The Family Frying Pan
Encyclopedia
The Family Frying Pan is a fixup novel written by Bryce Courtenay
. It was first published in 1997, then re-written and reissued in 2001.
. It received various changes and a back story and was re-published as such.
The author claims that the main character is heavily based on his first wife's grandmother.
, the novel tells of Sara Moses, always known as 'Mrs Moses'. She is a sixteen year old servant girl who is the sole survivor of a pogrom
in her shtetl
. She manages to escape and is able to bring with her only a heavy frying pan found in the ruins of the Rabbi's house.
She travels across Russia, hoping to find freedom and safety, utilising the pan to cook what food she is able to find. As she travels, she is joined by various fellow-escapees from Russia. Every night, around the cooking fire, each traveller tells a tale from his or her life.
Mrs Moses eventually finds sanctuary in Australia
and marries a fellow (non-Jewish) Russian refugee
. Their grandson, the narrator, continues to cook fish
every Friday evening for shabbat
dinner, using the frying pan, which is possessed of a Russian Soul.
Bryce Courtenay
Arthur Bryce Courtenay AM is a South-African-born naturalized Australian novelist and one of Australia's most commercially successful authors.-Background and early years:...
. It was first published in 1997, then re-written and reissued in 2001.
Background to the novel
The novel was originally published as a series of semi-linked short storiesShort Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
. It received various changes and a back story and was re-published as such.
The author claims that the main character is heavily based on his first wife's grandmother.
Plot
Set initially in Tsarist RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the novel tells of Sara Moses, always known as 'Mrs Moses'. She is a sixteen year old servant girl who is the sole survivor of a pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
in her shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
. She manages to escape and is able to bring with her only a heavy frying pan found in the ruins of the Rabbi's house.
She travels across Russia, hoping to find freedom and safety, utilising the pan to cook what food she is able to find. As she travels, she is joined by various fellow-escapees from Russia. Every night, around the cooking fire, each traveller tells a tale from his or her life.
Mrs Moses eventually finds sanctuary in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and marries a fellow (non-Jewish) Russian refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
. Their grandson, the narrator, continues to cook fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
every Friday evening for shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
dinner, using the frying pan, which is possessed of a Russian Soul.
External links
- http://www.brycecourtenay.com/index.asp : Bryce Courtenay website
- http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1630548.htm : ABC interview
- Russian Empire: All about Russian Empire and Russia.