The classic first collection in its genre, "Wandering Stars" reminds readers that many are still studying, still suffering, still making jokes and myths, and still trying to figure out what it means to be Jewish--even in science fiction and fantasy. A 25th anniversary classic reprint.

“An uproarious, sprawling masterpiece by a grand Yiddish storyteller.” —O, The Oprah Magazine Translated in full for the first time, one hundred years after its original publication, the acclaimed epic love story set in the colorful world of the Yiddish theater. Wandering Stars spans ten years and two continents, relating the adventures of Reizel and Leibel, young shtetl dwellers in late nineteenth-century Russia who fall under the spell of a traveling acting company. Together they run away from home to become entertainers themselves, and then tour separately around Europe, ultimately reuniting in New York. Wandering Stars is an engrossing romance, a great New York story, and an anthem for the magic of the theater.

While both Esther and Nejma want peace, each has a different experience during the founding of Israel; Esther is a Jewish girl who participtes in the founding, and Nejma is a Palestinian who becomes a refugee.