Silky!: A detective story

by Leo Rosten

Stated First Edition. A very good copy in a very good dust jacket. Slight spine lean. Soiling to the edges of the book's upper page block. The dust jacket has small chips at its spine tips and corners. Rubbing along the outer folds.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Leo Calvin Rosten was born in Lodz, Russian Empire (now Poland) and died in New York City. He was a teacher and academic, but is best known as a humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism and Yiddish lexicography.

Reviews

[Wilson Lanue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book's only reason for living is to have a prosaic, relatively interesting Philip Marlowe knock-off story with a detective who cracks wise in Yiddish.

For me, that was enough reason to track it down and to enjoy it.

[Jo]

I bought this book a long time ago at a thrift store, and I did not read the story. But wait, at the end of this book is a gem.. its a Yiddish dictionary of popular Yiddish words that are used often in American Yinglish..you know, words like Shmuck, Nosh, etc.

How did I want to find a Yiddish dictionary? Years ago Tom Wolfe's book, the Bonfire of the Vanity's came out, and I came across the word "Schvartzer" what does this word mean? I wondered. this was before the internet was really widespread, so I had to look it up somewhere. finally, I came across a Yiddish dictionary in probably Kroch and Brentano's, which went out of business a decade or two ago?

Shvartzer means black person. .Schwartz=Black in German/Yiddish.

Yiddish is a dying out language. fans of Jackie Mason are familiar with the tone and usage of some Yiddish words..

so I am keeping this book, just for the Yiddish glossary in back of the book

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd have given this detective story by the author of The Joys of Yiddish four stars if it hadn't been for the rampant racism. I'd say it was because of the period (1979), but I remember 1979, and by then even a 71-year-old born in Lodz like Rosten really should have known better. Still, the voice of the shamus narrator, Sidney "Silky" Pincus, is so delightful that I'm going to recommend it to anyone who can stomach all the "spade" jokes. Has a Yiddish glossary in the back. Compare The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

1979. 'Silky' Pincus is a groovy 70s, Jewish PI. He is hired by a rich dame to find out who's tailing her and harassing her with hang-up phone calls. He duly falls in love with her and nearly saves the day, amid hilarious malapropisms à la Yogi Berra and Yiddishisms up the tuckus. Life doesn't always work out the way you want it to, and this book didn't go the way I wanted it to, but that's all I'm gonna say.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book. It wasn't like any one I've ever read before. It's main character is a "Marlowe"-esque private eye. He has a partner named Mike ... {somebody} who's an Irishman.
It's worth reading. I used to own it, but I forgot it somewhere and now it's lost.