Shomer and the Shundroman
Nokhem Meyer Shaykevitch (1849? - 1905) wrote under the pen name of Shomer. He was born in Lithuania and moved to the United States in 1889.
Shomer was a very prolific writer, publishing over 200 novels and 50 plays in Yiddish, as well as 15 novels in Hebrew.
His works are classed in the sub-genre of Yiddish literature known as the shundroman, that is to say, the trashy novel. In 1888 the great Yiddish writer, Sholem Aleichem, wrote a scathing pamphlet entitled "Shomers Mishpet (Shomer's Trial) where he held Shomer's works up as being a prime example all that was wrong with popular Yiddish literature. His works were condemned for being poorly composed, repetitious, morally bankrupt and plagiarized.
If Shomer was stung by the criticisms, he got over it quickly. After all, the great Yiddish writers were generally struggling to feed their families by their work, while Shomer's works were wildly successful!
So, sit back and enjoy some classic Yiddish pulp fiction. To my knowledge this is the first work of Shomer's ever to be translated into English.
- Half Human Half Ape (PDF)
- Half Human Half Ape (ePUB)
- Halb Mentsh Halb Affe (Original Yiddish)