A Book that Was Lost: and Other Stories

by S.Y. Agnon

Stories depict the culture of traditional Jewish life in Poland, the lost world of Eastern European Jewry, and the emerging society of modern Israel

Genres: Short Stories, Jewish, Fiction, Israel, Literature

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

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

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is based solely on the story "Agunot", one of Agnon's most widely known stories and the one based on which he (re)named himself. Beautifully told, this is a fable like tale of a failed marriage, representing both the mismatch of love and devotion arising from traditional, arranged marriage, as well as the failure of the Jewish homeland to "elevate" and enrich all those from the diaspora who seek it, resulting in dejection and dreams of return.

[Paul Gaya Ochieng Simeon Juma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966, S. Y. Agnon is considered the towering genius of modern Hebrew literature for his hard-edged modernism and soft-hued imagery. With this new collection of stories, the English-speaking audience has, at long last, access to the rich and brilliantly multifaceted fictional world of one of the great writers of this century. These stories span the lifetime of a quintessential wandering Jew - born in Buczacz, Poland, living in Germany, and finally settling in Jerusalem - and they bring to life the full gamut of the modern Jewish experience in fiction. This broad selection of Agnon's fiction introduces the full sweep of the writer's panoramic vision as chronicler of the lost world of Eastern European Jewry and the emerging society of modern Israel. Here are stories that portray the richly textured culture of traditional Jewish life in Poland, as well as changes in the life of the community over time. Several stories reflect on the Jewish infatuation with German and Western culture in the interwar period: "On the Road, " for example, narrates an eerie encounter on the eve of a holy day between an itinerant Jew and a ghostly company of martyred Jews from the Crusades. The early years of Jewish settlement in the land of Israel are recalled in "Hill of Sand, " which is also a revealing portrait of the artist as a young man; "A Book That Was Lost" is a powerful metaphor for the writer's own journey from Buczacz to Jerusalem.

[Nadiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not a book for anybody and not for anytime. Agnon is the only author writing in Hebrew who ever received a Nobel Prize in literature back in 1966. In a way, his writing is old-fashioned, but all the same relevant for modern readers.

The stories sometimes seemed to me bizarre, with ending defying expectations, full of symbolic connections and vague associations. They mash together thoughts about tradition, routine, quest for meaning in life, family, society, friendship...Agnon has a special way of telling stories in a simple language and succinct style, but packing it with multi-layered meanings and symbolism that will still linger in readers' minds long after finishing the book.

Some of my favourite quotes:

"I left her as one leaves a friend, happy that he will see him again."

"It's a big city and people are busy. If someone avoids his friends, they don't go hunting after him."

" He stood about like a man who knew God would not run away and there was no need to hurry."

" I was going about my work, which has neither beginning not end, work which you start to no advantage and which never sets you free."

"But I only hope that the future is no worse than the past, for nothing is so bad that there's nothing worse."

"Happiness is a wonderful thing: even when it is not intended for you, you bask in it's light."

[Ellen]

I forgot that I'm not intellectual enough to read Agnon.

[Yair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a few Agnon stories when I took a Modern Hebrew Literature class in college and was interested in reading more of his work (I loved and still love reading the literature of nobel prize for literature winners though this hasn't always panned out positively for me). And though i was interested i had a lingering doubt in my mind wondering whether or not agnon actually deserved the award, not that he would have been the first writer undeserving of the nobel -cough- t.s. eliot -cough- to receive it, nor are the nobels a hard and fast barometer of what is worthwhile reading and what isn't, still the doubt was planted due to my somewhat less than fantastically overwhelmed response to the few stories of his i had read.

Having finally completed this compilation I can say that he did deserve the nobel but maybe not for the reasons that have been stated. i'm not saying this to simply be contrary. when i read some of the praise of agnon and he's described as what is essentially the scribe/sage of the modern jewish experience, i roll my eyes because such a title is hyperbole to the point of being satirical, he might as well have been called the philosopher king of jews if we're following this line of praise to its not too illogical evolution. agnon, to my reading of his work and life, wasn't writing so much about the general jewish experience but rather was attempting to do so through depictions of the specific tinged with the ancient and traditional. the results of this approach vary decidedly almost with each individual story.

That is one of the two main problems i have with agnon: inconsistency. The other is his ego combined with his pretension to the role he set out to create and live for himself as 'the writer'. Agnon, maybe even more so than james joyce (which up until now i really didn't think was possible) was all too entangled in the mystique and grandeur of the writer as both lone wolf and erudite judge of his people and their history as well as their future. this is not to say that neither joyce nor agnon weren't these things, but maybe not to the extent that either one of them imagined. And, again like joyce, this wouldn't matter so much if this role playing and sometimes even holier than thou attitude didn't bleed into the work, but it does, with mixed to mostly good results.

