The Shadow of Death: Letters in Flames

About the Book

The Shadow of Death: Letters in Flames is an analytical study of eight major Jewish and Israeli writers who wrote about the experience of the Shoah (Holocaust). The book is divided into two main sections. The first section "The Holocaust Experience from Within" analyzes literary works by the writers Aharon Appelfeld, Elie Wiesel, Primo Levi, Ka-tzetnik, and Jerzy Kosinski - who experienced the Holocaust firsthand. The second section is devoted to "After the Holocaust - Experience from Without," concentrating mainly on the literary analysis of works by writers who responded to the Holocaust after the event. They are the Israeli writers Hanoch Bartov, Hayim Gouri, and Yehuda Amichai. The book is literary oriented with a prominent focus on textual and literary analysis of major examples of Holocaust literature. It purports to examine the texts under study and analyze them by pointing out literary devices that indicate the writers' perception of the Holocaust and their attempt to convey the meaning and significance of the Holocaust to the modern reader.

Table of Contents:

Part 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Introduction: "Literature after Auschwitz"?
Part 3 The Holocaust Experience From Within
Chapter 4 Aharon Appelfeld: Premonition and Illusion in the Pre-Holocaust Years in Badenheim 1939
Chapter 5 Elie Wiesel: The Night of Auschwitz —The Right to Question
Chapter 6 Primo Levi: Survival in Auschwitz — An Essay on Man
Chapter 7 Ka-tzetnik: 'Star of Ashes' Becomes Star Eternal — Depiction of Another Planet
Chapter 8 Jerzy Kosinki: The Painted Bird — The Risk of Metaphor
Part 9 After the Holocaust — Experience from Without
Chapter 10 Hanoch Bartov: Late Encounter with the Holocaust - Paradigms, Rhythms, and Concepts in The Brigade
Chapter 11 Hayim Gouri: Concept of Post-Holocaust Reality in The Chocolate Deal
Chapter 12 Yehuda Amichai: Fractured Soul in a Split Reality after the Holocaust in Not of This Time, Not of This Place
Part 13 Bibliography
Part 14 Authors and Artists Biographies
Part 15 About the Author; Books by the Author

About the Author :
Moshe Pelli is Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Judaic Studies and Abe and Tess Wise Endowed Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fl. Professor Pelli's major area of specialization is Modern Hebrew Literature. He has written extensively on the Literature of the Holocaust and has published 11 scholarly books and numerous research papers. Professor Pelli was honored with numerous awards for his teaching, research and contributions to Jewish Studies and to Hebrew culture, including the 1991 Friedman Prize for Hebrew Culture in America, and the Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award for 1996 and 2006 at UCF. He is President of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew in the U.S.A.

Review :
Pelli's book introduces the commencing evolution of the Hebrew/Jewish Haskalah movement in the late eighteenth century in Prussia with both elucidating attention and penetrating insight. This book casts a valuable light upon the Haskalah's agenda and accomplishments: the rebirth of Hebrew letters, the revival of the Hebrew language, and the rejuvenation of the Jewish people...Pelli's book is a praisworthy work of scholarship that introduces the Haskalah literature in the most fastidious and brilliant. fashion...

Pelli's book introduces the commencing evolution of the Hebrew/Jewish Haskalah movement in the late eighteenth century in Prussia with both elucidating attention and penetrating insight. This book casts a valuable light upon the Haskalah's agenda and accomplishments: the rebirth of Hebrew letters, the revival of the Hebrew language, and the rejuvenation of the Jewish people...Pelli's book is a praisworthy work of scholarship that introduces the Haskalah literature in the most fastidious and brilliant.
fashion.