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The Stories of David Bergelson: Yiddish Short Fiction from Russia (Jewish Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art)

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This edition of "The Stories of David Bergelson" includes 2 short stories and a novella. Bergelson is a rather unknown Russian Yiddish writer who was killed at the age of 38 victim of Stalin's mass executions. He is considered sucessor to Yiddish writers such as Peretz, Mendele, and Sholem Aleichem. He differentiates from them in many aspects: he depicted life at the shtetl when the community was declining, when its member were loosing their religious ties and had to adapt to a new way of life. Bergelson writes for an educated audience and not for the poor masses. In terms of style his use of words is precise, to the point. His many characters have a complex psychological structure, they represent people who feel lonely, alienated, confussed, and with a loss of values.