Malamud's second novel, originally published in 1957, is the story of Morris Bober, a grocer in postwar Brooklyn, who "wants better" for himself and his family. Like Malamud's best stories, this novel unerringly evokes an immigrant world of cramped circumstances and great expectations.

Malamud's second novel, originally published in 1957, is the story of Morris Bober, a grocer in postwar Brooklyn, who "wants better" for himself and his family. Like Malamud's best stories, this novel unerringly evokes an immigrant world of cramped circumstances and great expectations.