A Treasury of Yiddish Stories

by Irving Howe (Editor), Eliezer Greenberg (Editor)

The forty stories brought together in this volume present a comprehensive picture of an unusual and vivid literature that has become familiar to Americans only in recent years. The stories here range from the classic words of Sholom Aleichem, Mendele Mocher Sforim, and I. L. Peretz, who founded the Yiddish literally tradition in Eastern Europe in the nineteenth century, to those of the contemporary writer Isaac Bashevis Singer, whose "Gimpel the Fool" (included here is Saul Bellow's masterful translation) has become a latter-day classic. The stories are followed by a section of anonymous folk material an a useful glossary of Yiddish terms; the English translations of the stories are superbly rendered by some of the finest writers of our time; and the editor's introductory essay is widely acknowledged as the most important and informative treatment of Yiddish literature available in English. among the authors represented in this volume Sholom Aleichem, Mendele Mocher Sforim, I.L. Peretz, Sholem Asch, David Bergelson, Jacob Glaststein, I,J, Singer, Isaac Bashevis Singer and others

Genres: Jewish, Judaism, Fiction, Short Stories, Judaica

Paperback

First published January 19, 1965

About the author

Irving Howe was an American literary and social critic and a prominent figure of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Reviews

[Nrosenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing collection of Yiddish short stories. Definitely check out "The Calf" by Mendele Mocher Sforim, "Ne'ilah in Gehenna," "Bontsha the Silent," and "If Not Higher" by I L Peretz. "White Chalah" by Lamed Shapiro and "Repentance" by I J Singer are also highlights for me.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like these stories, but they are all so damn depressing!

[lifeisjustablurblog]

Read ‘On Account of a Hat’

[Jake Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read ~half the 50+ stories, and only 1 called to me (Sholem Aleichem's The Search). Today, Yiddish interest is associated with secularism; these stories, naturally, aren't.

[Elwood D Pennypacker]

I learned a couple of things: some people’s love for a farm animal is real L O V E. And when in doubt, wish someone that they should get cholera.