Ordinary Jews

362 Pages·2011·5.907 MB·English

by  Yehoshua Perle

ORDINARY
JEWS

ORDINARY
JEWS
Yehoshue Perle
Translated and with an introduction by
Shirley Kumove
ee
excelsior editions
State University of New York Press
Albany, New York
Words Like Arrows: A Collection of Yiddish Folk Sayings, University of Toronto
Press, 1984, Shocken Books, 1985
More Words, More Arrows: A Further Collection of Yiddish Folk Sayings,
Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1999
Drunk From the Bitter Truth: The Poetry of Anna Margolin, State University
of New York Press, Albany, 2005
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2011 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Perle, Iehoshua, 1888–1943.
[Yidn fun a gants yor. English]
Ordinary Jews / Yehoshue Perle ; translated by Shirley Kumove.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4384-3550-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Jewish fiction. I. Kumove, Shirley, 1931– II. Title.
PJ5129.P4—dc22 2010031859
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The translation of this book is dedicated to the millions of
Polish Jews—Yiddish-speaking men, women, and children,
who went to untimely deaths and whose graves are
unmarked and unknown, annihilated in the Shoah
simply because they were Jews.
May the translation of this novel stand as a monument
and redeem their memories from eternal oblivion.

Contents
Preface / ix
Acknowledgments / xi
Introduction / 1
Translator’s Notes to the Reader / 19
Novel / 27
Glossary and Notes / 335
Bibliography / 341