Next come the Polish stories:
“The Lighthouse Keeper of Aspinwall” by Henryk Sienkiewicz . A wonderfully lyric tale of a happy interlude in a long life full of misfortune. Recommended. (this appears to be the same translation as I read)
“Forebodings, a sketch” by Stefan Zeromski. There were actually two sketches, but one was too short to include here. About finding peace in adversity.
And now the Yiddish authors:
“A Woman’s Wrath” by Isaac Loeb Peretz. A rather harrowing tale of n incident between a woman and her good-for-nothing husband. Recommended.
“The Passover Guest” by Sholom Aleichem. A wryly humorous tale about the power of good storytelling and a Jewish family who entertain an exotic foreign guest during Passover. Heartily recommended.
“A Picnic” by Z. Libin. A humorous tale about a family picnic gone wrong. Recommended.
“The Kaddish” by Abraham Raisin. About a man obsessed with having a son.
“Abandoned” by Sholom Asch. Both sad and humorous, about a criminal left alone with a baby. Recommended.
“In the Storm” by David Pinski. A dramatic tale about a woman’s fury. Recommended.
Next are the Nordic tales. I will not include the Icelandic tales, one of which I have read, preferring to read the other in the original language (although, come to think of it, it would be interesting to do a side-by side reading of the translation and the original...). I am also skipping a Danish tale by Hans Christian Andersen, which I have read both in Danish and Icelandic (another possible comparative translation project).
From Denmark:
“Henrik and Rosalie” by Meyer Aron Goldschmidt. A sweet romantic tale.
“Two Worlds” by Jens Peter Jacobsen. A very atmospheric tale about, well, two different worlds. Recommended.
--
I may be biased, but it's positively shocking that there is no Icelandic short story in this book written after the end of the 13th century.
“The Lighthouse Keeper of Aspinwall” by Henryk Sienkiewicz . A wonderfully lyric tale of a happy interlude in a long life full of misfortune. Recommended. (this appears to be the same translation as I read)
“Forebodings, a sketch” by Stefan Zeromski. There were actually two sketches, but one was too short to include here. About finding peace in adversity.
And now the Yiddish authors:
“A Woman’s Wrath” by Isaac Loeb Peretz. A rather harrowing tale of n incident between a woman and her good-for-nothing husband. Recommended.
“The Passover Guest” by Sholom Aleichem. A wryly humorous tale about the power of good storytelling and a Jewish family who entertain an exotic foreign guest during Passover. Heartily recommended.
“A Picnic” by Z. Libin. A humorous tale about a family picnic gone wrong. Recommended.
“The Kaddish” by Abraham Raisin. About a man obsessed with having a son.
“Abandoned” by Sholom Asch. Both sad and humorous, about a criminal left alone with a baby. Recommended.
“In the Storm” by David Pinski. A dramatic tale about a woman’s fury. Recommended.
Next are the Nordic tales. I will not include the Icelandic tales, one of which I have read, preferring to read the other in the original language (although, come to think of it, it would be interesting to do a side-by side reading of the translation and the original...). I am also skipping a Danish tale by Hans Christian Andersen, which I have read both in Danish and Icelandic (another possible comparative translation project).
From Denmark:
“Henrik and Rosalie” by Meyer Aron Goldschmidt. A sweet romantic tale.
“Two Worlds” by Jens Peter Jacobsen. A very atmospheric tale about, well, two different worlds. Recommended.
--
I may be biased, but it's positively shocking that there is no Icelandic short story in this book written after the end of the 13th century.
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