Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Slave

[beer good]

Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Slave (Der Knact, 1962)

High up in the mountains sits Jacob, a Polish Jew, the last of his family following the latest in a series of massacres. No, it's not the 1940s, it's mid-17th century, though obviously the still-recent memories of WWII were at the back of Singer's mind when he wrote the novel. Anyway, Jacob is a slave, which is of course officially immoral and illegal, but he's a Jew in a country where that's enough reason to kill you so who is he to argue? Alone in the mountains, herding a Christian farmer's cows, he has time to think, to try and piece Judaism back together in his own head from what he remembers of it, hundreds of commandments and prayers and dates and words...

And there he might have stayed, a man alone with his God, if not for Wanda - the farmer's daughter who brings him milk and bread. They're both widowed, they're both young and attracted to each other, and after all it's not good for man to be alone. But as mentioned, this is 17th-century Poland, torn by war and religious differences, and the idea of a Jewish man and a Christian woman marrying is impossible; if the Christians find out, they'll have them both executed, and if the Jews find out they'll cast them out for fear of harbouring criminals - pogroms have started over far less...

Singer paints the 17th century in simple but detailed images, never making the fact that it's a 20th century novel too obvious in the thoughts and acts of its characters. The Slave is a historical novel about love, about sex, about trying to survive in a world where revealing who you are, slipping up for just a second, can get you killed. But obviously, it's also a novel about faith (not necessarily for or against it, about it) and its repercussions in life. If not for his belief, Jacob might (or might not) have lost himself there in the mountains; but there's also a lot of people - Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish - in it who are happy to declare themselves true believers and praise God and their own piety, but often use it to judge and condemn those immoral, evil bastards on the other side. It's a novel written shortly after WWII and taking place shortly after the 30 Years' War, after all, and everyone's on edge and afraid of each other. As Jacob notes: it's funny how many people find it easy to follow the commandments towards God (keeping kosher, converting heathens) but show little consideration for those that ask them to show compassion, consideration and mercy to others. Jacob is freed from formal slavery early on, but that's still the title of the novel.

Somehow The Slave, despite its (actual and metaphorical) setting, manages to be a bittersweet novel, with an ending that grants eternal life - maybe in heaven, but definitely in the memories of others. Which may, perhaps, be the most important thing. Along the way, though, it asks some pretty big questions, and as utterly horriffic it is at times and as heartwarming as it is at others, it's hopefully those that stay with the reader.

+

 

[elled]

I read this novel many years ago along with many other works by Bashevis Singer (although not much by his lesser known brother). All of his novels are a wonderful read. particularly like The Family Moskat which allegedly was based on a real family. That wouldn't surprise me, and I happen to know one of the descendants of that family very slightly.
I have been to Poland a number of times and each time I am struck by the world that Singer created in his novels which was utterly destroyed and therefore, our only glimpse into that world is through the written word which he did so well. I have to confess that I have confined myself to reading his books in English although I know he wrote in Yiddish which I would guess captures that time and place even better. Nevertheless, his books are real treasures, paint a canvas of vanished world populated by ghosts. I remember when he won the Nobel Prize he remarked that he was certain that ghosts spoke Yiddish.

Elle

 

[jyotisharma]

Singer always wrote and published in Yiddish – almost all of it in newspapers – and then edited his novels and stories for their American versions, which became the basis for all other translations; he referred to the English version as his "second original". This has led to an ongoing controversy whereby the "real Singer" can be found in the Yiddish original, with its finely tuned language and sometimes rambling construction, or in the more tightly edited American version, where the language is usually simpler and more direct. Many of Singer's stories and novels have not yet been translated.

 

[sparkchaser]

Singer always wrote and published in Yiddish – almost all of it in newspapers – and then edited his novels and stories for their American versions, which became the basis for all other translations; he referred to the English version as his "second original". This has led to an ongoing controversy whereby the "real Singer" can be found in the Yiddish original, with its finely tuned language and sometimes rambling construction, or in the more tightly edited American version, where the language is usually simpler and more direct. Many of Singer's stories and novels have not yet been translated.

It would have been easier to link to the wiki entry you lifted that from.