SOURCE: "I. L. Peretz: Monologue and Madness in the Early Stories," in Classic Yiddish Fiction: Abramovitsh, Sholem Aleichem, and Peretz, State University of New York Press, 1995, pp. 259-80.

In the following excerpt, Frieden explores first-person narratives in Peretz's tales,

Peretz contributed immeasurably to Yiddish fiction with his first book, a collection of three stories entitled Familiar Scenes (Bakante bilder, 1890). He had formerly published the poetic ballad "Monish" and some insubstantial fiction in The Jewish Popular Library of 1888 and 1889; the three new stories constituted a radical departure from prevailing Yiddish literary norms. Unlike popular authors who merely imitated the romantic plots of European novels, Peretz drew from current trends in psychological realism—and from his own experiences in childhood, when he was known as "the crazy Leybush."

Edited by Peretz's friend Yankev Dinezon, Familiar Scenes contains "The Messenger" ("Der meshulekh"), "What is 'Soul'?" ("Vos heyst 'neshome'"), and "The Mad...