Tevye the Dairyman by Sholem Aleichem, translated by Aliza Shevrin

     I read the stories of Tevye the Dairyman, the protagonist of Fiddler on the Roof with my family as a sort of book of the month and they were a really great connection to old Yiddish storytelling. The stories are mostly funny, but sometimes sad depictions of life in a shtetl in Eastern Europe. The writing style uses dialogue more than most other books I've ever read, and that works with Tevye's character since he is always talking- quoting scripture, making jokes, and complaining. For example, "A little brandy? Ach, who would turn down a little brandy? How does it say in the Talmud: Who giveth life giveth also the fruit of the vine. Rashi interprets it as: God may be God, but brandy is brandy." Or when complaining about his wife and reflecting upon the wealth of the town butcher: "My God! I thought, wishing my children could live like this. What a lucky man this butcher was! Not only was he rich, but his two children were married, and he was a widower into the bargain!" Or after the death of a daughter: "Do you know what, Pani Sholem Aleichem? Let's better speak of something happier. What do you hear about the cholera in Odessa?" All in all, great stories that teach a lot about shtetl culture.