Isaac Bashevis Singer

Satan in Goray Isaac Bashevis Singer

As messianic zeal sweeps through medieval Poland, the Jews of Goray divide between those who, like the Rabbi, insist that no one can "force the end" and those who follow the messianic pretender Sabbatai Zevi. But as hysteria and depravity reign free, it becomes clear that it is not the Messiah who has come to Goray.

Praise:

"Beautifully written by one of the masters of Yiddish prose, and beautifully translated, ''Satan in Goray'' is folk material transmuted into literature." - The New York Times Review of Books

"A gripping parable of reason versus revelation, hysteria in the face of apocalypse" - Guardian

"Whatever religion his writing inhabits, it is blazing with life and actuality." - Ted Hughes, New York Review of Books
"Singer sets scenes with such vividness that there is almost a smell to his books, the smell of poverty and guttering candles and decaying lives and decaying souls. - Observer

"His storytelling powers are so immense, so natural. He has more creative confidence than any living writer." - Financial Times