Jewish Warsaw Between the Wars: 20 Stories by Ephraim Kaganovski

Froyim (Ephraim) Kaganovski (1893-1958) had his first story published when he was 16 years old. He spent his early career among the Yiddish literary circles in Warsaw and Odessa, primarily writing stories for Yiddish newspapers. Kaganovski was one of the most popular Yiddish writers of his time, and his short stories were praised for their character shaping, romantic motifs and subtle humor. Kaganovski was also one of the first Yiddish writers to focus on the city rather than the shtetl. The stories in this collection are descriptive of a period of change in Jewish living and thinking in Poland. They are poignant vignettes of sexual awakenings, religious versus secular frustrations, deep insights into the inner thoughts of aging persons as well as delightful ‘Sholem Aleichem’ type comedy. Kaganovski was a true craftsman of the short story, influenced by writers such as Chekhov and De Maupassant. His conclusions were often of an ‘O.Henry’ sort, leaving the reader with an open-ended para