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Twenty-One Stories
Excellent Book
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 13, 1970
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About the author
S.Y. Agnon
125 books105 followersalso 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_...
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_...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 2, 2019
"Twenty-one Stories" by S. Y. Agnon is a remarkable anthology of Kafkaesque fables about the eternal struggle of the Jew to enter the Kingdom of God that absolutely no one should read unless he or she knows the difference between "Midrash" and "Mishnah" in addition to having a strong understanding of the Jewish liturgical calendar. As a Catholic I was able to get through the work because I had recently read the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Judaism" and "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism" by Gershom Scholem. Non-practicing Jews should at least read the Idiot's Guide before launching into the book.
In addition to its spiritual power this collection of stories first published individually between 1919 and 1963 possesses great historical scope. The first tales are set in shtetls in Imperial Russia. The second group take place in the early Jewish settlements in the Ottoman Empire before WWI from which the modern state of Israel will be formed. Next the scene shifts to Hamburg after which it moves to the British Palestine before concluding in the modern state of Israel.
"Twenty-one Stories" is a very dense book with dazzling literary qualities. It does however require extensive background knowledge that few North American or European readers are likely to possess.
In addition to its spiritual power this collection of stories first published individually between 1919 and 1963 possesses great historical scope. The first tales are set in shtetls in Imperial Russia. The second group take place in the early Jewish settlements in the Ottoman Empire before WWI from which the modern state of Israel will be formed. Next the scene shifts to Hamburg after which it moves to the British Palestine before concluding in the modern state of Israel.
"Twenty-one Stories" is a very dense book with dazzling literary qualities. It does however require extensive background knowledge that few North American or European readers are likely to possess.
July 16, 2018
Nobel Prize Project
Year: 1966
Winner: S.Y. Agnon
Review: Man, this was really excellent. Some of the stories here ("The Letter", "Fernheim", "The Kerchief", "Metamorphosis", "Agunot") are some of the best written, most insightful stories I've read. He writes beautifully on Jewish tradition and strikingly on the decline of modern society. The stories here have very simple plots and characters and siimple themes, but they're mostly just really well executed. For now, I'm not quite going to give it 5 stars because too many of the stories were kinda pointless, but this is a great one.
It takes some getting used to, but I love this guy's writing style and sensibility. I'm going to be reading this guy's novels for sure.
Verdict: S.Y. Agnon shared the Nobel Prize in 1966 with German poet Nelly Sachs. Although Jewish writers are well represented among Nobel laureates, he is still the only Nobel winner who wrote in Hebrew and the only Israeli citizen. And, unless Amos Oz wins one of these days, he's going to continue to be so for a while.
It's clear Agnon's one of the most obscure Nobel winners of all time (he only has 434 ratings on Goodreads, one of the 20 least read Nobel laureates on this site), but as I said above I loved this. I think that even if just as a guy who documents really well a period of history (British Palestine, pre-WWII and immediately after WWII) he was a great choice. After Johannes V. Jensen, this is my second great discovery from this project.
N.B., this particular story collection is currently out of print, but all 21 of these stories and 14 others are documented in the in-print story collection "A Book That Was Lost".
Year: 1966
Winner: S.Y. Agnon
Review: Man, this was really excellent. Some of the stories here ("The Letter", "Fernheim", "The Kerchief", "Metamorphosis", "Agunot") are some of the best written, most insightful stories I've read. He writes beautifully on Jewish tradition and strikingly on the decline of modern society. The stories here have very simple plots and characters and siimple themes, but they're mostly just really well executed. For now, I'm not quite going to give it 5 stars because too many of the stories were kinda pointless, but this is a great one.
It takes some getting used to, but I love this guy's writing style and sensibility. I'm going to be reading this guy's novels for sure.
Verdict: S.Y. Agnon shared the Nobel Prize in 1966 with German poet Nelly Sachs. Although Jewish writers are well represented among Nobel laureates, he is still the only Nobel winner who wrote in Hebrew and the only Israeli citizen. And, unless Amos Oz wins one of these days, he's going to continue to be so for a while.
It's clear Agnon's one of the most obscure Nobel winners of all time (he only has 434 ratings on Goodreads, one of the 20 least read Nobel laureates on this site), but as I said above I loved this. I think that even if just as a guy who documents really well a period of history (British Palestine, pre-WWII and immediately after WWII) he was a great choice. After Johannes V. Jensen, this is my second great discovery from this project.
N.B., this particular story collection is currently out of print, but all 21 of these stories and 14 others are documented in the in-print story collection "A Book That Was Lost".
February 20, 2021
More like 2.5 stars.
This is a middling collection of stories by the singular and revered Agnon. It's hard to say why I found it so mediocre, was it the selections or the translations, but many of the stories lack that fury and weird fire of some of the other tales I've read by him. Many of the stories are very similar, dealing with the obstacles and frustrations that one confronts in one's attempts to complete one's rituals, whether religious or otherwise. Others, and these are the successful stories, are darker and more supernatural in town with running themes of apparition and displacement, where the stuff of the world is more pliable, and maybe even more evil, than we usually recognize.
Not a bad collection, I suppose, but lacking the craft that I know Agnon to possess.
This is a middling collection of stories by the singular and revered Agnon. It's hard to say why I found it so mediocre, was it the selections or the translations, but many of the stories lack that fury and weird fire of some of the other tales I've read by him. Many of the stories are very similar, dealing with the obstacles and frustrations that one confronts in one's attempts to complete one's rituals, whether religious or otherwise. Others, and these are the successful stories, are darker and more supernatural in town with running themes of apparition and displacement, where the stuff of the world is more pliable, and maybe even more evil, than we usually recognize.
Not a bad collection, I suppose, but lacking the craft that I know Agnon to possess.
October 27, 2019
A brilliant read, often I felt like the word order was that of an adult Dr. Seuss and this kept me coming back for more. Beautiful word structures and 'The Doctor's Divorce' being my all time favorite of the collection. Not always the easiest read, but well worth your patience and time. Some research might need to be done into some of the terminology but what is a good book without a little education, correct?
January 7, 2019
Kafkaesque. Simple, simple plots driven only be the psychological conflict of the intense... beautiful characters. A masterpiece.
December 21, 2022
Brilliant writing. World literature at its best. Unjustly forgotten writer who needs to be rediscovered.
January 13, 2017
Really interesting stories. I am not familiar enough with all of the Judaica and specifics to follow some of the references and allusions here. However, the characters are strong and some of the stories are compelling. "Metamorphosis" in particular will join my list of best short stories ever. The basis of the story is of a couple leaving on a journey home after just having been divorced. One has to imagine what the relationship must have endured to have lead them to divorce, but they still deeply know and care for each other. It is a pretty compelling story.
August 8, 2025
S.Y. Agnon won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966 "for his profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people."
Agnon was #48/121 on my Nobel reading challenge. I really enjoyed these stories. The language was sharp, they were tight and well-constructed, and the psychology of the character was strong and convincing. I'm surprised that Agnon isn't more widely read.
Agnon was #48/121 on my Nobel reading challenge. I really enjoyed these stories. The language was sharp, they were tight and well-constructed, and the psychology of the character was strong and convincing. I'm surprised that Agnon isn't more widely read.
November 18, 2015
Really liked the stories that almost seemed as if they could have been written by Kafka.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews