Desires Format: ClothOverBoards

A landmark Yiddish novel of love, betrayal, and social expectations in early 20th-century America.

Celia Dropkin's Desires explores the tumultuous marriage of Sam and Shirley Elkin, shaken by the death of their son and a long-held secret. When Shirley confesses to a past infidelity, their world unravels, revealing a web of jealousy, longing, and societal pressures.

As Sam grapples with betrayal and Shirley confronts her desires, their story becomes a poignant exploration of human nature. Translated by Anita Norich, this rediscovered gem of Yiddish literature offers a powerful glimpse into the lives of Jewish immigrants navigating love, loss, and the complexities of identity in a changing world. Perfect for readers of literary fiction, historical sagas, and stories of complex relationships.

Celia (Tsilye) Dropkin, né e Tsipporah Levine (1887– 1956), was born in Babruysk in what is now Belarus. After attending Russian-language schools and teaching briefly in Warsaw, she went to Kiev in 1907. There she met the Hebrew writer Uri Nissan Gnessin and began to write poems in Russian, one of which Gnessin adapted into Hebrew and published without acknowledging its source. In 1912 she joined her husband in New York, where she continued to write in Russian but also began to publish Yiddish translations of her Russian poetry. Known primarily as a Yiddish poet, she was also a painter and wrote short stories and the novel Di tsvey gefiln (Two Feelings, translated here as Desires) in the 1930s. Her poetry has been both lauded and criticized for its sexual imagery and eroticism.