The Assistant is about a Jewish family coming apart at the seams but held together by mutual need, memory, faith and love. A gentile comes into their lives and manages to both tear them further apart and help repair their bonds. By the end, he has become one of the family, taking on their Judaism, but still kept at a distance. The Assistant explores how a family stays together over decades amid secrets and lies, betrayal and regret, shattered dreams, and poverty. Diving into their lives, their hearts, and their heads, the story passes through the hopes of old parents, the obligations of grown children, and what we owe to one another whether we're formally part of a family or not.
Questions About Family
- Why does Ida sometimes refrain from expressing her disapproval of Morris's choices?
- What does Helen feel she owes to her parents?
- How does Judaism figure into the Bober family life?
- Do you agree with Morris that he gave his life away for nothing? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Frank Alpine becomes like a son to Morris.
Frank Alpine never really becomes like a son to Morris.