Meshugah Author:Isaac Bashevis Singer Aaron Greidinger, a Polish refugee living in New York's Upper West Side in the 1950s, writes serialized Yiddish novels for The Forward (as did Singer himself) and dabbles in a variety of romantic affairs. One of his lovers is Miriam Zalkind, a bewitching young woman who has several older lovers--and also a terrible secret buried in her past.... more »
Indeed, in the Jewish community in New York during this period, everyone lives with the nightmarish memories of the Holocaust branded in their hearts. The novel is essentially comic, full of world class talkers, broad comedy, and convoluted liaisons, but the underlying message that the world has gone mad ("meshuga" means "crazy") can shift from humorous to horrific in a moment.
Written in Yiddish during the 1980s, MESHUGA was first published in English in 1994, one of several novels by the Nobel Laureate to appear after his death.« less