The Second Scroll

The Second Scroll (1951) follows a Montreal journalist who embarks on a search for his uncle, a Holocaust survivor, across post-war Italy, Morocco, and the newly established state of Israel. The unnamed narrator's journey takes place against the backdrop of mass Jewish immigration to Israel in the years following World War II. The novel's structure mirrors the five books of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), with each section corresponding to its biblical counterpart. The text combines multiple literary forms including poetry, drama, and prayer, and features supplementary glosses in the Talmudic tradition. This work represents Klein's sole novel, written after his own 1949 pilgrimage to Israel. The story draws direct parallels between the biblical Exodus from Egypt and the modern return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland. The Second Scroll examines themes of spiritual and cultural renewal in the aftermath of catastrophic loss, exploring how a people might forge new meanings and identities while carrying forward ancient traditions. The work considers questions of divine purpose, collective memory, and national rebirth.

Readers note Klein's innovative blend of poetry and prose, with many appreciating the complex religious symbolism and exploration of Jewish identity after WWII. Several reviews mention the book's density requires multiple readings to grasp its layers of meaning. Readers praised: - Rich literary allusions and Biblical parallels - Poetic language and experimental structure - Deep examination of faith and modernity Common criticisms: - Dense and difficult to follow - Shifts between styles can be jarring - Some find the symbolism heavy-handed Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (43 ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (6 reviews) One reviewer on Goodreads wrote: "The annotations are almost necessary to understand all the references." Another noted: "The mixture of journalism, poetry and allegory creates something unique but occasionally impenetrable." Several readers compared it to Joyce's Ulysses in both ambition and difficulty level.

If Not Now, When? by Primo Levi Chronicles Jewish partisans fighting across Eastern Europe during WWII while grappling with questions of identity and homeland in ways that echo The Second Scroll's exploration of Jewish diaspora experiences.

Mr. Sammler's Planet by Saul Bellow Follows a Holocaust survivor in New York City navigating the modern world while reflecting on faith, survival, and cultural transformation.

The Last of the Just by André Schwarz-Bart Traces eight centuries of Jewish history through generations of the Levy family, culminating in the Holocaust, connecting ancient traditions to modern Jewish experience.

Call It Sleep by Henry Roth Depicts a young Jewish immigrant's life in New York's Lower East Side, weaving religious symbolism and cultural identity in a structure that mirrors sacred texts.

The Wall by John Hersey Documents life in the Warsaw Ghetto through interconnected narratives that blend historical events with spiritual questioning about survival and renewal.

🔹 Klein wrote The Second Scroll while struggling with depression, and it would become his final major literary work before his withdrawal from public life in 1955. 🔹 Each chapter (called "book") corresponds to one of the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy - followed by five "glosses" that offer commentary like traditional Biblical annotations. 🔹 The protagonist's Uncle Melech represents the legendary figure of Elijah the Prophet, who in Jewish tradition is believed to appear in times of trouble to herald redemption. 🔹 The novel draws heavily from Klein's own 1949 journey to Israel as a journalist for the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, where he documented the mass immigration of Jews from across the diaspora. 🔹 The work pioneered a new form of Jewish-Canadian literature by combining modernist techniques with traditional Jewish textual interpretation methods (midrash), influencing later generations of Jewish writers.