Description

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This extraordinary novel is part of Grigory Kanovich's "Litvak saga," his tribute to Jewish life before the Holocaust. Set in a small Lithuanian town in the late nineteenth century, the story begins with the arrival of a stranger who sets everyone on edge and seems to know their secrets. Is he a messenger from God, a long-lost son, a saint, or a madman? As the stranger in the velvet yarmulke makes his rounds, we meet an unforgettable cast of characters--Rabbi Uri, the aged rabbi; Itsik Magid, the strapping young woodcutter; Golda, the resourceful widow; Markus Fradkin, the wealthy timber merchant, and his beautiful daughter Zelda; Yeshua Mandel, the tavern keeper, his troubled son Simeon, and Morta, their devoted servant girl. A work of realism as well as a parable, Kanovich's novel illuminates the most intimate fears, dreams, and longings of the shtetl's inhabitants.

About the Author

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Grigory Kanovich (1929-2023) was an internationally acclaimed Lithuanian-born Jewish writer. He was the author of ten novels translated into fourteen languages, including Devilspel and Shtetl Love Song. His play, "Smile Upon Us, Lord," toured in the US, Canada, Europe, and Israel. The recipient of numerous awards, he was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize in Art and Culture in 2014. Settling in Israel in 1993, he was a member of PEN International both in Israel and Russia. Mary Ann Szporluk is an editor and a translator of Russian literature whose translations include Escape Hatch: Two Novellas by Vladimir Makanin and The Death of a Poet: The Last Days of Marina Tsvetaeva by Irma Kudrova. Ken Frieden, the B. G. Rudolph Professor of Judaic Studies at Syracuse University, has published numerous books and essays on Yiddish and Hebrew literature.