| No Star Too Beautiful: Yiddish Stories from 1382 to the Present Contributor(s): Neugroschel, Joachim (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0393326179 ISBN-13: 9780393326178 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company OUR PRICE: $37.95 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2004 Annotation: This unique and rich anthology of Yiddish stories ranges from the beginning of Yiddish literature through I.B. Singer. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Anthologies (multiple Authors) |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 2002069222 |
| Physical Information: 1.8" H x 6" W x 9" (2.35 lbs) 710 pages |
| Themes: - Ethnic Orientation - Jewish - Religious Orientation - Jewish |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: First developed and written in medieval Germany, Yiddish eventually became the everyday speech of Jews all over Europe and later globally. Yiddish was a hybrid language crafted from German, mixed with Hebrew, Judeo-Aramaic, and blended with Italian and French as well as the Slavic languages. It gave rise to a literature that reflected not only Jewish life but also the culture of the lands in which the Jews lived. A descriptive and flavorful language, it was used for genres as diverse as religious tales, fables, humor, social realism, surrealism, and the literary experiments of modern times. No Star Too Beautiful is a bountiful anthology that brings together the masterpieces of this now-vanishing tongue. Joachim Neugroschel has chosen stories emblematic of the people and their times, and this volume chronicles both the literary tradition and the history of the people who created it. Indeed, the collection contains the first English translation of medieval Yiddish fiction. Many of the early tales like Virtuous Joseph and Abraham's Childhood had Biblical roots. But there were also the fables of Moshe Vallikh and such wonder-filled folk tales as The Princess and the Seven Geese. In the later periods, the stories reflect the varying currents of thought within the Jewish community as well as echoing the changes in Europe. Comic or tragic, Yiddish literature underwent a flowering of writers: Mendele Moykher-Sforim, Yitsik Leybesh Peretz, S. Ansky, Sholem Asch, Y.Y. and Isaac Bashevis Singer, and many others. Compiling and newly translating almost all the stories, Neugroschel has created a seamless effect rarely approached in a work filled with so many voices. This astounding anthology is a lasting gift for generations. |
Contributor Bio(s): Neugroschel, Joachim: - Joachim Neugroschel has translated some two hundred books including those by Nobel laureates Thomas Mann, Albert Schweitzer, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Hermann Hesse, and 2004 laureate Elfriede Jelinek. He lives in New York City. |