Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Surprisingly Fresh New Translations

Towards the end of the nineteenth century fundamental changes in being a Jew in Europe were under way. There was a movement within the German Jewish intellectuals that began to integrate more closely with the non-Jewish society. As with all times of change, this was a time of confusion as the changes filtered through Jewish society. And this change was reflected in the plays that were being written, in Yiddish of course.This book is both a new translation of some of these plays, and a critical analysis of these plays in conjunction with the history of those times. Surprisingly the plays, now available in English for the first time show a freshness and timelessness that is surprising in the light of all that has gone on since.This is a welcome addition to modern Jewish literature as befits the SUNY series in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture.