The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer

by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Book Overview

The forty-seven stories in this collection, selected by Singer himself out of nearly one hundred and fifty, range from the publication of his now-classic first collection, Gimpel the Fool, in 1957, until 1981. They include supernatural tales, slices of life from Warsaw and the shtetls of Eastern Europe, and stories of the Jews displaced from that world to the New World, from the East Side of New York to California and Miami.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374517886
• ISBN13: 9780374517885
• Release Date: August 1983
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

One of the greatest short stories collections of all time

Singer is one of the supreme masters of the short story. His stories are filled with incredible energy and life. Demonic lust drives many characters, and one of the reasons he is much loved is his seeming modern depiction of characters who come from the old world, the world of Jewish Poland . But the stories I most love are ones in which a power of beneficence overwhelms in some surprising way. The great Gimpel the Fool is one example of this, the story of the cuckold the eternal innocent and believer who knows once he stops believing in his wife he will stop believing in God and the goodness of the world. Another of these great stories is the Little Shoemakers with its tale of successive generations in old world and new continuing the family trade despite the loss and transformation in tradition time brings. Another of this kind of great story is the 'Spinoza of Market Street' with its revelation of an unexpected love. The list is long of very great and moving stories.Singer is a master- teller who can be stark and frightening at times but gives that sense the great writers' do , of life in literature as something deeply deeply meaningful. Who reads this book will taste life deeply and more deeply love it.

Short stories from the master

Welcome to Isaac's world. His short stories take you through his life in New York City, back to Poland, and far back to the villages of his ancestors. It's a world of the occult, imps around every corner, and religeon as a part of daily life.Reading his stories is like getting grandfather's tales about the old country. A little bit spooky, a little bit comforting, and quite a bit nostalgic.Although Jews will probably understand more of the historical references, the stories are well written enough for a broad audience. Perhaps this reader's only regret is not being able to read them in their original Yiddish. The translations are done by an all star cast including Saul Bellow, but perhaps nothing beats the original.

The Greatest Short Story Writer of the Century?

I hesitate to even comment on this book for fear of not doing it justice. It's a collection of the best short stories of the Nobel Prize-winning writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. He definitely is *not* a minimalist in today's fashionable style. You will find fabulous riches here: satire, history, horror, fantasy, faith, despair, wonders. It starts with "Gimpel the Fool" of course; it's all of Singer in a nutshell. Is this poor wanderer of eastern Europe mad, or does he really see the world beyond this one? His kindness and faith mark him as an eternal victim--by this world's standards he is an idiot and easy mark But is he the real human being and his tormentors really just animals? And what sort of God would let it come to that? I love this book with all my heart and fervently advise you to get ahold of it. It might change your life.

Stunning, profoundly human stories

For anyone not familiar with Singer's work, this provides something of an intense, but deeply engaging, introduction. Although the setting is often the closed world of Poland's rural Jewish communities before the Nazi invasion, these stories are replete with the most profound insights about human nature that are universally applicable. Told with dazzling skill, and using a wonderful sense of realistic detail (including beautiful descriptions of the natural world), these stories are rich, full and deeply moving. Within the small communities Singer uses as his settings, he explores faith, despair, love, longing, and above all else, loneliness, in ways that are as moving as they are brilliant. Like Tolstoy, Singer is able to explore these profound themes without the slightest pretension and without writing "philosophical" prose. Indeed, reading them is like listening to a brilliant oral story teller who effortlessly draws you into his tale--but then you realize you are, in fact, reading an extraordinarily sophisticated text. This is some of the finest writing I've read in many years and is one of those books I would take with me to that desert island everyone talks about.

Entertaining look into the Yiddish experience.

This book satisfied my craving to learn the type of world mygrandparents came from, their language and attitutes. I laughed sohard from Singers descriptions of his characters that I thought I would bust. This is a book for all to learn to appreciate a rich culture that existed in Eastern Europe and was transported to America with those remaining lost in the Holocaust. Singer has some imagination and the talent to relay his thoughts clearly that you feel that you are among the characters. The translation from Yiddish to English was well done and conveyed the message completely. A must for those who want to expand their knowledge of the roots of the Jewish people and their lives and experiences in a world lost.