A Simple Story (Library of Modern Jewish Literature)

Rating:
Summary: A novel for some, a trial for others..
Review: S.Y Agnon's "A Simple Story" tells us of a bygone era, and of rich Jewish tradition. Set in early 1900's Austria-Hungary, this is the story of an oprhan who is taken in by her cousins, one of whom eventually falls in love with her. But it is not to be, as the boy's mother sets him up with a superficial, but pretty Jewish girl. You can guess how he reacts, but you'll never guess how it ends. A decided anti-romance, it stresses duty and fidelity over our romantic notions of love. Interesting sequence where the young man goes nuts and is put into a mental hospital. It's interesting how he recovers.

Rating:
Summary: A novel for some, a trial for others..
Review: S.Y Agnon's "A Simple Story" tells us of a bygone era, and of rich Jewish tradition. Set in early 1900's Austria-Hungary, this is the story of an oprhan who is taken in by her cousins, one of whom eventually falls in love with her. But it is not to be, as the boy's mother sets him up with a superficial, but pretty Jewish girl. You can guess how he reacts, but you'll never guess how it ends. A decided anti-romance, it stresses duty and fidelity over our romantic notions of love. Interesting sequence where the young man goes nuts and is put into a mental hospital. It's interesting how he recovers.

Rating:
Summary: A mystical journy to the jewish east european town.
Review: The forground of this book is very simple: a young man hopelessly falls in love for a woman he can't marry. But in the background a deep psychological plot slowly evolves and carries the reader to the complex world of the Jewish towns in Eastern Europe before WW 2. Agnon as usual is very perceptive, very smart and writes with his wonderful combination of humor,cynicism and compassion.