How Strange the Change

Reviews / Votes

"Putting aside this book's theoretical sophistication and use of current trendy discourse, it does seem to go in the right direction: the study of Yiddish literature should move from the Eurocentric study of Western civilization to the pluralistic field of postcolonial and minor discourse. From this perspective, the scholars of peripheral literary traditions can sit together and explain how fascinatingly strange the change is."-Itay Zutra, H-Judaic "Every so often in the field of comparative literature a work comes along that is truly comparative. Marc Caplan's How Strange the Change is such a book. Caplan does a great service to the field of modernism studies and to the literatures under comparison: pan-African modernism and Yiddish fiction. . . Caplan's unique comparsion of Yiddish and African literature means that most readers will encounter at least a few works for the first time. This unique juxtaposition of cultural traditions, in combination with Caplan's intricate analysis, makes certain sections beg to be read twice."-Amelia Glaser Journal of Jewish Identities "[Caplan's] ambitious and fascinating new book offers a rather different approach to the study of Yiddish literature . . . Drawing on a range of literary and culture theory as well as on deft close readings, Caplan offers a perspective on modern Yiddish literature that shifts attention away from the rise-and-fall narrative towards questions about the structural relationship between Yiddish writing and other cultural traditions and formations."-Julian Levinson, AJS Review "How Strange the Change proves that comparing apples and oranges can lead to new ways of viewing both. It also poses a challenge to the compartmentalization of minor literatures in different branches of area studies, by showing that elements beyond the nation-state, such as, in this case, the pressures of a coercive modernity, can result in a kinship between literatures separated in time and space. Caplan's volume suggests that further comparative study of literary movements would yield rich results, and that bringing different peripheral literatures together can assert their collective centrality: a first step towards a change from minor to major."-Sofia Samatar, Interventions "Caplan (John Hopkins) examines the similarities between 'nineteenth century Yiddish literature and modern Anglophone and Francophone African literature.' And there is much to learn here. The scholarly notes and intellectual task are daunting, but the book is worth the effort. . . Highly recommended."-S. Gittleman, Choice "A masterpiece in comparative literature that will quickly establish itself as a classic in both Yiddish and African literary studies."-Ato Quayson, University of Toronto