Description
Book SynopsisThis 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.
Trade ReviewKanovich saved us, ‘Jews of silence,’ from forgetting our very selves during the most difficult times of antisemitism and dictatorship. The Tears and Prayers of Fools became at once a biblical parable for our time and a Chagall painting restored to life in words—the eternal flight of a free human above a tragic age." - Vitaly Portnikov, Ukrainian journalist and writer
"‘Shtetl noir’ meets Hasidic legend in this deeply philosophical work. In a word, this novel is the work of an exceptional writer with a unique voice." - Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, University Professor Emerita, New York University
"When
The Tears and Prayers of Fools came out in Russian in Vilnius in 1983, I was fortunate to be able to purchase a copy of this novel in Lithuania (back then, Kanovich’s books were not sold in Moscow) and was completely overwhelmed by its stylistic originality, richness of detail, and philosophical depth." - Mikhail Krutikov, University of Michigan
Table of Contents
- Map of the Pale of Settlement
- A Note on History and Transliteration
- Acknowledgments, Dmitri Kanovich
- The Tears and Prayers of Fools
- Glossary
- List of Characters
