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They That Walk in Darkness
A collection of stories about Jewish people.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
504 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1899
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28 people want to read
About the author
Israel Zangwill
430 books33 followersIsrael Zangwill was a British novelist, short-story writer and dramatist.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 22, 2019
Tragic tales from the Jewish ghettos of England and America.
The title story is a study in pathos and gentle humour, about a mother desperate to discover a miracle cure for her son, struck down with blindness just before his bar mitzvah. She searches for one in, of all places, the Vatican.
'Transitional' tells of a father's love for his youngest daughter and his fear that she would marry a Christian: "But if after marriage you should have a quarrel, he would always throw up to you that you are a Jewess."
'Noah's Ark' is a fictional retelling of an extraordinary real-life figure, Mordicai Manuel Noah, the first prominent Jew in American history, a journalist, playwright, and diplomat who attempted (unsuccessfully) to found a New Jerusalem in upstate New York near Niagara Falls in 1825, inviting Jews from all around the world to join him. A bookseller from the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt years the call.
Zangwil himself was a confirmed Zionist who, interestingly, initially agreed with Theodore Herzl that the New Jerusalem should be on the site of the old one, later to change his mind. He must have looked back on Noah's botched venture as a missed opportunity.
In 'The Land of Promise' a weaver from beyond the Pale in Russia buys passage to America with the idea that his betrothed and her two sisters will follow. Eventually they do, but there's a bitter twist in the tail.
Talking of twists, there was also one in store for an orthodox Maggid (preacher) and his estranged son at the conclusion of 'To Die in Jerusalem.'
'Bethulah' is something different altogether. An Americanised Jew on a tour of Europe discovers a chassidic (mystical) cult in the Carpathian mountains in the shape of an old Wonder Rabbi and his daughter, worshipped as the Holy Queen Sabbath. The story was intriguing but uneven in tone, I didn't know whether to take it seriously or not.
The longest story was 'The Keeper of Conscience,' about a plain and dutiful daughter's efforts to provide for her mother when the father left them. Salvina sacrifices her own aspirations to become a drudge. Her brother and sister are selfish, the mother ignorant and ungrateful. It made me sad.
For the most part these are stories of small people with small lives, no less tragic for the humdrum nature of their hopes and fears. Nearly every one had just enough length to allow Zangwil to ladle on a lifetime's worth of woe without overdoing it.
The title story is a study in pathos and gentle humour, about a mother desperate to discover a miracle cure for her son, struck down with blindness just before his bar mitzvah. She searches for one in, of all places, the Vatican.
'Transitional' tells of a father's love for his youngest daughter and his fear that she would marry a Christian: "But if after marriage you should have a quarrel, he would always throw up to you that you are a Jewess."
'Noah's Ark' is a fictional retelling of an extraordinary real-life figure, Mordicai Manuel Noah, the first prominent Jew in American history, a journalist, playwright, and diplomat who attempted (unsuccessfully) to found a New Jerusalem in upstate New York near Niagara Falls in 1825, inviting Jews from all around the world to join him. A bookseller from the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt years the call.
Zangwil himself was a confirmed Zionist who, interestingly, initially agreed with Theodore Herzl that the New Jerusalem should be on the site of the old one, later to change his mind. He must have looked back on Noah's botched venture as a missed opportunity.
In 'The Land of Promise' a weaver from beyond the Pale in Russia buys passage to America with the idea that his betrothed and her two sisters will follow. Eventually they do, but there's a bitter twist in the tail.
Talking of twists, there was also one in store for an orthodox Maggid (preacher) and his estranged son at the conclusion of 'To Die in Jerusalem.'
'Bethulah' is something different altogether. An Americanised Jew on a tour of Europe discovers a chassidic (mystical) cult in the Carpathian mountains in the shape of an old Wonder Rabbi and his daughter, worshipped as the Holy Queen Sabbath. The story was intriguing but uneven in tone, I didn't know whether to take it seriously or not.
