Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Polish American author of Jewish descent, noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. His memoir, "A Day Of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw", won the U.S. National Book Award in Children's Literature in 1970, while his collection "A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories" won the U.S. National Book Award in Fiction in 1974.
After more than 50 years I revisited Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story collection. Without exception (save the few chapters of "in My Fathers Court") these story's are dark and foreboding. I assume now that Singer was attempting to let the reader know that the lives pre-WW II Polish Jews was extremely difficult. Difficulties that were assuaged by immersion into their religious beliefs.