Here's something little different. At night when I'm trying to get my birds to sleep and a little writing in as well, I play music that is a little more reflective and in the background, so as not to intrude upon my thoughts. This is called The Spin by Greg Haines.
Collected Stories III: One Night in Brazil to The Death of Methuselah by Isaac Bashevis Singer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the last of three volumes of stories Isaac Bashevis Singer collected and were translated from the Yiddish into English.
Singer was a Polish Jew who moved to the United States. These stories are a combination of local stories from the villages he lived in while growing up in Poland and later his years in New York and occasionally other countries as well (like Brazil).
Most of his stories are from the perspective of eyewitness accounts. He narrates the story someone else tells him. The other person is a part of the story in that they start with a little background as to how the narrator met the other person, before recording their particular story, and finishes with an epilogue as to how the story teller's relationship ends with the narrator.
The stories are told with such convincing, powerful voices that I wondered if they were truly stories told to him by other people.
Many of these stories run along similar themes: adultery, persecution, life in a Jewish village, marriages and the intricate relationships, mostly complicated and tragic, inside the families there.
Most of the characters are desperate regardless of wealth or poverty. They all seem to be seeking some kind of meaning in their life through material gain and sensual relationships. Singer concentrates on the will of man, how it is not really free, but enslaved to its own selfish desire, while it devours the person as he or she runs around in circles, chasing his or her own tail, trying to satiate the lust they are tormented by.
Of course, the story is the same for all humans, since humans have the same nature regardless of culture or country. But this tale is told in the context of the Jewish culture, the Jewish plight, and the history of Eastern European Jews as they lived in the old country and also after they leave the old country and try to survive and find joy in the new one.
His stories are poignant and acute. The human tragedy from the Jewish viewpoint, at least as told by one man.
View all my reviews
Collected Stories III: One Night in Brazil to The Death of Methuselah by Isaac Bashevis SingerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the last of three volumes of stories Isaac Bashevis Singer collected and were translated from the Yiddish into English.
Singer was a Polish Jew who moved to the United States. These stories are a combination of local stories from the villages he lived in while growing up in Poland and later his years in New York and occasionally other countries as well (like Brazil).
Most of his stories are from the perspective of eyewitness accounts. He narrates the story someone else tells him. The other person is a part of the story in that they start with a little background as to how the narrator met the other person, before recording their particular story, and finishes with an epilogue as to how the story teller's relationship ends with the narrator.
The stories are told with such convincing, powerful voices that I wondered if they were truly stories told to him by other people.
Many of these stories run along similar themes: adultery, persecution, life in a Jewish village, marriages and the intricate relationships, mostly complicated and tragic, inside the families there.
Most of the characters are desperate regardless of wealth or poverty. They all seem to be seeking some kind of meaning in their life through material gain and sensual relationships. Singer concentrates on the will of man, how it is not really free, but enslaved to its own selfish desire, while it devours the person as he or she runs around in circles, chasing his or her own tail, trying to satiate the lust they are tormented by.
Of course, the story is the same for all humans, since humans have the same nature regardless of culture or country. But this tale is told in the context of the Jewish culture, the Jewish plight, and the history of Eastern European Jews as they lived in the old country and also after they leave the old country and try to survive and find joy in the new one.
His stories are poignant and acute. The human tragedy from the Jewish viewpoint, at least as told by one man.
View all my reviews
8 comments:
heavy stuff. i've recently become aware of the leaden seriousness of most literature, especially the character study or philosophically oriented works. unconsciously, for the last several years, i've been selecting books with a less serious outlook, ranging from humorous to sarcastic. and i find it fascinating that my reading habits have changed that way without my realizing it...
Anyway, interesting post... i've never read Singer, altho i've read about him. i greatly admire his strength and purposeful literary drive, but probably won't visit him in this lifetime...
I do not think that I had heard of Singer before. You make the stories sound so good. I agree with you about human nature. There are many similarities that cut across nature and time. Culture seems to favor this nature.
Hi Sharon,
I really like 'The Spin,' by Haines. I've never heard it before so thank you for the indirect recommendation! Singer is indeed a talented writer. I too find the Jewish characterizations of life quite fascinating. And you're right of course about the human condition. The Good Book cuts right to the chase when it says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" - Have a great week!
HI Mudpuddle. We have to be true to ourselves. I fully appreciate your taste in books and who knows what I'll be reading ten years from now.
There's things I read in the past I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole now.
Hi Brian. If you're interested in people and human nature, which I think you are, you would find Singer's stories interesting. If you read him, I hope you will review his work on your blog.
Hi Anchors. I am actually not very adventurous when it comes to music. I think I was listening to Youtube and this song came on after one I was listening to. I like it too. Glad to share it.
You are so right about human nature. When we look at it in that light, it makes sense. Currently I am reading "The Nazi Hunters" and the writers of that time period are trying to comprehend how everyday people could commit such atrocities.
As you said...we are desperately wicked.
I'm going to "rock the boat" a bit by changing the focus and expressing my amazement over the years on two points regarding the Jewish people: (1) such a small minority in the world has been able to survive in spite of the odds throughout history; (2) such a small minority in the world has been so dominant in the arts. (BTW, my recent Ancestry.com analysis revealed my 1% European Jewish ancestry. Hmmmm.) https://sleuthsinthestacks.blogspot.com/
Hi R.T. I can't remember whether it was a book by Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, but a character in one of their books is asked how he can know that God exists.
The man answered, "Simple. The Jewish race."
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