way in which Freddie’s public and private identities shift as the story progresses.

Kirkus Review starred (August 1, 2007)
Amidst the plethora of mostly depressing Holocaust children's and YA literature, Fleischman introduces an ingenious approach to the topic and issues. In post-WWII Europe, The Great Freddie, an American gentile who is a mediocre ventriloquist, performs in clubs around the continent. Freddie becomes possessed by a dybbuk (the Jewish ghost of a boy, Avrom Amos, with an unfinished mission). Avrom, not yet 13, was brutally murdered by a Nazi bounty hunter. Sweet revenge is the mission and Avrom intends on achieving it through Freddie's body and voice as he takes over the puppet act in order to publicly search for his murderer in each new city they play. Freddie's refusal, then reluctance, soon turns to dependence as the dybbuk's voices for the act make Freddie appear as a magical ventriloquist, never moving his lips and even drinking water during the act. Great success leads to better clubs and eventually back to America, where both Freddie and the dybbuk come to a mutual understanding upon finding the ex-Nazi in question. While the story incorporates a continual humorous banter between Freddie and the dybbuk, it is precisely their relationship that brings out themes of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and, in particular, the senseless methodical killing of children in hiding by bounty hunters for the price of a few coins each. Quick, creative, clever and thoroughly entertaining. (author's note) (Fiction. 10-15)

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As intense as this book's topic is, you'd expect a longer tome. But amazingly the prose is spare and in-your-face, so to-the-point and still packs an emotional wallop without sentimentality or pity. That's good writing! I also liked the use of the dybbuk and how he eventually formed his revenge.