The Fools of Chelm and Their History [Hardcover]

Isaac Bashevis Singer (Author, Translator), Uri Shulevitz (Illustrator), Elizabeth Shub (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1973

"The town of Chelm is just like every place else, only worse, as numerous shortages, foolish citizens, and inept leaders combine to make life thoroughly miserable. In this whimsical satire, Singer mocks the 'advantages'-such as war, crime, and revolution-that civilization brings to Chelm."-Booklist

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A satirical look at the residents of Chelm, the legendary Yiddish town of fools. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The town of Chelm is just like every place else, only worse, as numerous shortages, foolish citizens, and inept leaders combine to make life thoroughly miserable. In this whimsical satire, Singer mocks the 'advantages'-such as war, crime, and revolution-that civilization brings to Chelm." --Booklist

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (January 1, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374324441
• ISBN-13: 978-0374324445
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,739,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Luck soup, November 22, 2001

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Fools of Chelm and Their History (Hardcover)

You could say I like Chelm stories, and that I buy every one I can.

You could also say that Isaac Bashevis Singer, who wrote this tale in 1973, was no ordinary purveyor of Chelm shtiklech. You can tell from his beginning, a master's parody of Genesis.

"The pious believed that God said, 'Let there be Chelm.' And there was Chelm. But many scholars insisted that the town happened as the result of an eruption.

" 'Before Chelm,' they said, 'the area was one huge chaos, all fog and mist. Then came a great explosion and Chelm appeared.

"At the beginning the surface of Chelm was so hot that even if Chelmites had already existed, they could not have walked on the earth because they would have burned their feet." The first Chemites, this version goes, were not people but microbes, amoebas and other such creatures. When people finally arrived in town, they had names like Gronam the First, aka Gronam Ox, and Dopey Lekisch, Zeinvel Ninny, Treitel Fool and Shmendrick Numskull. And they practically invented problems.

One of the biggest was that the people of nearby Gorshkov called the Chelmites fools. Gronam Ox told his compatriots, "We Chelmites know that, of the ten measures of wisdom sent down to earth from heaven, nine went to Chelm. But the conceited people of Gorshkov think they are the clever ones and we are the fools." What does he propose? Why making war, of course.

Needless to say, the Chelmnicks end up in the wrong place, a God-forsaken town called Mazelborsht (translation: luck soup). Defeated by their own foolishness, they returned to Chelm half naked, weaponless and with broken noses and black eyes. This produced the expected seven days and seven nights of contemplation which resulted in four sage proclamations.

Next the Chelmites abolished money, decided to hold elections once every 40 years, asked Zeckel Poet to compose a hymn of 12,000 lines which schoolchildren must learn by heart and appoint Shlemeil secretary. Of course, the merchants refused to part with their goods for nothing, which resulted in a system of barter in which Zeckel Poet was the most eager participant, followed by Shmoyger the matchmaker, Fultsha Jester and the Chelm band. Nothing was exchanged.

To discover what became of Singer's Chelm, you'll have to exchange some abolished currency for this masterwork, which contains much hilarity. And of course, you'll be in luck soup if you find a copy. Alyssa A. Lappen

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fools are we all!, February 24, 2000

By 

Esther Nebenzahl - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fools of Chelm and Their History (Paperback)

It is always a pleasure to read something by I.B.Singer. Although this short tale is recommended for ages 9-12, it is certainly also addressed to any age beyond. The tale is a delightful satire of society's political and ideological systems, in may aspects a short version of George Orwell's "Animal Farm."

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, March 26, 2010

By 

Virginia Engineer (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Fools of Chelm and Their History (Paperback)

Short and enjoyable. Perhaps I'm ungrateful, but I expected more from a Nobel Prize winner and a Yiddish master taking on a classic subject.