The Blessing and the Curse: The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century
By Adam Kirsch
Read by Steven Jay Cohen
-
4 Formats: Digital Download
-
4 Formats: CD
-
4 Formats: Library CD
-
4 Formats: MP3 CD
-
Regular Price: $24.99
Special Price $17.49
or 1 CreditISBN: 9781705265529
$12.99 With Membership: Learn More -
Regular Price: $46.99
Special Price $25.84
ISBN: 9798200781485
In Stock ● Ships in 1-2 days
-
Regular Price: $71.99
Special Price $39.59
ISBN: 9798200781478
In Stock ● Ships in 1-2 days
-
Regular Price: $41.99
Special Price $23.09
ISBN: 9798200781492
In Stock ● Ships in 1-2 days
An erudite and accessible survey of Jewish life and culture in the twentieth century, as reflected in seminal texts Following The People and the Books, poet and literary critic Adam Kirsch now turns to the story of modern Jewish literature. From the vast emigration of Jews out of Eastern Europe to the Holocaust to the creation of Israel, the twentieth century transformed Jewish life. The same was true of Jewish writing: the novels, plays, poems, and memoirs of Jewish writers provided intimate access to new worlds of experience. Kirsch surveys four themes that shaped the twentieth century in Jewish literature and culture: Europe, America, Israel, and the endeavor to reimagine Judaism as a modern faith. With discussions of major books by over thirty writers―ranging from Franz Kafka to Philip Roth, Elie Wiesel to Tony Kushner, Hannah Arendt to Judith Plaskow―he argues that literature offers a new way to think about what it means to be Jewish in the modern world. With a wide scope and diverse, original observations, Kirsch draws fascinating parallels between familiar writers and their less familiar counterparts. While everyone knows the diary of Anne Frank, for example, few outside of Israel have read the diary of Hannah Senesh. Kirsch sheds new light on the literature of the Holocaust through the work of Primo Levi, explores the emergence of America as a Jewish home through the stories of Bernard Malamud, and shows how Yehuda Amichai captured the paradoxes of Israeli identity. An insightful and engaging work from "one of America’s finest literary critics" (Wall Street Journal), The Blessing and the Curse brings the Jewish experience vividly to life.
Learn More- Only $12.99/month gets you 1 Credit/month
- Cancel anytime
- Hate a book? Then we do too, and we'll exchange it.
Summary
Summary
A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice of the Week
An erudite and accessible survey of Jewish life and culture in the twentieth century, as reflected in seminal texts
Following The People and the Books, poet and literary critic Adam Kirsch now turns to the story of modern Jewish literature. From the vast emigration of Jews out of Eastern Europe to the Holocaust to the creation of Israel, the twentieth century transformed Jewish life. The same was true of Jewish writing: the novels, plays, poems, and memoirs of Jewish writers provided intimate access to new worlds of experience.
Kirsch surveys four themes that shaped the twentieth century in Jewish literature and culture: Europe, America, Israel, and the endeavor to reimagine Judaism as a modern faith. With discussions of major books by over thirty writers―ranging from Franz Kafka to Philip Roth, Elie Wiesel to Tony Kushner, Hannah Arendt to Judith Plaskow―he argues that literature offers a new way to think about what it means to be Jewish in the modern world.
With a wide scope and diverse, original observations, Kirsch draws fascinating parallels between familiar writers and their less familiar counterparts. While everyone knows the diary of Anne Frank, for example, few outside of Israel have read the diary of Hannah Senesh. Kirsch sheds new light on the literature of the Holocaust through the work of Primo Levi, explores the emergence of America as a Jewish home through the stories of Bernard Malamud, and shows how Yehuda Amichai captured the paradoxes of Israeli identity.
An insightful and engaging work from "one of America’s finest literary critics" (Wall Street Journal), The Blessing and the Curse brings the Jewish experience vividly to life.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Details
Details
Available Formats : | Digital Download, CD, Library CD, MP3 CD |
Category: | Nonfiction/Literary Collections |
Runtime: | 10.54 |
Audience: | Adult |
Language: | English |
To listen to this title you will need our latest app
Due to publishing rights this title requires DRM and can only be listened to in the Downpour app