Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories (Library of Yiddish Classics) [Paperback]

Sholem Aleichem (Author), Hillel Halkin (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Library of Yiddish Classics | Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Of all the characters in modern Jewish fiction, the most beloved is Tevye, the compassionate, irrepressible, Bible-quoting dairyman from Anatevka, who has been immortalized in the writings of Sholem Aleichem and in acclaimed and award-winning theatrical and film adaptations.

And no Yiddish writer was more beloved than Tevye’s creator, Sholem Rabinovich (1859–1916), the “Jewish Mark Twain,” who wrote under the pen name of Sholem Aleichem. Beautifully translated by Hillel Halkin, here is Sholem Aleichem’s heartwarming and poignant account of Tevye and his daughters, together with the “Railroad Stories,” twenty-one tales that examine human nature and modernity as they are perceived by men and women riding the trains from shtetl to shtetl.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With his supple, intelligent translation, Halkin makes accessible the poignant short stories by the legendary Yiddish humorist Sholem Rabinovich (18591916), who wrote under the nom de plume "Sholem Aleichem," a Yiddish salutation. As Halkin elucidates in his introduction, Tevye's self-mocking but deeply affecting monologues (which inspired the play and film Fiddler on the Roof satisfy on several levels: as a psychological analysis of a father's love for his daughters, despite the disappointments they bring him; as a paradigm of the tribulations and resilience of Russian Jewry and the disintegration of shtetl life at the twilight of the Czarist Empire; and as a Job-like theological debate with God. The 20 Railroad Storiesthe monologues of a traveling salesman and his fellow Jewish travelersdepict Jewish thieves and arsonists, feuding spouses, draft evaders, grieving parents and assimilationists. Like the eight Tevye tales, these unprettified stories of simple people and their harsh realities summon a bygone era, but their appeal and application are timeless. Bringing both groups of tales together for the first time in English, this first volume in Schocken's Library of Yiddish Classics series is an auspicious event.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“This fresh translation is likely to serve as the indispensable Sholem Aleichem for some time to come.” —Cynthia Ozick

“The editor and translator have done brilliantly.” —Saul Bellow

“A body of work that is very much alive and that continues to dazzle us with its brilliance, wit, and humanity.” —Leonard Nimoy

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Schocken (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805210695
• ISBN-13: 978-0805210699
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Yiddish

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master of Internal Monologue, March 27, 1999

By 

Gabriel Lewin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories (Library of Yiddish Classics) (Paperback)

Sholem Aleichem wrote his stories as a modern Mitnagdic Jew about the "old country" twenty to thirty years after the supposed time setting. Aleichem who had never lived the kind of life that Tevye did, far from it at that, used life stories of people as his inspiration. Although I have a personal predeliction for the musical "Fiddler on the Roof", the stories of Tevye the Dairy Man are among the greatest of all Yiddish literature and the musical just does not do it justice. Issues ranging from the changing times in the larger realm of Russia in the late 19th century to Tevye's own personal faith in God are raised in this masterful collection. One must realize that these stories were written years apart and Aleichem's socio/political views are reflected changingly as they were written. The writer was a master of internal monologue where he has Tevye talking the entire time, yet often you forget and feel as if it is another character. The constant usage of Yiddish, Biblical and liturgical phrases might confuse the first time reader, but this edition contains a very helpful notes section in the back of the book. As part of one's own personal education or for provacative literature for enjoyment, this is one that deserves the attention it receives. I highly recomend it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An especially good translation, March 15, 2006

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories (Library of Yiddish Classics) (Paperback)

Hillel Halkin is a master translator. His translation of the Sholem Aleichem stories takes out what might be called a 'corny archaic ' element in some other translations.
Sholem Aleichem's humor and pathos, the non- ending dialogue of his Tevye with God, the Yiddish world of Eastern Europe now lost, the questioning ironic often tender tone, are all here.
Read and enjoy.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book for Jew and Gentile Alike, April 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories (Library of Yiddish Classics) (Hardcover)

This excellent collection of Sholem Aleichem's stories proves that despite the differences between the modern world and Tevye's, human nature doesn't change. All of Tevye's best qualities--his love of knowledge and for his rebellious daughters--are portrayed with his worst--his stubborness. This is a book that can be read again and again even if one has no knowledge of the meaning of Tevye's Yiddish proverbs.