S. Ansky (1863–1920)

Encompassing a selection of Ansky's fiction, drama, and nonfiction, this collection is a step back through time, back to the beginning of the twentieth century and Jewish culture, life, and thought, particularly around the time of WWI. Even the fiction is so detailed, and so culture-rich, it feels as much like a peek into another time and history as it does like fiction. The standouts here are, though, Ansky's drama The Dybbuk and the English translation of a portion of his journals. The drama is as fascinating as it is powerful, and as short as it may be, the characters are built in a fashion that allows readers to fall into the drama's reality. The journals, much as the excerpt here may only be an excerpt of his much longer work, are difficult to read because of the territory of violence and poverty they cover, but also incredibly powerful, to the extent that I wish the rest of his nonfiction had been translated into English already.

I'd absolutely recommend this full collection for all those remotely interested.… (meer)

Written as a journalist might write a diary, Ansky’s accountings leave nothing left unsaid, no events colored over with fluff, and we, the readers, are left “watching” the evil through the vivid word images of brutality, destruction, rape, murder, mob mentality, mass-murder, and the affects on the Jewish communities in the shtetls from the events of the nauseating horrors of anti-semitism.

I won’t quote from the book, because one passage alone wouldn’t be sufficient to render the scope of the atrocities and horror. How can I choose one, out of so many? For me it is impossible, and would diminish the content of the book, down to that one blurb. One must read this in order to grasp the intensity of the events.

The Enemy at His Pleasure is a compelling read, and if you are prone to having a weak stomach from graphic word content, then I suggest you read this with that in mind. Do read it, because it will open your eyes to the accountings and sickening events that took place during the turbulent time when Russian, Austrian and German armies overtook the small Jewish shtetls catching and trapping the Jews in the middle. It is a look at history you will not soon forget.

S. Ansky died in 1920 at the age of 57.

~~~~~~… (meer)