A Simple Story

by S.Y. Agnon

Szybusz, a small town in Jewish Galicia, is the scene of a bitter¬sweet romance at the beginning of the twentieth century. Few of Agnon’s stories are told as effortlessly as A Simple Story, yet this engaging tale reveals the profound psychological and social insights of the Nobel Laureate’s finest fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Nobel Prize, Jewish, Israel, Literature, Judaism, 20th Century

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

also known as Shai Agnon

Dramatic novels in Hebrew of Polish-born Israeli writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon include A Guest for the Night (1939); he shared the Nobel Prize of 1966 for literature.

"For his profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people," he shared this award with Nelly Sachs. He died in Jerusalem, Israel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmuel_...

Reviews

[Noam · Rating 4 out of 5]

"סיפור פשוט" הוא כמובן כלל לא פשוט: רומן התבגרות על בחור צעיר שנקרע בין אהבתו וצורכו לקבוע בעצמו את דרכו, לבין מה שהחברה מסביבו מצפה וכופה עליו. איך למצוא שיווי משקל בין להתעקש ולהתגמש? מה שמתחיל פשוט מסתבך ומתפשט ומתערבל והיה יכול להיגמר בצורה טרגית. אפשר לקרוא בו בין היתר כביקורת על דרכו של הגיבור שמוותר על חלומותיו וגם על החברה התובענית ששמה דגש על החומרני.

הרומן מרחש במזרח אירופה בתחילת המאה הקודמת. גיבורו הוא הירשל הורוביץ שחי בעיירה שבוש, מזרח גליציה, סביבה יהודית טיפוסית לזמן והמקום ההם. שפתו העשירה של עגנון היא תענוג של ממש. העולם שעגנון מצייר נראה כעולמו של מארק שאגאל. הבישולים והריחות מתוארים כך שהזכירו לי את סבתא ציפורה שלי...

אחרי שהסתבכתי והתגוששתי כל כך עם הרומן הראשון של עגנון, "הכנסת כלה", רומן פרגמנטרי רחב יריעה, תענוג לקרוא את הרומן הזה, השני שלו, שלמרות (או בגלל?) שהוא קצר יש בו הכל. כשחושבים על זה מדהים שלמרות שהרומן העברי הראשון, "אהבת ציון" של מאפו, יצא לאור רק ב-1853, עגנון הצליח כבר ב-1935 לכתוב רומן פסיכולוגי אירופאי מורכב ומודרני. ולמרות שהוא מתרחש בגליציה של תחילת המאה שעברה הוא עדיין אקטואלי. הסיפור הוא סיפור אוניברסלי שהיה יכול להתרחש למשל גם באמצע המאה הקודמת ולספר על פייר מרטן מפריז או כאן ועכשיו ולספר על איתי רגב מתל-אביב וכד'. רומן שמכיל עולם ומלואו.

[Marc Lamot · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had expected a lot more from this Israeli Nobel Prize winner. Agnon indeed seems to bring a simple story, but it was a hell of a struggle to get through. This is mainly due to the slow rhythm, the archaic style and the dull romantic story, in which the inner soul stirrings of the protagonists Hirsjl and Blume are endlessly milked out and the surrounding characters remain very superficial. The curious thing is that this novel has a very 19th century flavour, with a rather cliché romantic focal point, an impossible love, which seems to develop into a naturalistic drama, but in the end just doesn’t. Agnon here plays a perverse game of reversal, reinforced by a curious mixture of continual moralizing and ironic remarks. That made the reading very alienating, and did not appeal to me at all. The only charm that this story offered was the rich evocation of life in a Jewish community in Eastern Europe around the turn of the 19th and 20th century.

[Nele · Rating 2 out of 5]

De eerste helft van dit boek heb ik erg graag gelezen, maar de laatste 100 pagina’s waren een echte sleur. Agnon, die de Nobelprijs in 1966 won schrijft best mooi, maar ook stroef. Misschien was het verhaal zelf ook gewoon niet interessant genoeg om tot het einde echt geboeid te blijven.

Ik kocht dit boek een hele tijd geleden, omdat Agnon de overbuurman van Amos Oz in Jeruzalem was. Hij komt vaak voor in zijn boek ‘Een verhaal van liefde en duisternis’. Een fantastisch boek en ik was wel erg benieuwd naar die man waar Amos Oz zo naar opkeek.

[Hermien · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was the very classic Jewish/jiddish writing style I enjoyed rather than the actual story. It was good to experience Agnon's work.

[Arwen56 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shmuel Yosef Agnon ha vinto il premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 1966, ma io, ignorantona come sono, non l’avevo mai sentito nominare. Non conoscendolo, dunque, non ho idea se questo sia tra i suoi scritti migliori oppure no.

