The I. L. Peretz Reader

Library of Yiddish Classics

by I.L. Peretz

Isaac Leybush Peretz (1852–1915) is one of the most influential figures of modern Jewish culture. Born in Poland and dedicated to Yiddish culture, he recognized that Jews needed to adapt to their times while preserving their cultural heritage, and his captivating and beautiful writings explore the complexities inherent in the struggle between tradition and the desire for progress. This book, which presents a memoir, poem, travelogue, and twenty-six stories by Peretz, also provides a detailed essay about Peretz’s life by Ruth R. Wisse. This edition of the book includes, as well, Peretz’s great visionary drama A Night in the Old Marketplace, in a rhymed, performable translation by Hillel Halkin.

Genres: Jewish, Fiction, Judaism, Short Stories, Classics, Literature

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Isaac Leib Peretz (Polish: Icchok Lejbusz Perec, Hebrew: יצחק־לייבוש פרץ), also sometimes written Yitskhok Leybush Peretz, best known as I. L. Peretz (י"ל פרץ) was born in Poland. He worked as a lawyer before he fully gave himself to writing. His debut was at the age of 27 and he was the first Yiddish author to leave the sjtetl and use the big city, with its poverty, basement houses and factories, as a theme.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth Wisse introduces this anthology with the details necessary for readers over a century later to comprehend the intricacies of Peretz. Celebrated for his leftism, nonetheless he presciently sensed by the end of his life the failure of the Soviets to deliver liberation from the narrow mindedness of an ideology which would eliminate Jewish tradition while imposing an uncompromising refusal to allow the spiritual to remain as vibrant as the modern within men and women. Wisse explains this division within Peretz well. She shows how his radical tendency managed to find room within his fiction for a nuanced depiction of both the shtetl poverty and the fervent faith, the sexism and the devotion mixed.

The opening poem is frequently mentioned in the author's memoirs which comprise the penultimate entries in this collection. Between these texts, stories dramatize the everyday and the mystical, the escape into dreams and the return to pain which characterize life in unprepossessing circumstances. Although he rejected his Orthodox schooling, he tried to respect its better qualities despite his move into Enlightenment-inspired thought, as he absorbed French, Russian, German, and Polish influence.

My favorite stories were The Poor Boy, If Not Higher, The Conversation, Between the Mountains, and Three Gifts. His talent lies in adapting folkloric motifs rather than domestic dramas, and he's sharper when economically dramatizing the conventions of Eastern European Yiddishkeit and of Hebrew fable. By contrast, he bogs down and loses the plot in other inclusions, dragging the pace with digressions.

Hillel Malkin tends among his fellow translators to be the nimblest at rendering the "mamaloshen" in contemporary English idiom. He adapts a verse play with a hundred characters, explicating in an afterward his methods. There's also the fragments of a report, perhaps lightly fictionalized, of Peretz' survey tallying statistics when he worked for a project documenting rural Jewish conditions. This is a marvelously insightful chronicle, and it's a shame he never got to complete the study, which stands out as the reason to seek out this anthology, with chatty memoir and certain tales respectively next.

[Corinne Wasilewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a translation, it is easy to read; no clunky sentences that go on forever. Peretz writes with the eye of a critic. Nothing escapes his scrutiny -- inequality of class, religion, race and gender -- his stories cover them all. But the biggest bee in his bonnet -- hypocrisy for sure. The writing takes a back seat to the message, however, which is not to say he's hitting the reader over the head with moral dictates -- not at all. It just means pretty narrative isn't really his thing. And he knows the Old Testament like the back of his hand, although, it's the New Testament message he longs for, a message of love for one's "neighbour" and the breakdown of barriers. At the same time he doesn't want his people to lose their distinctiveness. It's a tall order, to be sure.

[Zachary Lacan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this it seems in late December after my first or second semester after the Summer in the Winter of the year. It's borrowed-I don't own it. It was a gift to my grandma I wanted, needed to read and did. It was one of the first Jewish writers I had read. I say that but not really. I had heard of many stories before by Sholem Aleichem and Isaac Bashevis Singer. I actually delved into this with a deep-sea inspiration. I aspired to get at the deeper prose stuck like rice to my bones.

[Elan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn’t care for the play or memoir at the end, but some of the stories are just so good (especially Bontshe Shvayg, The Dead Town, Impressions of a Journey through the Tomaszov Region. and his short version of the classic Golem story, probably a few others) and the introductory essay was also great

[lifeisjustablurblog]

Read ‘monish’, ‘impressions of a journey through the tomaszow region’, “Bontshe shavayg’ and ‘the dead town’

[Anais · Rating 5 out of 5]

prompts many good reflections. v much worth it. rip to the fresh roll of bread and butter

[Anthony Keane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a gorgeous treasure trove of short stories, an excellent intro to Yiddish literature from the father of it himself!

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I L Peretz (1852-1915) was a well-known and acclaimed figure in the emergence of Yiddish literature. Born in Poland, he dedicated his writings to Yiddish culture, and was a prolific author of poems, short stories, drama, and humorous sketches. He played a pivotal role in the development of both Yiddish and Hebrew literature, concentrating on the complexities of the struggle between Jewish tradition and modern progress.
This book brings together a selection of his writings and includes a memoir, a long poem, a travelogue, a drama and 26 of his best stories. The excellent introduction by Ruth R Wisse is invaluable for the non-expert reader and helps to make the writings accessible. Without it, plus the very helpful notes, this would be a difficult book to approach, but with them it becomes an intriguing and mostly enjoyable introduction to Peretz and his work.

[Chrissie]

Added after reading The World to Come by Dara Horn. Peretz is the author of "The Dead Town", which plays a central role in Horn's book which has detailed bibliographic notes.

[Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. L. Peretz is one of my favorite Yiddish writers. I loved reading his short stories.