Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Raphael Soyer. Near Fine in Very Good jacket. First printing of this memoir of his early life in Warsaw. Near fine (lightly bumped corners) in a very good dustjacket with light edgewear. Not priceclipped and no markings. (box 34)
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near fine(-) copy in near fine(-) dust jacket; light bump to bottom corners; dj rubbed at head of spine w/ a few nicks; front is uniformly age-toned, rear panel-photo has usual friction rub. Translated from the Yiddish by Joseph Singer. Lge. 8vo 9 1/2"x 5 7/8" black cloth w/ wheat paper boards; author's name stamped in black on front, gilt lettering on spine; 177 pgs, w/ endpapers, frontis, 25 b&w drawings and 8 color plates by Raphael Soyer; illus dust jacket w/ $12.95 on front flap, author photo in color by Alex Gotfryd at back. jacket design by Rolf Bruderer w/ art by Soyer.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 385123574. Hardcover in dust jacket. First edition. Book and price-clipped dust jacket are in fine condition, crisp and clean, with tight binding and sharp corners. 8vo. 177 pp. In protective Mylar.
In Singer's words, this book tells the story of "the never-ceasing search and gain of love". The book combines the search for physical love and sex with spirituality, as Singer writes, "religion and love, even sex, are attributes of the same substance, as they were for the Kabbalists of all generations. The Godhead itself is a union of the principles of male and female, a yearning which never can be completely fulfilled."
"A Young Man in Search of Love"(1978) is the second book of a three part autobiography that Singer (1903 -- 1991) combined in 1986 into his book "Love and Exile". This separately-published book has the advantage of including beautiful drawings and paintings by Raphael Soyer (1899 -1987), an American artist and friend of Singer's. I received this book as a gift in 1978 and was moved to remember the giver and to revisit the book together with the other two volumes of the trilogy.
This moving, thoughtful book is written simply. The narrator is a young man in Warsaw in the mid-1920s struggling to become a writer. He is a shy young man struggling with his Orthodox, Hasidic Jewish background as well as with sexuality. He is also struggling with poverty and with the threat of conscription into the Polish army.
At the outset of the story, the narrator is involved in his first romantic affair, living in the small apartment of a woman over twice his age. His ardor has cooled. He moves out with a stormy break-up and becomes involved with at least two additional young women along the way. With the travails of youthful sex and love, the book ends with a new relationship seemingly about to begin.
The introspective self-centered young narrator searches for an understanding of the meaning of life in addition to his search for sex and love. He is concerned especially with the existence of widespread evil in the world in the wake of the Great War and with the existence of God. The narrator has read widely both in traditional Jewish sources and in philosophy, particularly Spinoza and to a lesser degree Kant. The book details struggles with thought and with the life of the mind as the narrator comes to a theistic, mystical position which denies the ability of man to know anything about God or his will.
In addition to its introspective character, "A Young Man in Search of Love" portrays the life of the writer and the difficult condition of the Poland of his day. The book is set in the streets and apartments, including the Writers Club where the narrator meets other struggling writers. The book shows the ferment of Jewish life as it is torn between Orthodoxy, socialism and communism, and Zionism. The book also gives a sense of the instability of Poland between the two world wars as it struggles to maintain its independence and also suffers a military coup. The different nationalities in Poland fight one another and the country is full of anti-Semitism.
With its depiction of the events of the day, this book remains a highly personal portrait of the life of the young author, with his quest for sex and love, and for spiritual understanding together with his extensive reading and thinking. The story is particular and unique, but it spoke to me and made me think of my own young life. The dear person who gave me the book knew me well.
Rafael Soyer's illustrations add a great deal to this book. The other two parts of Singer's trilogy are "A Little Boy in Search of Love" and "Lost in America".
