The New Country: Stories from the Yiddish about Life in America

by Henry Goodman (Editor / Translator), Elie Wiesel (Foreword), Dana Craft (Illustrator)

An abridged version of a collection originally published in 1961, the 42 stories here are written by Jewish writers of the 20th century, including Sholem Aleichem, Abraham Raisin and Joseph Opotashu. They offer a testament to the mother tongue through the trials of Americanization.

Contents:

Getting settled. The tenement house (by way of a backdrop) / Leon Kobrin
Alone in a strange world / Sholem Asch
On the streets of New York / Sholem Aleichem
A wall / Zalmon Libin
Imprisoned / Isaac Raboy
His trip to America / Abraham Raisin
We strike / Sholem Aleichem
The greenhorns / Chaver Paver. Making a living. Chaim becomes a real-estatenik / Tashrak
Chaim and Chaye / Zalmon Libin
We work in a shop / Sholem Aleichem
Point of a needle / Zalmon Libin
Chaim thanks God for deliverance / Tashrak
The quiet jubilee / Zalmon Libin
Reb Yankele Pickpocket / Chone Gottesfeld. And what of the children? Yossele / Sholem Asch
A sign of summer / Zalmon Libin
The American Europeans / Abraham Raisin
House on Goerick Street / Joseph Opatoshu
The father (a monologue) / Abraham Raisin
Kaddish / Aaron Maizel
Madame Marquis / Joseph Opatoshu
Smicha and Sammy / Chone Gottesfeld. There's laughter, too. Why the Taracans are my enemies / Zalmon Libin
Chaim does his duty as a citizen / Tashrak
First row balcony / Abraham Raisin
I--as echo / Moishe Nadir
Moishe "liar" / Joseph Opatoshu
A eulogist / Chone Gottesfeld
Chaim buys a piano for his daughter / Tashrak. Not lost in the crowd. Story about a greenhorn / Sholem Aleichem
She reads the world / Abraham Raisin
Moishe the poet / Chaver Paver
His brother's check / Abraham Raisin
The dog / Sheen Miller. Not all greenhorns are Jewish! Quiet words / Borech Glassman
Race / Joseph Opatoshu
Everything under control / Jacob Gordin
In a drugstore / B. Applebaum
A heart divided / Peretz Hirschbein
My Indian mother / Sheen Daixel

Hardcover

First published December 1, 2000

Reviews

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting collection, especially having lived in NYC (where many of the stories take place). I wish the editor had included the years everything was written--the resonances between these immigrant characters' concerns with today's immigrants' are striking. Of course, some were much better than others, but even the less-well-written were historically and sociologically engaging. There was a real range here, including some authors I finished wishing there were more translations of. It was also fun to read I. B. Singer and Sholem Aleichem, writers I associate with European settings, on the US. Most of the stories were 3-6 pages--not sure what that's about--so there's also just a lot of stories for around 200 pages.

A real treat.