18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages

JewishFiction.net founder Gold (The Dead Man) collects a remarkably diverse array of translated Jewish stories and novel excerpts that appeared in English for the first time on the site. Because “Jews have lived for two thousand years scattered among other nations,” Jewish fiction “has been written in the languages of virtually every country,” writes Gold, who ventures beyond the expected (Yiddish, Hebrew) to spotlight stories originally published in Croatian, Hungarian, Italian, Turkish, and more. Gold includes some Jewish literary stars; an excerpt from Elie Wiesel’s Hostage, for example, finds writer Shaltiel Feigenberg slipping into an out-of-body state after he’s captured by pro-Palestinian terrorists. But the real treats come from lesser-known authors who push the envelope in surprising ways, such as Croatian Jasminka Domaš’s ethereal, creepy “Purimspiel,” which features the disappearance of a reclusive woman who idolizes the biblical Queen Esther, and Italian Augusto Segre’s “Purchase of Goods of Dubious Origin,” which explores the aftermath of a shopkeeper’s business mistake. This broad and wide-ranging anthology is a fitting ode to the “nearly inexhaustible richness and strength” of the Jewish multilingual tradition. (Oct.)