Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Classics (1997), Paperback, 256 pages
Description
Singer's late novel, a magical and resonant fable, recreates the birth of the Polish nation. Through the compelling figure of Cybula, defeated leader of a tribe of hunter-gatherers, it explores the moment when prehistory dissolved into history, superstitions became tinged with skepticism, and men began to turn from many gods towards one god.
User reviews
LibraryThing member donaldmorgan
not his best work. Got off to a great start but quickly became meandering and tiresome. I could only take so many ruminations on religion which clogged the already fairly episodic structure of the book. Could have been very entertaining.
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
A masterpiece by a master writer, this novel looks at the early years in the development of the Polish nation, a time of misery and bloodshed but also of transition - from hunter-gatherer to farmer, and from pagan gods to the Abrahamic god. Written in sparsely-decorated prose, Singer spins a fable
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out of history, his themes resonating and achieving the epic without requiring an epic page count. Show Less
Language
Original language
Yiddish
Original publication date
1988
Physical description
256 p.; 7.7 inches
ISBN
0140186689 / 9780140186680