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 Charter of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book A Mere Machine by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Salvaged Pages, Multimedia Edition by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Remedy and Reaction by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book The Book of Whispers by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book This Seat of Mars: War and the British Isles, 1485-1746 by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Indian Ocean Slavery in the Age of Abolition by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Tales From the Long Twelfth Century by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Forbidden Music by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Max Eastman by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Reforming Liberalism by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book A Guide to Philosophy in Six Hours and Fifteen Minutes by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book Welcome to Subirdia by Yehoshue Perle
Cover of the book The Renaissance Epic and the Oral Past 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