This translation of M.L. Lilienblum's Errors of Youth (1876) and its short sequel, Way of Return (1899), bridges a critical gap in modern Hebrew literature and Jewish intellectual history, and, for the first time, makes the entirety of these seminal texts available in English. Framed as autobiography, but written with fictionalized flair and keen irony, Errors of Youth follows the travails of its hapless, self-centered narrator from traditional Jewish upbringing to modern life in Odessa. Unconventional and absorbing, the text offers striking insight into Jewish life in Eastern Europe, and a compelling Jewish critique of modernity. It is both a transformative experiment in Hebrew novel-writing, and an essential text in the history of Jewish nationalism in Russia. Lilienblum's contribution to modern Jewish culture has often been overlooked, but his influence resonates across the twentieth century in the work of Philip Roth and S.Y. Agnon.
This edition undertakes to restore Lilienblum's masterwork to its proper place in the history of Jewish thought and imagination. Olga Litvak's translation expertly maintains the poeticism and parodic intent of the originals, while her introduction and annotations elucidate how Lilienblum wrote in nuanced conversation with classical Jewish sources. Situating Lilienblum's work in historical and literary context, Litvak also showcases its contemporary relevance. Enabling a new generation of readers to appreciate the bracing quality of Lilienblum's prose, his powers of invention, and his consummate understanding of modern Jewish society, this edition brings a forgotten classic to life.
