The Immigrant
A Young Man’s Trade Skills Spark His Love Affair with America’s Economy
by
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Hovering between asleep and awake, 15-year-old Yussel Reinerman lay face down on his bare mattress in the steerage bowls of the ocean liner, Voyager and still thought he was fighting for his life. Battling Igor and Vanya made his body twitch wildly and he kicked at his killers for his life. Freed of them but hiding now from the czar's horse police and running the icy streets, guilt wracked him because there was no time to take the two other family survivors, his brother and father out of Russia with him. He beat a fist on the bare mattress in time with the growls of the ship's loud motor. "Moish, Papa," he mumbled in Yiddish, "I'll send this Golem (legendary savior) for you. I will ... I will ..." The blows of his fist grew weaker and weaker. Exhausted, he slept. Uprooted from all he knew, the skinny kid Yussel headed for the unknown world of America without money or a change of clothing. In Riga, in the windswept warehouse of the Office of Hebrew Charities the woman in the fur coat sitting at the interview table told him to look for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society when he landed in America. Though relieved to be finally free of his fears the turmoil of his last day in Russia haunted his sleep. If I hadn't fought like a crazy one I would have burned alive in Yarinevitch's house. In his sleep yet again, he relived fighting his way out of the house, running the streets and dodging police. Exhausted, frozen he made it to the OHC's warehouse and finally the ship ...
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About the Book
In 1903 in oppressive Russia, fifteen-year-old Yussel Reinerman must masquerade as a Christian to be accepted as an apprentice shoemaker. Despite shearing his Orthodox earlocks, isolating himself from his family, and denying his culture, his guise is ultimately discovered. Desperate and on the run for his life, Yussel boards a ship for America, where he seeks the freedom to live fully, practice his religion, and pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. As the ship docks in Ellis Island, New York, after a hellacious two-week voyage, Yussel is anxious to put his newfound shoemaker skills to work. Despite knowing no one in America, Yussel still feels immensely relieved to have escaped the Russian madness. As he changes his name to Joseph and slowly begins building his new life in a country where he finally feels acceptance, he falls in love and marries Hannah, an Orthodox Jew who bears him two sons. Joseph can hardly believe his success as he and his family revel in the frenzied prosperity of the 1920s—but all of that is about to change. In the compelling sequel to The Yellow Line, Joseph must attempt to bring his family back together again after tragedy shatters their seemingly perfect life.
About the Author
Paul Barlin was a production specialist and toolmaker before and through World War II for Westinghouse and directed the Paul Barlin Dance Theater for many years. He has two daughters and two sons and currently lives in Colorado. This is his sixth book.