Di certo ha un andamento assai caratteristico. A tratti, sembra quasi un’antica nenia, con frasi e periodi che si ripetono con parole praticamente identiche. A volte ci sono dialoghi che, suppongo, abbiano sottintesi comici, ma che a me sono sfuggiti, perché non conosco a sufficienza la cultura ebraica. Alcuni passaggi sfiorano addirittura il surreale.

Comunque, sicuramente l’aspetto più riuscito del romanzo sta nel ricreare l’atmosfera di uno shtetl ucraino agli inizi del ‘900: le attitudini, i comportamenti, le consuetudini, le tradizioni, le feste di un paese (in questo caso “Shibush”) abitato in prevalenza da persone di religione ebraica.

I personaggi meglio delineati sono i più vecchi, mentre le nuove generazioni appaiono più sfocate, confuse e meno “rifinite”, se così si può dire. Persino la storia in sé, il fiorire dell’amore tra Hershl e Blume, bruscamente troncata dai desiderata dei genitori di lui, benché occupi una discreta parte del romanzo, resta come sospesa e vaga. Soprattutto Blume (ma anche Mine, ossia la donna che diventerà la moglie di Hershl) finisce per diventare un enigma, che non si sa bene come decifrare. Forse lo stesso autore se ne è reso conto, tant’è che al termine del romanzo dice:

È finita la storia di Hershl e Mine, ma le storie di Blume non sono finite. Tutto ciò che lei, Blume Nacht, ha passato, è un libro a sé stante. Anche Gezl Stein, che abbiamo menzionato di sfuggita, e così tutti gli altri che hanno preso parte alla nostra storia comune - quanto inchiostro verseremo, e quante penne spunteremo per scrivere le loro vicende.
Solo Dio che è nei cieli sa quando.

Però, a quanto mi risulta, poi non l’ha mai fatto. Peccato. Avrei voluto saperne di più, perché resta un po’ di amaro in bocca, alla fine, come di qualcosa di non detto.

In generale, è un romanzo piuttosto buono, di cui non ho però inteso tutte le sfumature per le ragioni già accennate. Se mi capiterà, leggerò altro di questo autore.

[Krisette Spangler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel has so many layers that I would have to read it a few more times to really grasp all that the writer is trying to convey. Hirshl is a young Jewish man who is in love with his poor cousin. His parent have other ideas, Hirshl finds himself in an arranged marriage. It's sad on many marriages were contracted rather than allowed to grow out of mutual love and affection.

The novel has many characters, and the author allows you to meet many of them. It's a fascinating character study and a little more insight into the Jewish community. I really enjoyed all of the metaphors the author used, and I will want to read more by this author in the future. I included a quote I found interesting that illustrates how Hirshl felt about the woman his parents picked for him to marry.

"Sometimes Mina snuggled close to Hirshl and whispered in his ear. NOt that there was anything wrong with what she said, but it did make him feel cornered, and no music is sweet to a cornered man. Do I mind her? He asked himself. No more than I mind anyone. It's just that she's always around. It's like having to wear a coat all the time that never keeps you warm."

[Michal · Rating 4 out of 5]

סיפור פשוט על אהבה נכזבת ועל הצלה עם תובנות שמתאימות לימינו כאילו עגנון חי היום. העברית לא מהווה מכשול כיון שיש הערות שמבארות.
יש הסיפור הרבה חלקים שמתכתבים עם התנך וביחוד עם חז"ל ועם התלמוד והחלקים האלה סתומים לחילונית כמוני כך שאני מניחה שיש רבדים שלא הבנתי.
ציתות יפה:"מפני מה נתאווה הירשל תחילה לאורחים, מפני שראה עצמו על ידיהם בעל בית, כיוון שנתקהה ביתו עליו נתקהו עליו אורחיו". עמוד 110

[Biblibio · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Simple Story is one of the cornerstones of Hebrew literature. It's a book that seems to start in one direction and then goes off in another, looking at many aspects of Eastern European Jewish culture from an age ago: the developments, the changes, the traditions that remained, the people... It is vividly accurate in many places - its portrayal of generation divides, for instance, is quite excellent - but is also often flat. Characters aren't particularly three-dimensional and there's a feeling throughout that the characters are just... boring.

The irony of A Simple Story is what makes it an interesting book. Because honestly, it is quite ironic. At times, this is a delicious sort of irony - biting, cynical, teasing - like describing a book that seems at first like a love story (and then gradually progresses into philosophical musings, problems, and something of a nervous breakdown) as simple. Then there's an old-fashioned dullness to it, though. Agnon's Polish charm, which shines in his short stories, comes off achingly slow here. Meanwhile, the metaphors, the "hidden meanings" for everything is under so many layers of other meanings that it's hard to pick up on.

