Description

---

El pentateuco de Isaac is a tale of the journey of a Jewish tailor from Galitzia through the turmoil of the first half of the 20th century. Blumenfeld, who was born as a subject of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, sees how his world changes over and over again while he lives under rule of several governments. He ends up belonging to Austria, but not before having been a citizen of Poland, the USSR and the Third Reich. Protected from the vagaries of history by his humor, Isaac recounts his time in the imperial army and various concentration camps with uplifting wit and irony, diluting the tragedy the world around him and turning despair into a fun and lucid tale.

About the Author

---

Angel Wagenstein studied film in Moscow and began a long and recognized career as a screenwriter and director. In 1959, the film Étoiles, with him as a screenwriter, received the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival. His literary career started much later with the publication of the novel El pentateuco de Isaac, which was the beginning of an ambitious trilogy dedicated to the fate of the Jews in Europe during the XX century, that was completed with Lejos de Toledo and Adiós, Shanghai. His works have been translated into numerous languages.