Sons and Daughters

A Novel

De: Chaim Grade, Rose Waldman - translator, Adam Kirsch - introduction

Narrado por: Rob Shapiro

A KIRKUS BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR • LONGLISTED FOR THE FREUDENHEIM TRANSLATION PRIZE • From “one of the great—if not the greatest—contemporary Yiddish novelists” (Elie Wiesel), the long-awaited English translation of a work, Tolstoyan in scope, that chronicles the last, tumultuous decade of a world succumbing to the march of modernity.

“A great beard novel . . . Also a great food novel . . . A melancholy book that also happens to be hopelessly, miraculously, unremittingly funny . . . [Grade’s] fretful characters vibrate as if they were drawn by Roz Chast [and] Rose Waldman's translation seems miraculous to me.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“It is me the prophet laments when he cries out, ‘My enemies are the people in my own home.’” The Rabbi ignored his borscht and instead chewed on a crust of bread dipped in salt. “My greatest enemies are my own family.”

Rabbi Sholem Shachne Katzenellenbogen’s world, the world of his forefathers, is crumbling before his eyes. And in his own home! His eldest, Bentzion, is off in Bialystok, studying to be a businessman; his daughter Bluma Rivtcha is in Vilna, at nursing school. For her older sister, Tilza, he at least managed to find a suitable young rabbi, but he can tell things are off between them. Naftali Hertz? Forget it; he’s been lost to a philosophy degree in Switzerland (and maybe even a goyish wife?). And now the rabbi’s youngest, Refael’ke, wants to run off to the Holy Land with the Zionists.

Originally serialized in the 1960s and 1970s in New York–based Yiddish newspapers, Chaim Grade’s Sons and Daughters is a precious glimpse of a way of life that is no longer—the rich Yiddish culture of Poland and Lithuania that the Holocaust would eradicate. We meet the Katzenellenbogens in the tiny village of Morehdalye, in the 1930s, when gangs of Poles are beginning to boycott Jewish merchants and the modern, secular world is pressing in on the shtetl from all sides. It’s this clash, between the freethinking secular life and a life bound by religious duty—and the comforts offered by each—that stands at the center of Sons and Daughters.

With characters that rival the homespun philosophers and lovable rogues of Sholem Aleichem and I. B. Singer—from the brooding Zalia Ziskind, paralyzed by the suffering of others, to the Dostoyevskian demon Shabse Shepsel—Grade’s masterful novel brims with humanity and heartbreaking affection for a world, once full of life in all its glorious complexity, that would in just a few years vanish forever.

The many faceted lives and issues of Eastern European Jewry in the early 20th century.

A striking evocation of the Jews in the shtetl, their precarious existence, and their challenges in Poland in the 1930’s. I recommend this peak into the vivid characters that peopled this lost world highly.

Rob Shapiro’s and comes out of the soul of this book and deepens already cosmically beautiful read.

An anthropologist of his time, we have the great good fortune to be immersed in the discussions and arguments, the schools of thought and the conflicts of Grade’s Poland. Grade brings to mind Homer in his recounting of a saga with one illuminating metaphor after another. This book was a high point in every way.

Brilliant book, needs a better narrator

The book is brilliant, Chaim Grade’s writing and depiction of characters superb. His similes are delightful. But the book is much deeper than that. I saw my own family’s story (great-grandfather, whom I never met, grandfather, father, me) in how the generations evolved in this story, and the debates and discussions among the characters reflect some of the deepest divides and complex issues of the Jewish people, and, further, they are universal questions. I did suspect that the translator did not always understand some of the references to certain details about or references to Jewish texts, and that bothered me. One day, maybe I’ll listen again and stop at those points and compare to the Yiddish, if possible. I don’t know if the printed book has a glossary, but it should for people less familiar with Jewish life, and the audio should have a PDF of that glossary. I don’t need it, but I think more people would appreciate the book if it were available. The narrator had the right tone and intonation, but was a disaster, otherwise. He clearly is not familiar with so many (if any) of the Hebrew and Yiddish words and terms. Some of his mispronunciations were truly cringeworthy. One of the most pathetic was his pronunciation of the Shabbos stew, chulent (that’s how it is often spelled in English). But that ch is pronounced like a ch (tsh) and not like the guttural letter het in Hebrew! How could he not know that? And if he doesn’t, he is not fit to read a book like this. And doesn’t anyone check the reader with a few passages to see if he fits the bill? I didn’t let it ruin the book for me - the book is too good to be ruined.

An interesting read (listen)

This book, although incomplete at the time of the author's death, is still quite long. It offers a view into the tensions boiling among Askenazi Jews in Poland between the two Worlds Wars.

The narrator is excellent. He actually pronounces most of the Jewish words correctly, which is exceptional among audiobook narrators. He also keeps his voice within a reasoncable range of volume. He doesn't scream, like some narrators, when a character in the book is screaming. My ears are very grateful for this!

A mostly lost culture, partly preserved

There is a book called ‘ There Once Was a World’ that describes Jewish shtetl life in its myriad aspects and serves as an excellent introduction to what it was like to live in Eastern Europe in Jewish society before the Holocaust. Another book ‘The Destruction of the European Jews’ by Hilberg details the size and scope of this civilization and the events leading up to and through the murder of most of the people who formed this world. Sons and Daughters breathes life into this now mostly lost society ( bits survive in Israel the US and other places) and with a rich and nuanced mix of family, cultural conflicts and human warmth in all our love and flaws that remains rivetingly relevant for our current generations. Grade’s contemporaries, his audience during his lifetime, are gone. However his aim of opening a portal to life before the end has succeeded. This book is an emotionally, intellectually and spiritually engaging set of interlocking stories of a family that kept my attention and continues to keep me in its realm. This is the kind of book that can connect all kinds of people to the beauty and the most angst of Eastern European Jewish and related life.

Tender and thoughtful

Tender, thoughtful bittersweet novel about Jewish life and identity in small town Poland pre Holocaust.

Great writing/disappointing performance

The novel is both great for what it tells us about a lost world that is currently slipping from living memory. It also tells us (albeit indirectly) about the Yiddish readers who were reading it in the 1960s and 70s. But the performance was substantially sub-par. It is clear that the reader is unfamiliar with Eastern European pronunciations of Hebrew. It as a complete distraction. Admittedly, sometimes the mispronunciation we’re laugh out loud. So there was that

The scenery of a nostalgic and tragically murdered destroyed civilization is outstanding

I loved the whole book and I love the narrator. Every person should read this as an historical book.

A compelling picture of a lost world

Be sure to listen to the translator’s note at the end. There is an outline of an ending.

Unforgettable book

A jewish masterpiece on time lost. A wonderful saga on a family living in Poland in the 1930’s before the complete distraction of this world. Witten with love and criticism, a work of literary art reminding the great Russian authors. Professional translation and great narration (wish he would have pronounced the Hebrew words more accurately) but this is my only comment. I have listened to this book for over 3 weeks is a raw and did not want it to end. The story of my unknown ancestors. A memorial to a world no more exists