"According to the writer, the major purpose of this particular novel was to ponder the philosophical questions of freedom and slavery and faith and godlessness. The novel shows the historical reality of a routine Jewish life and reflects on the fate of the Jewish people and humanity in general"--

Grigory Kanovich (1929-2023) was an internationally acclaimed Lithuanian-born Jewish writer. He was the author of ten novels translated into fourteen languages, including Devilspel and Shtetl Love Song. His play, "Smile Upon Us, Lord," toured in the US, Canada, Europe, and Israel. The recipient of numerous awards, he was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize in Art and Culture in 2014. Settling in Israel in 1993, he was a member of PEN International both in Israel and Russia.

Mary Ann Szporluk is an editor and a translator of Russian literature whose translations include Escape Hatch: Two Novellas by Vladimir Makanin and The Death of a Poet: The Last Days of Marina Tsvetaeva by Irma Kudrova.

Ken Frieden, the B. G. Rudolph Professor of Judaic Studies at Syracuse University, has published numerous books and essays on Yiddish and Hebrew literature.