Now, for brass tacks. Despite everything I just typed, i do firmly believe that agnon was, is, and forever shall be a great writer. The best of his stories presented in this collection such as agunot, the sign, on the road, the doctor's divorce, and others, are masterful works. Agnon weaves and interweaves the religious and the secular, the ancient and the modern, as well as the past, the present and the future, into fabulous tales depicting a single people sometimes chained to and sometimes joyful because of, a separateness from the rest of the world and a servitude to a god and a way of life that is at times wonderful and glorious but just as often degrading, antiquated, and simply kindling for the fires of the blast furnaces of not only persecution from the gentile/non-jewish world but as foreboding harbingers for division, judgment, isolation, and spiritual and even at times literal, death from within the jewish community as well.

Agnon never goes for the easy answers in what can only be described as a 'difficult' and 'complicated' history. The holocaust was and is a horrific event and agnon judges the viciousness of the nazis and their compatriots as they deserve to be judged, as inhuman monsters and the absolute most disgusting detritus that this world has produced. But, and this is a huge but, agnon doesn't spare the victims either. He realizes that while the fires were being lit and the jackboots were being fitted, many, too many jews and other future victims sat idly by in ignorance, or worse, denial, relying either on their god or their rituals or really on nothing much at all excepting possibly their own ignorance to save them.

Neither is the state of israel given a clean slate. Agnon gives tacit agreement to the sins of the state, namely that whilst many jews were being marched to their hells on earth constructed by cultured hands and condoning nods, the state was lost in many of the same asinine ritual and cultural wastes of time and energy as their apparent brothers and sisters had before the 'troubles' began. Agnon does of course view israel as a modern miracle but not without more than its fair share of human, and dare i say, divine error. Israel is not the period to the jewish story, the holocaust and jewish conflict with the world and with each other does not and has not gone away since the establishment of the state, it cannot, such a thing is almost beyond impossibility, agnon is aware and doesn't hide this truth.

Overall this is a wonderful but often long winded and exhausting collection of tales. But all hold a magnificent level of depth regarding not only a very specific jewish experience but, when done well, can be easily extrapolated to encompass many factors of the totality of the human experience no matter the culture or the history, but all another set of incidents within the grand and not so grand paradigm of human kind's continuity.

PS 'Pisces' is one of the most boring short stories ever put to the page, this is agnon at his worst and is most of the reason why this collection didn't get five stars from me, read that one with peril and a hell of a lot of patience with very little expectation.

[Rebecca N. Herz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful portrayal of old world life of Jews in Galicia. Brought me closer to my family, my heritage, and my tradition. Recommended for anyone seeking connection to ancestry, or anyone interested in history. The writing style is remarkable and this Nobel Prize winning author in Hebrew is not to be missed.

[Miriam Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book of stories, the central premise of which I do not quite understand because of my limited background in Yiddish literature.

[Josh Maher]

Israel

[Monty · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories, by a Nobel Prize winner, "span the lifetime of a quintessential wandering Jew--born in Buczacz, Poland, living in Germany, and finally settling in Jerusalem--and they bring to life the full gamut of the modern Jewish experience in fiction."

At first I expected to read just a few of the stories, but as I finished one, I wanted to read another. So I wound up reading them all and enjoying the way Agnon weaves stories, often with a subtle tongue-in-cheek, dry sense of humor. If you want to get a taste of various aspects of Jewish life in the 20th Century, then this book is a good place to start.

[Jim Talbott]

Agnon is absolutely brilliant. This collection of short stories illustrates the depth, humor, and genius of his work... I highly recommend the entire book but especially the handful of novella length stories. If you only know Agnon from Agunot, the Handkerchief, and The Lady and the Peddler, I think you've missed out on much of his best work... The above stories are all important for historical and thematic reasons, but you'll likely have a lot more fun with other stories in the collection.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agnon deserves to be better known. He has an very individual style, which comes over in English translation as being very formal. But once you get used to that, you will find many amazing scenes and characters in his stories and novels. This book is good place to begin: wonderful, sun-drenched stories. Afterwards, when you feel you are ready for a long novel, I recommend 'Shira.'

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible stories with beautiful themes related to Jewish tradition and Zionism

[Robert Wechsler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as exciting as the novels of his that I've read. Many were good, but that very special voice and viewpoint was missing in most. The stories weren't memorable.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories are touching and the language is exquisite (I had the privilege to read it in Hebrew).

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

These short stories have tremendous depth. Don't be fooled by the length of a story. I spent time researching and learning Agnon's backstory to appreciate and understand the short stories. It was worth the effort.