Description
At the End of Everything
Book Summary
Published in 1913, At the End of Everything is David Bergelson's masterpiece and one of the great novels of the 20th century, now available for the first time in Spanish in a meticulous direct translation. Set against the decline of the Russian Empire, the novel follows Mirel Hurvits, an intelligent and sensitive woman caught between Jewish tradition and the yearnings of modernity. Through essential prose laden with silence, Bergelson portrays the emotional disintegration of his protagonist, offering a profound and moving literary experience.
What is it about?
The novel is set in the tumultuous years before the fall of the Russian Empire, a transitional period where the Jewish petty bourgeoisie struggled to preserve its cultural identity in the face of change. In this context, Mirel Hurvits, sometimes compared to Madame Bovary, is a beautiful, sad, and extremely sensitive woman torn between tradition and modernity. Her life takes a tragic turn when a forced marriage of convenience leads to her emotional disintegration and a direct confrontation with the expectations of her pious family. Bergelson reduces language to its essentials, using silence to underscore the protagonist's alienation and create an atmosphere of tension and melancholy.
Main themes
- The struggle between tradition and modernity in the Jewish community of the Russian Empire.
- The conflict of women against gender roles imposed by society.
- The alienation and emotional disintegration caused by a marriage of convenience.
- The search for identity and meaning in a decaying world.
- The use of silence and ellipsis as narrative devices to express incommunicability.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is intended for readers interested in great 20th-century world literature, especially Eastern European Jewish narrative. It is also ideal for those who appreciate psychological and character-driven novels with poetic, minimalist prose, as well as for those seeking a work comparable to the classics of Flaubert or Chekhov.
What this book offers
- A rediscovered masterpiece of Yiddish literature, rigorously translated into Spanish for the first time.
- A unique vision of the decline of the Russian Empire and the identity crisis of the Jewish bourgeoisie.
- A deep and moving psychological portrait of a woman caught between duty and desire.
- An aesthetic experience through essential prose, laden with silence and unparalleled beauty.
Technical specifications
- Author: Bergelson, David
- Publisher: Xordica
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Modern and contemporary fiction
- Collection: Envistas
- Binding: Other
- Edition date: November 2015
- Number of pages: 400
- Weight: 619 g
Editorial review
At the End of Everything is a first-rate editorial recovery that returns to the Spanish-speaking reader a fundamental novel of the Yiddish canon. The work stands out for its ability to combine the intimate portrait of a woman with the chronicle of an era of change, all narrated with prose of contained and powerful beauty. It is essential reading for those looking for literature that transcends time and cultural boundaries.