Everyday Jews

Scenes from a Vanished Life

Fiction & Literature, Cultural Heritage, Coming of Age
Cover of the book Everyday Jews by Yehoshue Perle, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Yehoshue Perle ISBN: 9781480440821
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: October 15, 2013
Imprint: The New Yiddish Library Language: English
Author: Yehoshue Perle
ISBN: 9781480440821
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: October 15, 2013
Imprint: The New Yiddish Library
Language: English

“Hailed as a modern Yiddish masterpiece . . . Explor[es] the harsh reality of life for a poor family in a provincial Polish town around the year 1900” (The Huffington Post).

When Everyday Jews was first published in Poland in 1935, the Jewish Left was scandalized by the sex scenes, and I. B. Singer complained that the novel was too bleak to be psychologically credible. Yet within two years, Perle’s novel was heralded as a modern Yiddish masterpiece. Offering a unique blend of raw sexuality and romantic love, thwarted desire and spiritual longing, Everyday Jews is now considered Perle’s consummate achievement.

The voice of Mendl, the novel’s twelve-year-old narrator, is precisely captured by this artfully simple translation. Mendl’s impoverished and dysfunctional family struggles to survive in a nameless Polish provincial town. In this unsettled world, most ordinary people yearn to be somewhere else—or someone else. As Mendl journeys to adulthood, Perle captures the complex interplay of Christians and Jews, weekdays and Sabbaths, town and country, dream and reality, against a relentless and never-ending battle of the sexes.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

“Hailed as a modern Yiddish masterpiece . . . Explor[es] the harsh reality of life for a poor family in a provincial Polish town around the year 1900” (The Huffington Post).

When Everyday Jews was first published in Poland in 1935, the Jewish Left was scandalized by the sex scenes, and I. B. Singer complained that the novel was too bleak to be psychologically credible. Yet within two years, Perle’s novel was heralded as a modern Yiddish masterpiece. Offering a unique blend of raw sexuality and romantic love, thwarted desire and spiritual longing, Everyday Jews is now considered Perle’s consummate achievement.

The voice of Mendl, the novel’s twelve-year-old narrator, is precisely captured by this artfully simple translation. Mendl’s impoverished and dysfunctional family struggles to survive in a nameless Polish provincial town. In this unsettled world, most ordinary people yearn to be somewhere else—or someone else. As Mendl journeys to adulthood, Perle captures the complex interplay of Christians and Jews, weekdays and Sabbaths, town and country, dream and reality, against a relentless and never-ending battle of the sexes.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book The Social Life of Books by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Enemies Within by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Spirit of the Buddha by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Isaac and Isaiah by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book The Art of Peacemaking by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book The Tyranny of the Moderns by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book All These Worlds Are Yours by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book The Retreat of the Elephants by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Kabbalah by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book King Arthur by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book The Colonel Who Would Not Repent by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Imprudent King by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book The Courage to Be: Second Edition by Yehoshue Perle
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy