From Kabbalah to Class Struggle: Expressionism, Marxism, and Yiddish Literature in the Life and Work of Meir Wiener (Stanford Studies in Jewish History and C)

Meir Wiener was a living paradox. He was a Jewish scholar, a writer of Yiddish fiction and a devout communist who moved to the Soviet Union and died fighting for it in 1941. In this biography, Krutikov (Slavic and Judaic Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) does not skirt the dichotomies in Wiener's beliefs; rather he explains how Wiener melded them into something that made sense to himself. Krutikov relates the life of a man but also of a society that was brutally cut short by the Holocaust. He gives a vibrant picture of intellectual and religious debates alongside the belief in Marxism and class struggle. Many of Wiener's writings have not been translated, so Krutikov gives synopses as he mines them for hints as to Wiener's personality. The story of Wiener's life is well told, portraying him as a brilliant man with flaws and demons, someone who should be better known for both his fiction and his life. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)