The longest story was 'The Keeper of Conscience,' about a plain and dutiful daughter's efforts to provide for her mother when the father left them. Salvina sacrifices her own aspirations to become a drudge. Her brother and sister are selfish, the mother ignorant and ungrateful. It made me sad.
For the most part these are stories of small people with small lives, no less tragic for the humdrum nature of their hopes and fears. Nearly every one had just enough length to allow Zangwil to ladle on a lifetime's worth of woe without overdoing it.
August 17, 2024
This book of long short stories published in 1899 is a treasure! It's full of dark humor. It's still so timely, relevant, haunting, and entertaining.
1st 2 stories poke fun at Jewish Diaspora life in London. The first story is about a boy who loses his sight right before his bar mitzvah. The second story is about parents who go to great lengths to enable their children to meet and marry Jewish partners.
Some of the issues that the characters face in the story are familiar and resonate 125 years after the book was published.
The third story, "Noah's Ark," starts off with a very depressing account of anti-Semitic pogroms in Frankfurt, Germany, in the early 1800s, shortly after Jews were allowed the leave the ghetto. The story continues on the other side of the Atlantic, when the main character meets Mordechai Noah, the historical figure behind the idea to found a Jewish colony on Grand Island, NY, in the middle of the Niagara river. This meeting changes the course of his life.
The fourth story, "The Land of Promise," is about what happens to a Jewish family when it moves from Eastern Europe to New York.
The fifth story, "To Die in Jerusalem" is about how a Jewish immigrant family in London struggles with modernity.
The sixth story, "Bethulah," is a fascinating story about a young American Jewish man's encounter with the messianism of Easter Europe in the mid 1800s.
The seventh story, "The Keeper of Conscience," is about a British Jewish family's attempts to maintain appearances when a marriage falls apart.
The eighth story, "Satan Mekatrig," is about a Jewish man possessed by Satan.
The ninth story, "Diary of a Meshumad," is the story of a Jew who converts to Christianity to avoid anti-Semitism, who at the end of his life, longs to return to Judaism. He is filled with regret for raising his son as a Christian. The situation deteriorates as the son becomes a prominent anti-Semite.
I found a free Kindle version of this book on https://www.gutenberg.org/
1st 2 stories poke fun at Jewish Diaspora life in London. The first story is about a boy who loses his sight right before his bar mitzvah. The second story is about parents who go to great lengths to enable their children to meet and marry Jewish partners.
Some of the issues that the characters face in the story are familiar and resonate 125 years after the book was published.
The third story, "Noah's Ark," starts off with a very depressing account of anti-Semitic pogroms in Frankfurt, Germany, in the early 1800s, shortly after Jews were allowed the leave the ghetto. The story continues on the other side of the Atlantic, when the main character meets Mordechai Noah, the historical figure behind the idea to found a Jewish colony on Grand Island, NY, in the middle of the Niagara river. This meeting changes the course of his life.
The fourth story, "The Land of Promise," is about what happens to a Jewish family when it moves from Eastern Europe to New York.
The fifth story, "To Die in Jerusalem" is about how a Jewish immigrant family in London struggles with modernity.
The sixth story, "Bethulah," is a fascinating story about a young American Jewish man's encounter with the messianism of Easter Europe in the mid 1800s.
The seventh story, "The Keeper of Conscience," is about a British Jewish family's attempts to maintain appearances when a marriage falls apart.
The eighth story, "Satan Mekatrig," is about a Jewish man possessed by Satan.
The ninth story, "Diary of a Meshumad," is the story of a Jew who converts to Christianity to avoid anti-Semitism, who at the end of his life, longs to return to Judaism. He is filled with regret for raising his son as a Christian. The situation deteriorates as the son becomes a prominent anti-Semite.
I found a free Kindle version of this book on https://www.gutenberg.org/
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews