Isaac Bashevis Singer: Collected Stories Vol. 1 (Loa #149): Gimpel the Fool to the Letter Writer

by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Beginning with "Gimpel the Fool," the story that brought Isaac Bashevis Singer to prominence in America in the 1950s, this Library of America volume is the first of three gathering most of Singer's short fiction. These stories were published in English in the versions he called his "second originals," translations that he supervised and on which he himself often collaborated, revising his Yiddish texts as he worked.

Born in 1904 into a family...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1931082618
• ISBN13: 9781931082617
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Library of America
• Length: 832 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

glorious writing

There is something magical about Singer's writing. It is so simple, so effortless, and yet so profound. I devoured all three volumes of the Library of America Singer short stories, and have gone on to several of the novels, as well as the children's stories. I am sure I will be going back to the short stories again and again, for the rest of my life.

too bad about the typos

The stories are great, of course. They are real stories, with plots. But since when do Library of America editions have typos? They bugged me so much that I sold it to a second-hand bookstore. It appears that Microsoft spell-check was run instead of hiring a proof-reader.

Has there ever been a greater storyteller than this?

Singer always saw himself as a storyteller. And the truth is that there are stories of his, 'Gimpel the Fool' 'The Little Shoemakers' 'The Spinoza of Market Street' 'which I believe are among the best stories ever written. Not every story is a treasure, and I admit that there are modes of Singer's writing (When he gets too dybbuked up) that do not appeal to me, but overall what humor, what , what truth , what beauty, what pain, what suffering, , what energy , what life there are in this great great work.

my favorite author

Every word is a jewel. Astonishing that one author can be so relentlessly energetic in his story telling. Singers knowledge, imagery and imagination is astounding. His stories dance and swirl. Not a sentence drags or is wasted. I rejoice in every moment of reading Singers literary creations - they are all vitally alive and engrossing - makes me feel that I am actually involved with what I am reading. I can't wait for the next word - better than any mystery novel. Wish I could give six stars or more. Asaf - Israel

Stories of Love, Wonder, and Joy

These stories are filled with hope, love, and a sense of belonging to family and to the world. They are theological but never heavy-handed; they are luminous. Singer writes with humor, gentleness, and a fine sense of the deeper realities of life: the depth of meaning that gives hope to everyday events and ordinary people. The best short story collection I have come across.