"Sons and Daughters," a Yiddish novel by Chaim Grade, highlights the tensions between literary aspirations and traditional Jewish values. Written in the 1960s and 70s, it reflects the era's waning interest in Yiddish fiction, paralleling the decline in its readership. Despite Yiddish still being spoken among ultra-Orthodox communities, the genre struggles to find relevance in contemporary society. The novel navigates the protagonist Khlavneh's literary journey, showcasing the challenges he faces in reconciling his poetry with his family's expectations and cultural traditions as it is set in pre-war Poland.
The sharp opposition between Yiddish literature and Jewish tradition is, in fact, one of the major themes of "Sons and Daughters."
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