Product Description
Contains some well-known, and some lesser known stories by the Nobel Prize-winning Yiddish author. Stories include "Gimpel the Fool," "The Gentleman from Cracow," "The Wife Killer," "The Spinoza of Market Street," "The Black Wedding, " "A Tale of Two Liars," "Taibele and Her Demon," "Blood," "Esther Kreindel the Second," "The Fast," "Zeidlus the Pope," "I Place My Reliance on No Man," and several more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

My favorite author; my favorite book . . .
Isaac Singer is a genius. You wonder what does aYiddish collection of short stories lose in the translation? These are wonderful stories with vivid characterizations, lush imagery, and plots rich with emotion and imagination. My favorite is Passions: a meditation on how man becomes obsessed with something--to the extent of transforming one's life--anything can become a passion. I've read this collection probably four times over the years, and the mark of a great story is how rich and complex it remains upon a second or third reading. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Lost in America
An highly autobiografical book by Isaac B. Singer, it covers his way from the Stedl in Poland to the Steets of New York. This is not only a geographical journey, it is also a journey in time, from the dark ages to the 2oth century. Overall it is the story of the man who makes this tour de force. The world he sees is crumbling, the century old rules do not apply any more, nor do they offer protection. He becomes the traveller between the worlds, not at home any more in the tradition, not arrived yet in the new world. Never have I seen the ultimate fear of the intellectual expressed more clearly. The security of faith that once was available for oneself, and is still available for others, is out of reach. The thinking, and thus uprooted individual fears, and it is in expressing these fears, clearly and without hesitation, that the great achievement of this book lie within.
This is not a pleasant book, it is at times disturbing and depressive. But it is a true book, true to the doubts and despair of the searching soul. It offers the reader no easy way out. In our time of " happyness culture " where everybody is expected to ' have fun " every day, or at least to pretend, there should be more books like this. A most valuable read.

Lost in America
An highly autobiografical book by Isaac B. Singer, it covers his way from the Stedl in Poland to the Steets of New York. This is not only a geographical journey, it is also a journey in time, from the dark ages to the 2oth century. Overall it is the story of the man who makes this tour de force. The world he sees is crumbling, the century old rules do not apply any more, nor do they offer protection. He becomes the traveller between the worlds, not at home any more in the tradition, not arrived yet in the new world. Never have I seen the ultimate fear of the intellectual expressed more clearly. The security of faith that once was available for oneself, and is still available for others, is out of reach. The thinking, and thus uprooted individual fears, and it is in expressing these fears, clearly and without hesitation, that the great achievement of this book lie within.
This is not a pleasant book, it is at times disturbing and depressive. But it is a true book, true to the doubts and despair of the searching soul. It offers the reader no easy way out. However, in our time of " happyness culture " where everybody is expected to " have fun " every day, or at least to pretend, there should be more books like this. A most valuable read.

Awful.
Do you hate the world? Do you see the glass as 1/10 empty? Do you want to commit suicide? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then read this book. It is dark, depressing, utterly awful. I have never heard so much whining in a single book in my entire life. I give it 2 thumbs down. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Tales of the world I never knew and never will
Thanks to my grandparents, who came to America in the first decade of the 20th century, I grew up and have had a good life.Thanks to my grandparents, I didn't become a piece of ash or a few tossed out bones inan Eastern European field at the age of 2.Wars are wars; they've occuredthroughout human history, but in most of them, whole civilizations didn'tdisappear.But the Eastern European Jewish world is gone forever.I mightbelong to the same gene pool, but compared to the characters in IsaacBashevis Singer's stories, I'm as American as apple pie.Irish-Americanscan discover their roots in Ireland, Chinese-Americans in China, and so on,but not me.My cultural roots are gone forever.The only way I can learnthem is through reading literature written by Singer, Shalom Aleichem,Isaac Babel and others who describe that vanished world.So, obviously, myinterest and pleasure in reading such wonderful tales as appear in THESEANCE and OTHER STORIES is all the more.Never mind my personal reasons. These amazing stories, by a Nobel Prize winner, will stay with you for along time.The strange, sad characters afflicted by poverty and by life,bring us face to face with common human personalities of all times andplaces, while also depicting the conditions and peculiar relationships ofJews in Poland too.Magic, religion, animals, thieves, rabbis,prostitutes, mystics, Holocaust survivors, Talmudic scholars, prisoners,books, butchers and shopkeepers crowd the pages.In each story, you findpathos and tragedy, happiness and satisfaction, tensions andtransformations.Two of the stories, "The Seance" and "The Letter Writer"must rank with the best stories I have ever read; none of the others arebad.If you have never read Singer, this is an excellent book to startwith.If you have, you know what I am talking about.This is the greatwriter at the top of his form.

