A Crown Of Feathers and Other Stories

Isaac Bashevis Singer was an author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1978. His novel, A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories won the National Book Award in 1974. Isaac Bashevis Singer is a unique writer whose characters in this multi-storied book are varied and typically intend to do right, but often find themselves unable to understand and decipher the world around them. In the title story, a beautiful and talented orphan is brought up by her pious and wealthy grandfather. In her sleep she hears her dead grandmother telling her that she should look for proof that Christ is the son of God by opening her pillow for the sign. She finds a crown of feathers topped by a cross. She changes religions, becoming a Catholic instead of a Jew and marrying a Polish squire. Later she finds out that it was the voice of the devil who was impersonating her grandmother. Singer is an extraordinary writer who draws the reader in with his beautiful prose and his vivid characterizations.