Two new books burrow into Yiddish and the ‘language of thieves’

As languages have lives of their own, with arcs that dwarf the lifespans of their speakers, it feels fitting for Rutgers professor Jeffrey Shandler to give Yiddish the biographer’s treatment.

In truth, “Yiddish: Biography of a Language” does not trace the course of its subject in the linear manner we expect in a biography. But it anthropomorphizes the language just enough to allow for a richly illustrated profile, with chapters such as “Residence,” “Gender,” “Appearance,” “Personality” and “Life Expectancy.”

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Short stories deserve our attention — especially these

While the short story is a classic literary form, it can also feel like a somewhat beleaguered one. A perusal of the bestseller list rarely turns up a collection of short fiction. And although it makes perfect sense that readers tend to prefer a sustained plot and more room for character development, what we miss in neglecting short stories is tremendous.

Following four successful novels, Nicole Krauss’ first story collection, “To Be a Man,” comes as a welcome surprise. Krauss is a profoundly skilled writer, and her way with words made even the stories that did not quite work for me worth the voyage.

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What became of Queen Vashti? One Bay One Book program tackles ‘The Book of V.’

Whither Vashti? One Bay One Book program tackles ‘The Book of V.’

The Jewish Community Library has chosen Anna Solomon’s new novel “The Book of V.” for its next One Bay One Book program, a popular, community-wide offering served up annually by S.F.-based Jewish LearningWorks. Published in May, Solomon’s third novel follows three women in different time periods whose lives offer interpretive windows into the Biblical stories …

On the Riviera, in Bolivia … Jewish historical fiction that travels

On the Riviera, in Bolivia … Jewish historical fiction that travels – J.

Two new coming-of-age novels set against memorable geographical and historical backdrops remind me of what I especially value in reading historical fiction: the opportunity to learn about times and places beyond the circumstances of my life. Achilles Leccia, the narrator of Adrien Goetz’s “Villa of Delirium,” is a fictional character, but the small world he …