The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories

The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories

by IlanStavans (Editor)

Synopsis

In this remarkably wide-ranging anthology, Ilan Stavans has collected the work of more than fifty notable Jewish writers from around the globe, weaving these diverse viewpoints and voices into a rich portrait of Jewish literary tradition. The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories takes us from the mid-1800s right up to the present, encompassing the full spectrum of Jewish writing around the world. The variety of tales captured here is stunning. Readers will find stories such as A Yom Kippur Scandal by Sholem Aleichem, the father of Yiddish literature; Before the Law by Franz Kafka; Looking for Mr. Green by Saul Bellow; The Spinoza of Market Street by Isaac Bashevis Singer; and Midrash on Happiness by Grace Paley. Stavans has included many pieces by Americans, including such markedly different writers as Cynthia Ozick, Bernard Malamud, Moacyr Seliar, Stanley Elkin, Delmore Schwartz, Dan Jacobson, Francine Prose, Allegra Goodman, and Philip Roth. And here too are pieces from around the globe, by writers no less varied: Isaac Babel, Italo Svevo, Primo Levi, Elias Canetti, Amos Oz, and Danilo Kis. What emerges in the end is proof of an observation by Ba'al Makshoves-that the Jews may have many languages and a dozen echoes in foreign tongues, but only one literature. And it is one of the finest in the world. The many marvelous tales that fill The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories affirm that a shared identity can exist without sterile uniformity-and that writers can engage their religious and cultural heritage without losing touch with those rich, complex ambiguities that inhabit the heart.

$61.63

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 512
Publisher: OUP USA
Published: 25 Feb 1999

ISBN 10: 0195110196
ISBN 13: 9780195110197

Media Reviews
impressive anthology and erudite introduction and this anthology is marked by a striking diversity of style, theme and influence jewish Chronicle, 4 June 1999
Author Bio
Ilan Stavans is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Amherst College. He is an award winning critic and novelist, whose books in English include The Hispanic Condition and The Oxford Book of Latin American Essays. He has been a National Book Critics' Circle Award nominee and the recipient of the Latino Literature Prize. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.