Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Two early works by S.Y. Abramovitsh introduce the reader to Abramovitsh s alter ego Mendele the Book Peddler. Mendele narrates both The Little Man and Fishke the Lame. In different voices, he also presents a diverse cast of characters including Isaac Abraham as tailor s apprentice, choirboy, and corrupt businessman. Reb Alter tells of his matchmaking mishap and Fishke relates his travels through the Ukraine with a caravan of beggars.
Sholem Aleichem s Tevye reemerges from new translations of "Hodel" and "Chava" in all of his comic splendor. Notes enable students to follow Tevye s uneven steps through Bible quotations. Four of Sholem Aleichem s other eloquent monologists come back to haunt us in scintillating translations.
The selections from Peretz include his finest stories about the hasidim, such as "Kabbalists," "Teachings of the Hasidim," and the ironic tale "The Rebbe s Pipe." A fresh rendering of Peretz s masterpiece "Between Two Mountains" represents the meeting of an inspirational rebbe and an awe-inspiring rabbi.
Following the translations are three biographical essays about these giants of modern Yiddish literature."
Synopsis
Two novellas by S. Y. Abramovitsh open this collection of the best short works by three influential nineteenth-century Jewish authors. Abra- movitsh's alter ego--Mendele the Book Peddler--introduces himself and narrates both The Little Man and Fishke the Lame. His cast of characters includes Isaac Abraham as tailor's apprentice, choirboy, and corrupt businessman; Mendele's friend Wine 'n' Candles Alter; and Fishke, who travels through the Ukraine with a caravan of beggars.
Sholem Aleichem's lively stories reintroduce us to Tevye, the gregarious dairyman, as he describes the pleasures of raising his independent-minded daughters. These are followed by short monologues in which Aleichem gives voice to unforgettable characters from Eastern Europe to the Lower East Side. Finally, I. L. Peretz's neo-hasidic tales draw on hasidic traditions in the service of modern literature.
These stories provide an unsentimental look back at Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Although nostalgia occasionally colors their prose, the writers were social critics who understood the shortcomings of shtetl life. For the general reader, these translations breathe new life into the extraordinary worlds of Yiddish literature. The introduction, glossary, and biographical essays contemporaneous to each author put those worlds into context, making the book indispensable to students and scholars of Yiddish culture.