Wandering Stars [Hardcover]

Sholem Aleichem (Author), Aliza Shevrin (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2009

The first complete translation of an epic love story by the creator of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof
Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Yiddish humorist Sholem Aleichem as well as the 100th anniversary of the publication of Wandering Stars, his sprawling love story spanning ten years and two continents, and set in the colorful world of the Yiddish theater.

In a Russian shtetl at the end of the nineteenth century, Reisel, daughter of a poor cantor, and Leibel, son of a rich man, fall under the spell of a traveling Yiddish acting company. Together they run off to join the theater but quickly become separated. Reisel goes on to become Rosa Spivak, concert star, and Leibel becomes Leo Rafalesko, theatrical sensation. Kept apart by their own successes and by the managers who exploit their talent, they tour the world until their wanderings bring them both to New York. An engrossing romance, a great New York story, and an anthem for the theater, Wandering Stars is a long-lost literary classic, rediscovered here in a vibrant new translation.

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

Best known for his stories of Tevye the Milkman, a character later brought to Broadway in “Fiddler on the Roof,” Sholem Aleichem was a Russian humorist sometimes referred to as “the Jewish Mark Twain.” In this romantic epic, previously available only in an abridgment, two lovers are enraptured when the Shchupak-Murovchik Yiddish theatre troupe arrives in their impoverished town, and they resolve to escape shtetl life and run off with the actors. Their gruelling journey takes them across continents and ends on New York’s Lower East Side, capturing, with whimsy and pathos, the experience of the Jewish diaspora at the beginning of the twentieth century. As one of the lovers tells the other the night they first meet, “Stars do not fall, stars wander.”
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From Booklist

Wandering Stars was translated into English, for the first time ever, to celebrate its beloved Jewish author’s one-hundred-fiftieth birthday in February 2009. Leibel, the rich man’s son, and Reizel, the poor cantor’s daughter, in love and forbidden to be together, run away from the cramped, bleak shtetl for a new, brighter world. Both are intoxicated by Yiddish theater, and they achieve huge success—she as a singer, he as an actor—and become world famous. But their success separates them, as they cross Europe, perform in London, and make it to New York, always searching for each other and dreaming of reunion. Readers may skip some of the long middle sections, told in various narrative forms, including letters that are like diary entries and monologues by both performers. But there are unforgettable scenes, including Reizel’s return, as a famous star, to the tiny shtetl, ashamed of her parents and of herself for leaving. And there is surprise right up to the end. --Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (February 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670020524
• ISBN-13: 978-0670020522
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,082,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sholem Aleichem's wit and humor isn't really allowed to shine through., June 3, 2009

By 

James V. Palmer "JimPalmer" (St. Louis) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wandering Stars (Hardcover)

I was chomping at the bit to read this new translation of this, my favorite of the great Sholom Aleichem's books, but came away slightly disappointed. The gorgeous cover design and the new introduction by Tony Kushner make this volume worth having from a collector's point of view, but Ms. Shevrin's translation isn't, to my mind, notably different or better than the 1952 translation by Frances Butwin.

Translation is an iffy game, and there are very few who can capture not only the meaning, but the tone of the author. It's really an art form, and if you don't believe me, read Dostoevsky first translated by Constance Garnett (blech--stupefyingly boring) and then by Richard Pevear and Larisa Volokhonsky (hooray!). The difference is truly night and day.

Ms. Shevrin certainly does an efficient and workmanlike job, and she's to be commended for this--anyone who's helping to keep Yiddish literature alive does. But even this translation doesn't convey the earthiness, the tone, the wit, or the cadence of Sholem Aleichem's original Yiddish. The dialogue comes off as stilted, the author's ruminations on various topics come off as pompous rather than ironic, the insults sound more Shakespearean (and thus unfunny) than Yiddish, and the overall warm-hearted zaniness/sadness of the story is lost.

Still and all, it's a great read from a great author.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, purchased for my dad, March 10, 2009

By 

K. Alrashidi (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wandering Stars (Hardcover)

I purchased this book for my dad. He absolutely loves it. He is really into this author. I've almost purchased him everything he's every written.

1 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too pricey, August 2, 2009

By 

Hanoch McCarty "The Energizer!" (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wandering Stars (Kindle Edition)

Amazon charges a fortune for the kindle. The ought to cap the book prices at $9.99. I'll just buy a used one online