Modern Hebrew Literature

by Robert Alter

A panorama of Hebrew prose presented in an English translation that makes these masterly works available to a wide audience.

Genres: Literature, Israel

398 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1975

About the author

Robert Bernard Alter is an American professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967, and has published many acclaimed works on the Bible, literary modernism, and contemporary Hebrew literature.

Reviews

[Jim Talbott]

This collection is an excellent overview of the development of the Hebrew short story... The collection would have benefited from shorter introductions to each story and longer essays dividing major groupings of writers. Additionally, the decision to leave out poetry completely, while more respectful of the texts themselves, somewhat mars the historical overview aspect of the collection... I would welcome a substantially expanded and revised anthology taking advantage of newly available translations and taking the reader into the last twenty to thirty years of Hebrew literature.

[elmira]

This book is one of the best introductions to the Jewish Israeli culture as well as serious and emotional stories for those interested in short fiction. (Great introductions to each author and story by Alter)