Isaac Bashevis Singer

The vanished way of life of Eastern European Jews in the early part of the twentieth century is the subject of this extraordinary novel. All the strata of this complex society were populated by powerfully individual personalities, and the whole community pulsated with life and vitality. The affairs of the patriarchal Meshulam Moskat and the unworldly Asa Heshel Bannet provide the center of the book, but its real focus is the civilization that was...

Presents a collection of short stories, including "Brother Beetle" and "The Jew from Babylon" along with ten previously unpublished stories.

Isaac Bashevis Singer's 'Gimpl tam' was published in Yiddish in 1945, about a month before Nazi Surrender. A story of bullying and the potential for revenge, is the deathbed confession of an orphaned baker who is targeted by his community for ridicule and practical jokes. Gimpl has come to be seen as a symbol of the Jewish people in the diaspora, and minorities in general. Should they be passive in the face of aggression? Or should they defend themselves?...

"The Spinoza of Market Street" is yet another masterful short story from literary great Isaac Bashevis Singer. The story is set in Warsaw in the days leading up to World War I. There Dr. Nahum Fischelson lives alone in an attic room overlooking Market Street. From on high he observes the crowd below, showing equal disdain for merchants and thieves alike. Rather than mingle with the people, he devotes his time and energy to explicating the philosophical...