Two Jews on a Train
Stories from the Old Country and the New
Will be published approx. on 1. May 2001
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-0-226-05214-4 (ISBN)
Description
Many Eastern European jokes begin "Two Jews were travelling on a train...", as do many of the charming and hilarious conversations in this book. Adam Biro recounts these tales, where the characters, old and young, gossip and speak about everything from the banalities of the world to the unspeakable evils of existence. The tales convey their own history, we can hear Biro voice and those of generations past, as the tales teach, through humour, about the important issues in life: love, friendship, self-righteousness, narrow-mindedness, and the unpredicatbility of life itself. As a whole these tales form a record of the sensibilities of an entire people.
Reviews / Votes
"In applying an Old World sensibility to the present, the author underscores the nature of the divide between them, and the increasingly despairing punchline of each joke seems to become: Why did You abandon us?" - The New Yorker "A sort of whimsical Jewish Arabian Nights that takes you to Baghdad and New York, Paris and Brussels. If its spirit could be summed up in one sentence, it might be the one from the book describing a 100-year-old patriarch, who 'loved life in spite of his infinite despair about human beings and their condition." - Elaine Kalman Naves, Montreal Gazette "Somewhere between Isaac Bashevis Singer and Morey Amsterdam." - Kirkus Reviews "You have to read Adam Biro... for the little details between the lines, which are awe inspiring!" - La liberte, on the French edition "There are tales of schnorrers, matchmakers, gossips, immigrants, a golf-playing rabbi.... Between the lines are tales of the fragility of love, friendship and of life itself, and the possibilities of redemption. The strength of these stories is Biro's skill as a story-teller and his apparent love of the material. He has a light touch and the tales are short, but packed full of imagery and emotion." - Sandee Brawarsky, Jewish WeekMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 22 mm
Width: 15 mm
Thickness: 2 mm
Weight
340 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-05214-4 (9780226052144)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Adam Biro is a French publisher and author who was born in Hungary. His previous books include Dictionnaire general du surrealisme et de ses environs (coedited with Rene Passeron) and Tsigane. Catherine Tihanyi is a research associate in the Department of Anthropology at Western Washington University.