The shtetl and other Jewish stories - Mark Harris

This anthology will arouse in the reader a wide spectrum of emotions and reactions: from anger to amusement, from horror to sympathy, from joy to sadness and from laughter to tears. This book includes stories that tell of pure evil as well as innocent love, of the ability of the human spirit to overcome horrendous adversity and of mortal beings struggling with their innermost, tormenting demons. Several of the stories take the mind-numbing enormity of the Holocaust as their tragic theme. They explore the harrowing experiences of victims, as well as the sensibilities of survivors, whose feelings, often of guilt, have various effects on their individual lives and attitudes. Other inclusions in this anthology are imbued with a more mystical ambience that may give rise to some personal soul-searching. The Shtetl and other Jewish stories spans not only historic and contemporary periods, from the epoch of the Russian Tsars to the era of inter-planetary space travel, but also the cycle of life itself, from the light of birth to the shadow of death. This varied collection of stories is an emotive and interesting read.