Sholom Aleichem (1859–1916)

Recenzoj
Citaĵo
„ Bone elektitaj eltiraĵoj. Aparta originaleco. IIi elvekas ridon, simpation aŭ pripensadon. La traduko estas tute kontentiga. ”
— 1929, Georges Stroele, Esperanto, paĝo 44
Citaĵo
„ Ŝalom-Aleksem estas popola humoristo kiu ridas pri siaj samgentanoj ne mokeme sed helpeme, tiel ke li estas legata en ĉiu juda domo.
Perec estas moralisto kies celo estas prezenti al la mondo la veran judan karakteron, kiun multaj homoj ne povas aŭ ne volas kompreni. La lerta tradukisto prezentas la historietojn el popola juda lingvo en flua Esperanta stilo. ”
— 1923, Historio de Esperanto I, paĝo 334… (plus d'informations)

In Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories, Sholem Aleichem presents character studies that are both intense and light-hearted, as well as heartwarming. I have no background in Yiddish but the new translation by Hillel Halkin flows well.

Tevye is a traveling salesman, going on regular routes to sell his dairy products. His wife and seven daughters are poor of purse but rich in spirit. Throughout the short stories, which were written over the course of a few decades, Tevye's daughters suffer tragedies and misfortunes, and become married. Despite his "woe is me" attitude, Tevye uses ironic and sarcastic humor in his everyday interactions with his family, people he meets during his travels, and in his prayers.

The second collection of stories in the book, The Railroad Stories, are recollections from various poor people in a railcar telling about life in their particular shtetl. There are a few humorous stories, but it is overshadowed by Tevye's massive personality.… (plus d'informations)

I just finished The Tevye Stories and Others by Sholom Aleichem. First off it is a great book and a true classic. The stories in the book were the kernel behind the Broadway show "Fiddler on the Roof." The foil for many of the stories is Tevye, a luckless dairyman. In the first story, The Bubble, Tevye is conned into investing what little savings he has with a self-promoting swindler, who asks him to imagine life being wealthy. This gives rise to the famous song from the show, "If I Were a Rich Man." Some of the other stories similarly relate to scenes or songs from the show.

The setting for both the stories and the show is the collapse of Czarist Russia and the even swifter implosion of Russian Jewish life. At one time this was the capital of world Jewry. During the period roughly from the early 1880's on, millions of Russian Jews escaped, most to New York City and some to Palestine. This book attempts to detail the world before and during the early days of the destruction of a great culture. This was a world inhabited by "rebbes" and other Jewish notables. The combination of ocean transit and the inhabitants' brutality pushed out first the brightest and most motivated, and then with the particularly shocking pogroms many more.

Returning to the book, the short stories are almost all heartbreaking. There are few happy endings. This was true of the book, the Broadway show and ultimately Jewish life in Europe.… (plus d'informations)