Written by: Sholom Aleichem
First line: Non-Jews called him Moshke.
Why you should read this book: Billed as a "lost" novel of the great Yiddish writer (more of a short story or novella in my estimation), this is a very exciting and non-traditional kind of love story that shines a light on the once-vibrant and now-extinct world of the Jewish shtetl. Moshkele is a horse thief who is held in disdain by the entire community, a community that calls on him to solve any problem that requires wit and strength, but refuses to let him marry any of their daughters; Tsireleh is the beautiful daughter of a tavern-keeper who has seen firsthand exactly what traditional marriage has done to her sisters and determines to have no part in it. When Tsireleh runs off with a goy and takes shelter in a monastery, her father engages Moshkeleh to bring her back, unaware that Moshkeleh has been in love with Tsireleh for a long time.
Why you shouldn't read this book: Your adult child has run off.
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