Mark Klempner's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-slave"
Isaac Bashevis Singer Festival, Part 2
About two thirds through "Short Friday," a slim book of I.B. Singer's short stories, I came upon "Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy." This story, which takes up just 24 pages of the mass-market paperback, was the basis for an entire feature film. And it won an Oscar too. I makes me marvel at the short story form . . . how much can be done with so few words.
I've started reading Singer's novel "The Slave" and notice the pace is a lot slower and there is much more description, both of the characters and the settings. This is fine but it doesn't necessarily make it better than the short stories. Which makes me wonder why Singer chose to turn some of his ideas into novels and others into short stories.
It would seem that a more complex story that takes place over a longer time would require a novel. And yet "Yentl" is quite complex and takes place over a period of several years. Some of Singer's short stories span decades. I really love the short story form because it cuts away everything unessential. The benefit of novels, though, is that when the reader is wishing the story wouldn't end, it doesn't—at least not so soon.
I've started reading Singer's novel "The Slave" and notice the pace is a lot slower and there is much more description, both of the characters and the settings. This is fine but it doesn't necessarily make it better than the short stories. Which makes me wonder why Singer chose to turn some of his ideas into novels and others into short stories.
It would seem that a more complex story that takes place over a longer time would require a novel. And yet "Yentl" is quite complex and takes place over a period of several years. Some of Singer's short stories span decades. I really love the short story form because it cuts away everything unessential. The benefit of novels, though, is that when the reader is wishing the story wouldn't end, it doesn't—at least not so soon.
