Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines representations of modernity in Yiddish literature between the Russian revolution of 1905 and the beginning of the First World War. Within Jewish society, and particularly Eastern European Jewish society, modernity was often experienced as a series of incursions and threats to traditional Jewish life. Writers explored these perceived crises in their work, in the process reconsidering the role and function of Yiddish literature itself.
The orientation of nineteenth-century Yiddish fiction toward the shtetl came into conflict with the sense of reality of young writers, who felt themselves part of a rapidly changing modern urban environment. This opposition between the generations was reflected in their principles of plot construction. The conservatives employed cyclical patterns, producing mythological schemes for incorporating the new experience into the traditional order. Modernists emphasized the uniqueness of the new, and therefore preferred a linear organ
Trade Review
"Krutikov's work is a welcome addition to the growing field of Yiddish literary studies." -- The Russian Review
"In this remarkably readable book, Krutikov constructs, with elegance and rigor, sturdy bridges built out of the disparate offerings of Yiddish litterateurs spanning the turbulent, shifting historical terrain between the Russian revolution in 1905 and the onset of World War I in 1914 . . . .This book is requisite for scholars and students of history, literary theory and criticism, and twentieth-century Yiddish literature. It will undoubtedly be captivating for the general reader as well." -- Religious Studies Review
"His sophisticated deployment of Marxist theory and modern critical methodologies, coupled with his wide reading in several languages, has ensured that his study is not only stimulating in itself, but will create a seedbed for new approaches to Yiddish fiction." -- Journal of Modern Jewish Studies
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments Note on Translitcration Introduction: Conceptual Framework and Methodology llTe Economic Crisis The Crisis of Revolution The Crisis of Immigration Love and Destiny: The Crisis of Youth Conclusion: Yiddish Fiction Faces Modernity Biblioragphy Index
