In That Golden Land: The Spiritual Odyssey of Henry Roth's Call It Sleep

Abstract

With these words, Henry Roth beganCall It Sleep, a novel published in 1934 when its author was twenty-eight years old.Call It Sleepranks among the most powerful novels of the 20th century, precisely because of the questions it does ask about the conflicts of immigrant life, the demands of assimilation, and the search for spiritual nourishment in the modern world. Roth locates his narrative in New York City during the peak years of mass migration from Europe between 1907 and 1914. At the center ofCall It Sleepis David, a precocious and sensitive child at age six, who is already questioning his place in the universe and the meaning of God. Thus,Call It Sleeppresents a narrative of how a small immigrant boy makes sense of his world, a world defined by both its physical and spiritual dimensions.