Singer, I.J.

The Brothers Ashkenazi

New York, NY, USA: Antheneum, 1980. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. “Down the sandy roads leading from Saxony and Silesia into Poland, through fields, forests, towns, and villages razed and ravaged by the Napoleonic Wars, rolled a strange procession of vehicles, people, animals, and objects. Polish serfs stopped tilling the earth to shield pale eyes and gaze at the spectacle; women pushed back red handkerchiefs and leaned on hoes; flaxen-haired children raced with dogs out of mud huts and beyond thatched fences to point and stare. Before Jewish country inns, boys with black earlocks and ritual garments dangling over ragged breeches gaped at the odd caravans rolling by and cried, “Come see, Mama….Come see!” Nothing like it had ever been seen in Poland. These weren’t the splendid coaches of the gentry, the long latticed carts of peasants, the patched covered wagons with dangling buckets of Jewish draymen, the stagecoaches with teams of four and trumpets blaring. Even the harness was different—full of odd straps, bands, and traces.”--Israel Joshua Singer (1893-1944) was a Polish-Jewish novelist who wrote in Yiddish. Brother of the famous Isaac Beshevis Singer (see item #9233), I.J. Singer was best known for works like Of a World That is No More (1946), Blood Harvest (1935), and The River Breaks Up (1938). Offered today is the 1980 novel The Brothers Ashkenazi. First published in 1936, The Brothers Ashkenazi quickly became a best seller as a sprawling family saga. Breaking away from the introspective shtetl tales of classic nineteenth-century writers, I. J. Singer brought to Yiddish literature the multilayered plots, large casts of characters, and narrative sweep of the traditional European novel. Walking alongside such masters as Zola, Flaubert, and Tolstoy, I . J. Singer’s premodernist social novel stands as a masterpiece of storytelling. Following the eponymous “Brothers Ashkenazi” in the Polish city of Lodz, The Brothers Ashkenazi follows the brothers Max and Jacob as the miasma of capitalism grips Poland and tears the two apart. Max, the firstborn, is fiercely intelligent and conniving, determined to succeed financially by any means necessary. Slower-witted Jacob is strong, handsome, and charming but without great purpose in life. While Max is driven by ambition and greed to be more successful than his brother, Jacob is drawn to easy living and decadence. As waves of industrialism and capitalism flood the city, the brothers and their families are torn apart by the clashing impulses of old piety and new skepticism, traditional ways and burgeoning appetites, and the hatred that grows between faiths, citizens, and classes. Despite all attempts to control their destinies, the brothers are caught up by forces of history, love, and fate, which shape and, ultimately, break them. An exceedingly rare and wonderful Singer collectible! From the collection of Barbara (1935-2023) & Irving (1933-2018) Nusbaum - world travelers, connoisseurs, eminent collectors of art & books, and the dearly beloved late parents of our esteemed founder, Arthur S. Nusbaum. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket. First edition (thus) as stated at copyright page, presumed first printing though not explicated as such thereon. Book in relatively very fine condition with minor wear to fine edges, and slight smudging/staining at front and back covers. Dust jacket in relatively fine-very fine condition with moderate wear to fine edges, slight smudging/scratching to front and back covers, and mild discoloration due to age-toning to same. Very Fine / Fine-Very Fine. [Item #9229]

Price: $100.00 save 10% $90.00