Perhaps studying the book is what frustrated me so. I have read this book twice, neither time particularly out of my own choice. The first time, I truly struggled reading this allegedly "simple" story, wondering why I needed to study a book that so clearly was meant to be ironic. The second time I appreciated it a little more, but only to a degree, as I still faced a deep dislike of the characters - Hirshl's apathy grows tiresome at some point, as do Tzirl's numerous manipulations. Blume, meanwhile, entirely lacks a personality, as does Mina. It's exhausting to read a book like this, knowing that there's supposed to be meaning to everything and simply not enjoying it.

In spite of all this, Agnon's writing is fascinating, making this book nonetheless interesting to read. It does not, however, make A Simple Story more than a mediocre book, and does not best display Agnon's writing.

[Kristen McAtee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an amazing book, Jesus christ. Plot-wise: not much happens at all. The book is driven by the sole fuel of Hirschel's mental state and complexes. I've read that Agnon was an avid Frued reader, and it shows (They were also born in the same tinhtown, surprisingly). In the first read I had missed so much- Ironies, sarcastic jabs Hirschel takes at his mother, and the delicately crafted unreliable narrator, the Chicken/Manhood motif... definitely a book to read several times. And cry, every single time. Masterpiece

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I had to read it for an exam I had in Literature..
Maybe that was the reason I didn't really like it. Tasks always look plain and boring.

I found the story sad, depressing and disappointing.. it just left me with a horrible feeling of emptiness.

[Anastasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

How does one take off their glasses of modernity and write a review on a work that is set in such a different environment? How does one recognise a masterpiece, even if today’s personal values have shifted drastically?

I assumed that a beginning of XX century little city in Eastern Europe would offer some accounts that would be challenging. There were those, but I have to admit that even recognising those as attributes of time, I cannot say the whole fable/moral of the book appealed to me. It was not a sign of times, but rather the author’s approach to characters and the whole narrative that made even unplucked hair in my eyebrow raise.
It is a story of romance, and it takes two to have love developed. However, when described their first semi-intimate meeting with Hirschl, Blume’s reaction was not recorded at all! She was so missing out of the picture that I thought she was not welcoming these advances, and that the story would now turn into a story of a master-housemaid abuse.

Later in the book, Blume became a third-tier character who enjoyed a maximum of a paragraph devoted to broad description of her life every 70 pages. The fact that the story was solely focused on one party of the love story made everything seem like a XIX century romance, where one can get infatuated without an object of love being actually present.

The end of the book felt like a deus ex machina staged in a home theatre. Suddenly – over a course of four lines of text – the protagonist develops love for his wife whom he hated throughout the whole book, makes love to her, and enjoys idyllic mornings from now on. How, why, when it all happens is hidden from a reader, and creates a sense that it was a most plausible end to a narrative that would otherwise meet its logical cul-de-sac.

What I enjoyed most, is the humorous description of background personalities and general events. The book is precious as a historic account of Jewish life in Eastern European cities before WWI. If a reader is familiar with this semi-shtetl world, one can revel in a very precise, very intimate description of Jewish domestic life of that period.

For me, however, it only feebly compensates for the general feel from the whole novel, character development and author’s attitude to narration.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na de dood van haar ouders gaat Bloeme Nacht als dienstmeisje werken bij haar oom en tante, eigenaren van een goedlopende winkel, en hun zoon Hirsjl. Bloeme en Hirsjl worden verliefd op elkaar, maar zijn moeder heeft andere plannen voor haar enige kind. Maar de onschuldige liefdesblijken die Bloeme en Hirsjl tersluiks uitwisselen, ontsnappen niet aan het waakzame oog van Tsirl, de moeder van Hirsjl. Berekenend als ze is, wil ze absoluut vermijden dat haar zoon een arm meisje huwt. Ze benadert huwelijksmakelaar Joine Toiber, die prompt een huwelijk arrangeert met Mine, de dochter van de rijke rentmeester Gedalje Tsiemlich.

