3 Great Novels by Isaac Bashevis Singer

I adore the novels of Isaac Bashevis Singer. The way he writes about how the Jewish identity is intertwined with the individual no matter where they are or what they are doing is absolutely brilliant. These strange human relationships which rely on codependence that end up being a mixture of emotions that range from sorrow all the way to grief all the way to happiness and even confusion. The books of Isaac Bashevis Singer often consider the question of what builds the identity in realistic terms: is it culture? is it background? is it upbringing? is it legacy? There are so many componenets and not all of them are wholeheartedly helpful to the individual.

The Man

Born on the 11th of November, 1903 - Isaac Bashevis Singer was raised in a town near Warsaw, Poland. His parents, Hasidic Jewish people, had a few other children and his father served as a rabbi. All the children grew up speaking Yiddish and during the war, the entire family was split up. Isaac Bashevis Singer went with his mother and brother.

A few years before the Nazi Invasion, Isaac Bashevis Singer moved to the USA in 1935. This split him from his wife, who then moved to Russia - they did not meet again for another twenty years.

Throughout his life, he wrote non-fiction for magazines, short stories and novels. He had a wonderful career and won many awards for his great depictions of complex human natures. He would die in 1991 at the ripe old age of 87. A brilliant example of a 20th century literary hero.

The Books

His books explore the idea not just of Jewish faith, but of the very nature of faith. After breaking away from the orthodoxy of his parents due to his brother taking him to bohemian cafes in Warsaw, he discovered that he preferred the idea that God may have qualities put onto him by others rather than actually having them at all. His books most definitely reflect that strange confusion regarding faith which leads to a clearer self-discovery.

We are going to take a look at three of my favourite books by Isaac Bashevis Singer and why they are my favourites. I think that due to the rising state of horrid anti-Semitism, we need more representations of Jewish people in literature as being their own people. The most important thing, I believe, about Isaac Bashevis Singer's literature is that it was not what we call a 'trauma narrative' like the camps, or the experiences of the war. It was investigative into the very nature of the human mind concerning their own identity - the eyes of the modern, ever-evolving and complexly beautiful beliefs and personality of the Jewish people.

These are in no particular order

3 Great Novels by Isaac Bashevis Singer

The Penitent (1983)

I think that this story is partially based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's own life and also on stories from the Old Testament. It is about a man called James who comes to the USA from Poland in the 1940s. He becomes immersed in American Culture, the consumerism and the strangeness of detachment through narcissism. There are these passages of philosophy in which he contemplates his being. But he decides upon himself to simply leave everything behind, wander into Israel and hope that everything turns out okay. The dark stain on his identity is something he views as being put there by the temptations of American Commercialism.

The Magician of Lublin (1960)

Yasha is a magician who travels with his wife Esther. He has various affairs and goes through a cycle of regret. He wants to divorce Esther to marry one of his lovers (Emilia) but to do that he would need to convert to Christianity and they want to move to Italy. Neither of them having the funds to do so worries the both of them but detaching from a faith he is already unsure about seems to trouble Yasha even more. Throughout the robbery that takes place, the suicide and a strange regret that pervades all the way along the novel, Isaac Bashevis Singer writes a tale of morality in which the main character is pushed to the point of no return in order to make things at least seem right.

Satan in Goray (1935)

This novel is one of my favourites. It is apocalyptic, it is twisted and it is based within the belief that one person can change everything. Rachel is one of those people. Her extreme level of manipulation is one of the things that pushes this cult-like novel forwards. I remember reading this and thinking that it was nothing like any other Isaac Bashevis Singer novel I had ever read and honestly, it frightened me. The way in which some believed Rachel, others would berate her. There were these strange moments talking of 'the end of days' and you will not believe what happens at the end.

Other books you should read by him:

• The Slave (1962)
• The Family Moskat (1950)
• Shosha (1978)