Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Name: Isaac Bashevis Singer

Year Won: 1978

Read: Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories

Original Language: English (although most of his work apparently was in Yiddish)

Reason: "for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life"

About: "Zlateh the Goat" is one of many short stories in a collection for short children by that name. All take place in rural Jewish communities (I'm guessing in Poland?) and cover silly, colorful characters basically going about their daily lives. A man dreams he is wealthy, eats all the treats for Haunakkah, tries (unsucessfully) to poison himself and is scolded by his wife. An elderly goat is sent to the slaughter, but then saves a child and is treated as a hero. Demons threaten, but never too harshly. These are all cute, if fairly prosaic stories.

What I liked: The short stories are cute and show a fun, rural slice of ordinary life. It's a rather refreshing view of the lives of ordinary people doing relatively ordinary things.

What I Disliked: I'm really not the audience for this book, which I think is mostly the 5-8 set.

Should it have won a Nobel: It's hard to tell. Based on this, no. But clearly children's stories weren't why Singer won the Nobel.

I suspect that, had I read his more "serious" work, I might not have liked it as much. Singer seems like the kind of person that the Nobel committee often awards prizes to because they "feel" this particular sort of thing deserves a prize. With that said, I might very much enjoy his other pieces, too. If nothing else, these stories were definitely enjoyable and not in the least pretentious, which if he extends to his adult novels, would be a refreshing change from many of those I've read as part of this project.

Next Up: "Eros, Eros, Eros" by Odysseas Elytis