Als lezer verwacht je natuurlijk dat het verliefde stel heftig protesteert tegen dat plan. Of dat ze elkaar op enig later moment opnieuw zullen ontmoeten. Maar niets van dat alles bij Agnon, die voor zijn - allesbehalve simpele - 'simpel verhaal' een heel andere variant van de onmogelijke liefde heeft bedacht. Hij maakt er een anti-romantisch verhaal van: Bloeme verdwijnt definitief van het toneel en na een heleboel verwikkelingen - Hirsjl wordt krankzinnig, maar geneest - leeft Hirsjl als het ware nog 'lang en gelukkig' met zijn eigen echtgenote.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hershl Hurvitz non ce la fa a mettere insieme gli obblighi familiari e comunitari con la sua attrazione verso la domestica, e soccombe. Questa è la storia un po' deprimente della sua impotenza, e anche quella di uno shtetl ucraino nel primo '900. L'efficace scrittura è caratterizzata da dialoghi battenti, mentre le azioni e le situazioni che raccolgono i personaggi intorno alla tavola o per le strade del villaggio sono descritte con rilassata ironia nel loro svolgimento privo di sussulti.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it, but not sure I would read it twice. I hated the fact that Blume didn't come back but after reading the afterword by Hillel Halkin made me come back around. I like the idea of S.Y. Agnon writing an "anti-romance." I kept thinking of Austen's Northanger Abbey in comparison with Blume and Fanny. However, the end was like a big slap in Austen's face by making the reader accept the more practical reality: the guy loses the girl and marries someone else who he decides to live contently (not happily) with the woman he marries. Still, I fell for it and now I'm bitter.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book in Hebrew with chevruta at a glacial pace and then after a year we stopped when i moved. Always hoping to get back to it, I waited and waited and finally picked it up and finished it in English. (Hillel Halkin’s). I was about 3/4 of the way done, and am so glad to have finished it. A masterpiece. Of course Agnon said if you don’t read a book twice it probably wasn’t worth reading the one time (I’m sure I’m butchering that) so I am planning to read it again. Hadran alach!

[Ami · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5* . The first half is excellent. The second half is boring.

Why to read?
- Smart, sharp, perceptive writing.
- A scent of a world that was long lost - the perished world of Jewish communities at east Europe, on the turning point of education, Socialism, and Zionism.
- Interesting at parts

Why not to read?
- Starting at the half the story gets quite boring. Not much happens, and the things that do happen are not very interesting.

[Alon Gildoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story set in the Jewish community of a small Ukrainian town at the turn of the century. It opens with a poor young girl being sent to live with her better-off shopkeeper relatives, after being left an orphan. However she is not the central character of the book - that is her relatives' teenage son, Hirschl. Will he and the good (but penniless) Blume be able to make a match? Or will he succumb to parental pressure for someone better for their son?

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very pleasant. Not exciting, but nice. Maybe memorable.

I do really like the prose, which is very similar to Isaac Bashevis Singer for fairly obvious reasons.

I liked the ending. The book was so pleasant I was expecting a bang at the end. Nazis or a massacre or something. I was relieved by the ending, but it did rather render the whole book a little pointless.

[LauraT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anche ***1/2 per un libro complesso. Molto.
Una scritttura così antiquata da sembrare figlia del XXI secolo: spezzata, respingente, quasi specchiata, per farti entrare nell'abisso dell'animo di un uomo che soffre fino all'argine della follia. Ma questo la società, la religione, la comunità non può tollerarlo. E il singolo si DEVE adattare - se non vuole soccombere.
Una storia banale; una storia comune...

[Net · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who read this in Hebrew, I can safely tell you that if you read this in English, it would be very very hard for you to understand this story.

Hirshel, turned insane, because of the trait in his family, or because he did not want to be married to Mina.

The whole Monologue in which he cannot sleep, and falls asleep in the doctor's waiting room was okay.
What I LOVED was the clock and the chicken motive where he said he wishes to kill a chicken, so he can finally sleep.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Читала цю книгу в перекладі російською. Вважаю, що це один із кращих романів Аґнона, який сюжетно відбувається в містечку Бучачі - рідному для автора. Особливий стиль письма Аґнона робить текст цікавим, а сюжет - динамічним. Книга читається легко і в захопленні, що теж є особливістю саме цього роману. Дуже рекомендую!

[Steven Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 5 in my Agnon binge. Shorter and easier than others....an enriching peek into the middle class semi assimilated Galician Jews less about the Hasidim. But also less of the wandering charm of his other novels such as Only Yesterday and Bridal Canopy. His characters remain flawed individuals.....

[Yana Toffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les thèmes développés sont universels et intemporels : le poids de la tradition sur les choix personnels, sur les relations amoureuses et le mariage. Mail j'ai trouvé l'écriture très dense et pas moderne.

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Quando un uomo sente il mondo farsi oscuro intorno a lui, legge un libro e vede un altro mondo." (p. 31)

[Cindy H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the title sums up the book. This was for our bookclub. Something innocent and charming within the pages of the novel but nothing too memorable or moving.

[Laura Boudreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the writing, but the story ended without full resolution for all the characters, which was disappointing.

[Gisele Andrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story so much. the psychological of the characters is a masterpiece.

[Oshrat Halfon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful saga, was totally immersed despite the special language and the challenging references included, loved it, at times it felt like reading poetry in a way and always relevant and touching

[Eden Izhak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool book. Demonstrates how being passive on life could only bring you sorrow.

[Audrey Oren]

הירשל ובלומה3