Encompassing a selection of Ansky's fiction, drama, and nonfiction, this collection is a step back through time, back to the beginning of the twentieth century and Jewish culture, life, and thought, particularly around the time of WWI. Even the fiction is so detailed, and so culture-rich, it feels as much like a peek into another time and history as it does like fiction. The standouts here are, though, Ansky's drama The Dybbuk and the English translation of a portion of his journals. The drama is as fascinating as it is powerful, and as short as it may be, the characters are built in a fashion that allows readers to fall into the drama's reality. The journals, much as the excerpt here may only be an excerpt of his much longer work, are difficult to read because of the territory of violence and poverty they cover, but also incredibly powerful, to the extent that I wish the rest of his nonfiction had been translated into English already.

I'd absolutely recommend this full collection for all those remotely interested. ( )

A classic dramatic play that is a wonderful piece of Jewish literature along with other short stories and writings from S. Ansky. I enjoyed reading The Dybbuk, the premise mixed with the mysticism was very interesting. The other stories offered a nice window into the time period. ( )

Great. It's interesting to read about time when social customs were so different, and yet I have come to the conclusion that nothing really changes. ( )