Shtetl In My Mind is a collection of stories from a world that, for the most part, no longer exists. Parts of it disappeared with the passing of time and part of it was destroyed by the flames of war. The communities and small towns, known in the Yiddish language as shtetls, are held together in the minds and memories of story tellers.
Now, with the publication of Shtetl In My Mind, a new voice has joined the chorus of traditional tellers of tales. As he did in his novel, Karpstein Was Hiding, Martin A. David, paints word pictures and poetic images with every phrase. His novel was called a work of "Jewish magic realism," and he applies the same technique to his stories.
The stories in Shtetl In My Mind tell of love, of luck, of traditions, and sometimes of profound sadness. They are stories of life as it was lived then and is lived now. Mystics, healers, rabbis, scoundrels, peddlers, soldiers of the Tsar, revolutionaries, and even a practical joke playing thief all pour out of the author's imagination. You will meet tongue-tied lovers, a wise fool, and chickens that almost wreck a train.
The themes resound across all cultures and all times. These are stories to read to yourself in quiet times, to read aloud, and to read again. Once you have visited the shtetl that stuck out like a nose from the map of the imaginary town of Narodny and the other shtetls of Shtetl In My Mind, you'll want to return again and again.
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