Books: Violent Vagabond

MOTTKE THE THIEF—Sholem Asch—Putnam ($2.50).

With Three Cities Sholem Asch displayed an ability to create a broad social panorama, drew a comprehensive picture of Jewish life in Warsaw and Moscow at the time of the Russian Revolution. Mottke the Thief, excellently translated by Willa and Edwin Muir, reveals a fresh aspect of Sholem Asch’s talent, tells a lively, picturesque tale of a Jewish vagabond who bounded among the pillars and posts of pre-War Polish society. Before Mottke was born his jealous mother had thrown a bottle of vitriol on his father, burning the flesh off his face. In return, the father married her so she would always be on hand when he wanted to beat her. Mottke fled from this violent household with a caravan of traveling acrobats and dancers. Billed as a strong man, he fitted into a wandering life, fell in love with Mary, dark-eyed, passionate little dancer. But Mary was Kanarik’s girl, and the money she was given by village admirers went to him. Mottke was too jealous to tolerate such practices, raised moral objections, made a frightful scene and took Mary’s earnings himself.

Beaten up by Kanarik and his friends, Mottke prepared his revenge. He told Mary to persuade Kanarik to flee with her, left the troupe himself, ambushed Kanarik, stabbed him. Then, armed with Kanarik’s money and passport, he took Mary to Warsaw, where he became a power in the underworld. Mary caught the fancy of a commissar, but Mottke chafed under his stolen identity, longed to have his own name back. He fell in love with the innocent daughter of a brothel-keeper, sold his retinue of girls into white slavery in Argentina, became respectable. Before their marriage he told his conventionally-minded betrothed of his crime, because he wanted her to call him Mottke, was denounced to the commissar. With extravagant abandon, Mary diverted the commissar until she could warn Mottke, who would not believe her. The police found him with his sweetheart insisting that she swear she had not betrayed him.