Meshugah (novel)

Meshugah ^[a] is a tragicomic novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer translated by the author and Nili Wachtel from Yiddish and published posthumously in 1994. It was serialized in Yiddish under the title Lost Souls in The Forward during 1981-1983. ^{[1] [2]} Superficially, it is a love triangle story, but full of unexpected angles: tragic, comical, and philosophical. ^[3]

Meshugah may be seen as a sequel to the 1978 novel Shosha , sharing the protagonist, Aaron Greidinger. Shosha is the story of Aaron in thee-World War II Warsaw, while Meshugah is set in New York of 1950s. ^[4]

Notes

1. The Yiddish word meshugah , in various transcriptions, borrowed from Hebrew, means 'crazy', 'insane'

References

1. Joel Conarroe, 'The World Is One Vast Madhouse', book review The New York Times , April 10, 1994
2. "Meshugah", Publishers Weekly
3. BOOK REVIEW / NOVEL : Haunted by Twin Crises of Love and Faith : MESHUGAH, Los Angeles Times , April 27, 1994
4. Clive Sinclair, Ladies man goes sort of crazy, The Independent , 04 March 1995

Further reading

• Studies in Contemporary Jewry: XII: Literary Strategies: Jewish Texts and Contexts, pp. 229-233, chapter "The Perils of Translation: Isaac Bashevis Singer in English and Hebrew" doi : 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195112030.003.0013 - aboout novels The Certificate and Meshuga
• Jan Schwarz, "The Lost Souls of Meshugah: Textual Transmission of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s World Literature", doi : 10.1093/oso/9780197516485.003.0004