Fineman, Irving

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FINEMAN, IRVING

FINEMAN, IRVING (1893–1976), U.S. novelist. Born in New York, Fineman served in the navy during World War i, and worked as an engineer until 1929, when he turned to writing. His first two novels, This Pure Young Man (1930) and Lovers Must Learn (1932), dealt with American themes. His third, Hear, Ye Sons (1933), recreated the past from which his ḥasidic parents had come; Doctor Addams (1939) dealt with the dilemma of a successful scientist who is completely ineffective in dealing with personal and social problems. Of his later novels, Jacob (1941) and Ruth (1949) had biblical subjects, His biography of Henrietta *Szold, Woman of Valor (1961), aroused controversy because of its frank portrayal of a revered figure.

bibliography:

S. Liptzin, Jew in American Literature (1966), 209–10.

[Sol Liptzin]

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