This was a 600+ page collection of short stories; I tried the book because I had enjoyed another novel by Singer (described here). Singer was born in Poland in 1917 so was very close to the persecutions of the mid 20th century. He wrote in Yiddish, did some of the translations himself. I very much enjoyed his stories, many of which are fables set in small Eastern European villages. Others are set in Tel Aviv after the founding of the Israel state. Others are set in New York City among Jews who had emigrated into America either before or after WW II.The stories set in the Eastern Europe villages evoke images of a lifestyle that probably disappeared by WW II. Stories of peasants and their doings; stories of imps and dybbuks; Jewish ritual; etc. The stories set in the U.S. give some kind of glimpse of what things were like for those that weren't killed in the camps - alive, but having a lot to deal with.
Some repetition among the stories, but I much liked the collection. Vivid, interesting. Singer could reach back to the old pre-20th century tales and bring things forward to the postwar era.
I never really knew anything about Yiddish - a language in widespread use in Eastern Europe and thereabouts before Hitler got busy. Here's a description, it's interesting.