Excellent - as good as it gets!
Isaac Bashevis Singer was no doubt one of the greatest short story writers - ever! The various collections in the end also earned him a very well deserved Nobel Prize for literature in 1978. Several of his stories werefirst published in magazines like The New Yorker, Encounter and Playboy.The first collection I read was Passions and Other Stories, whichimmediately made me realise what a master Isaac Bashevis Singer was. LaterI have read several of his novels and short stories, where especially thecollections Gimpel the Fool, Short Friday and The Seance are at least asgood as Passions. All a magnificent world of Isaac Bashevis Singer's saintsand sinners. Sad, funny, ironic, poignant and seeming to come from Singer'spen without any efforts. This is what good short stories is all about! ... Read more

Product Description
A Hebrew legend is "told with simplicity and spirit and illustrated with richly colored pictures reminiscent of medieval art."--Booklist. Full-color illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A story that opens up a lot of questions
I read this book on the suggestion of a new acquaintance that said her favorite author was Isaac Bashevis Singer. Her only regret was that she could not read his books in Yiddish. She said to start reading him with his book "The Slave". In our library this was the only one I found that had "slave" in the title. I am sure she meant a different book but I was glad to start my acquaintance with Singer with this story. I too wish I could read it in Yiddish. What a great idea if they had it printed in both! The art work is curious but the story is curiouser. What does the story mean? What could be the point of this? There is a moral but I am not sure how to interpret it. That tells me the metanarratives must be very different than what I am familiar with. That encourages me to seek more.

Elijah the merciful
In this retelling of an ancient Jewish legend, Singer demonstrates all his skill.

In ancient times, in a distant land, there was a large city where many rich men lived. It had magnificent palaces, broad avenues, parks and gardens. In their midst wound a tiny street of broken down houses with narrow windows and doorways and roofs that leaked. In the simplest of these lived a holy man named Tobias with his wife Peninah and their three sons and two daughters. Tobias, a scribe, copied Torah scrolls to make his meager living. Tobias suddenly took ill and lost the use of his right hand. He could earn nothing. The family were hungry. His children had no shoes and could not attend school. But Tobias refused the help of others.

"Even while waiting for miracles, it is good to do something," his wife told him, and after borrowing a coat, sent him out to seek some luck. Tobias came upon a stranger, and mysteriously regained use of his hand to grasp the man's hand in greeting. The man introduced himself as Elijah and ordered Tobias to take him to the market and sell him as a slave. Tobias refused, calling himself Elijah's slave, but as Elijah was a messenger from God, Tobias had no choice but to heed him.

What do you suppose happened next? I cannot tell you. But the story honors Elijah's good name. Alyssa A. Lappen ... Read more

Product Description
A survivor of the Holocaust, Herman Broder has fled to post-war New York and into tense guilt-ridden affairs with three women - Yadwiga, who had hidden him from the Nazis, his mistress Masha and his wife Tamara, whom he believed had been shot in Poland. Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

No one Writes a short story better...
...Singer explores not only human loneliness but also the human comedy in his short works..the theme of course centers around love, a love that transports you far away, washing you with a tide of emotions...though these tales drawn from the old traditionary school of thought, celebrate the dignity, mastery and unexpected joy of living with moreart and fervor than any other writer...

This classic collection explores the varieties of wisdom gained with age and especially those that teach us how to love....the love that ages and matures...just like old wine tasting even better day by day, year after year and tear after tear...these are tales of curious marriages, of divorces, of love curses, bravery and loneliness... ... Read more