by Faye Moskowitz
An American classic, discovered
Even aficionados of Jewish American literature may be surprised to be reminded of Henry Roth. Living a full generation before that more familiar Roth, Philip, Henry’s best known work is the novel Call it Sleep, a critically acclaimed work published 1934 that soon disappeared, only to be revived in paperback in the 1960’s, thanks to Irving Howe’s insistence, in The New York Times Book Review. Call it Sleep went on to sell a million copies.