The Fixer is a book written by Bernard Malamud in 1966. The book revolves mainly around the character of Bok, who is a Jewish handyman living in Russia. A Christian boy is murdered and Bok is blamed for the murder - accused of murdering the boy as part of a Jewish ritual and is sent to prison. Bok argues that he did not commit the crime and neither is he a religious man. All supporters of Bok are harassed by the government and law enforcement officials and Bok's major supporter, Magistrate Bibikov is imprisoned and later commits suicide. Bok's wife is allowed to visit him in prison on the basis that she gets him to sign a statement that he killed the Christian boy. Bok refuses to do so and is taken to trial. Here, his lawyer informs him that the government is looking to blame someone for the murder. On his way to court, Bok's transport is attacked and he is seemingly freed.
The book was written by the author to portray the persecution that Jewish people face in Eastern Europe and how the government is looking for a scapegoat to put the religion into disrepute. The book was also written to show the power of innocence - no matter what happens, the truth is the truth and this is why Bok was unwilling to give in as he knew he was innocent.
The book was received well by critics and fans who commented on the great style in which the book was written. In fact, the book was the winner of the 1967 National Book Award for Fiction and the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
