''Shira'' (Hebrew: שירה) is a 1971 posthumously-published unfinished Hebrew-language novel by

Shmuel Yosef Agnon Shmuel Yosef Agnon ( he, שמואל יוסף עגנון; July 17, 1888 – February 17, 1970) was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew literature. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon (). In English, his works are published und ...

first serialized in ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'' between 1948 and 1966, his longest novel at 558 pages and the last one he wrote. It was published by

Schocken Books Schocken Books is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that specializes in Jewish literary works. Originally established in 1931 by Salman Schocken as Schocken Verlag in Berlin, the company later moved to Palestine and then the U ...

and edited by who also wrote the afterword and is widely considered one of the greatest Israeli novels.

Synopsis

Set in Jerusalem in the 1930s and 1940s, the story follows Dr. Manfred Herbst, a middle-aged German-Jewish lecturer of Byzantine history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who suffers from boredom and spends his days prowling the streets searching for Shira, the beguiling nurse he met when his wife, Henrietta, was giving birth to their third child. Against the background of 1930s Jerusalem and the 1936–1939 Arab riots, Dr. Herbst wages war against the encroachment of age.

References

* Alter, Prof. Dr. Robert Bernard
Agnon’s Last Word
In: '' Commentary'', New York, New York: Commentary Inc., 561 7th Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10018, Volume 51, Number 6, 1 June 1971, pp. 74–81. *Alter, Prof. Dr. Robert Bernard
''Hebrew and Modernity''
Bloomington, Indiana:

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest camp ...

, Office of Scholarly Publishing, Herman B Wells Library 350, 1320 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405-3907, 1994. *Alter, Prof. Dr. Robert Bernard
The Great Genius of Jewish Literature
In: ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'', New York, New York: Rea S. Hederman, 435 Hudson Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10014, Volume 64, Number 6, 6 April 2017. *
Agnon’s Last Novel
In: ''The Israel Yearbook'', Tel Aviv-Yafo: Israel Yearbook Publications, 1973, pp. 251ff. *Band, Prof. Dr. Arnold J. ''Shira'', Agnon’s Posthumous Novel. In: ''Ariel: The Israel Review of Arts and Letters'', Jerusalem: Cultural and Scientific Relations Division,

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, Winter 1972. * Ezer, Prof. Dr. Nancy
Flirtation in S.Y. Agnon’s ''Shira''
In: Prof. Dr. David Cortell and Prof. Dr. William Cutter, eds., ''History and Literature: New Readings of Jewish Texts in Honor of Arnold J. Band'', Brown Judaic Studies, Number 334. Providence, Rhode Island: Program in Judaic Studies, Brown University, Box 1826, Providence, RI 02912, 2002, pp. 125–136. *Feldman, Dr. Ahuva
Consciousness of Time and Mission in S. Y. Agnon’s ''Shira''
In: ''Hebrew Studies'', Texas, Austin:

National Association of Professors of Hebrew The National Association of Professors of Hebrew (NAPH) is a professional organization for university professors of the Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is o ...

, The

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, 204 W 21st Street Stop F9400, Calhoun Hall (CAL) 528, Austin, TX 78712, Volume 50, 2009, pp. 339–381. *Golomb Hoffman, Prof. Dr. Anne
''Between Exile and Return: S. Y. Agnon and the Drama of Writing''
SUNY Series in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture, ed. Prof. Dr. Ezra Cappell. Albany, New York: SUNY Press,

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...

, 10 North Pearl Street, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 1220, 1991. *Goodman, Roger B
Jewish Fiction (Cont.)
In: ''

Jewish Currents ''Jewish Currents'' is a progressive, secular Jewish quarterly magazine and news site whose content reflects the politics of the Jewish left. It features independent journalism, breaking news, political commentary, analysis, and a "countercultura ...

'', Accord, New York: Workmen’s Circle, POB 111, Accord NY 12404, Volume 44, 1990, pp. 4ff. *Katz, Prof. Dr. Stephen
''The Centrifugal Novel: S.Y. Agnon’s Poetics of Composition''
Madison, New Jersey:

Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (FDU Press) is a publishing house under the operation and oversight of Fairleigh Dickinson University, the largest private university in New Jersey, which has international campuses in Vancouver, British Colu ...

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

, 842 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 2P6, Canada, 1999. *Kobak, James B
''Shira''
In: '' Kirkus Reviews'', New York, New York: Kirkus Media, LLC, 65 West 36th St., Suite 700, New York, N.Y. 10018, Volume 1180, 31 October 1989. *
An Uncompromising Search for Truth
In: ''Haaretz'', Tel Aviv-Yafo: M. DuMont Schauberg, 21 Salman Schocken St., P.O. Box 35029, Tel Aviv, Israel 61350, 8 July 2011, p. 1. *Mazor, Prof. Dr. Yair
''Shira''
In: '' Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies'', West Lafayette, Indiana:

Purdue University Press Purdue University Press, founded in 1960, is a university press that is part of Purdue University. It is a unit of Purdue University Libraries. History An administrative unit of Purdue University Libraries, Purdue University Press has its root ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

, Stewart Center 190, 504 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2058, Volume 9, Number 1, Fall 1990, pp. 124–126. *Mintz, Prof. Dr. Alan L
''Translating Israel: Contemporary Hebrew Literature and Its Reception in America''
Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art, eds. Prof. Dr.

Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking worl ...

and Prof. Dr. Ken Frieden. Syracuse, New York:

Syracuse University Press Syracuse University Press, founded in 1943, is a university press that is part of Syracuse University. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. History SUP was formed in August 1943 when president William P. Tolley pro ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, 621 Skytop Road, Suite 110, Syracuse, NY 13244-5290, 2001. *Popien, Astrid. The Bookcase of Dr. Manfred Herbst: S.Y. Agnon’s Novel ''Shira'' and European Literature. In: Prof. Dr. and Prof. Dr.

Hillel Weiss Hillel Weiss ( he, הלל ויס; born 1945) is a professor emeritus of literature at Bar Ilan University in Israel. Academic career Hillel Weiss is a tenured professor at the Joseph & Norman Berman Department of Literature of the Jewish People, ...

, eds.,
Agnon and Germany: The Presence of the German World in the Writings of S. Y. Agnon
'. Ramat Gan: , Ramat Gan, 5290002, Israel, 2010, pp. 115–150. *Ramas-Rauch, Prof. Dr. Gila
''Shira'': S. Y. Agnon’s Posthumous Novel
In: ''Books Abroad'', Norman, Oklahoma: Board of Regents of the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

, 660 Parrington Oval, Room 119, Norman, OK 73019-3074, Volume 45, Noumber 4, Autumn 1971, pp. 636–638. *Saks, Jeffrey
At Professor Bachlam’s
In: '' Jewish Review of Books'', New York, New York: Eric Cohen, 3091 Mayfield Road, Suite 412, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118, (216) 397-1073, Number 17, Spring 2014. *Schulman, Prof. Dr. Grace
Lovers and Other Pedants
In: ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read ...

'', New York, New York: ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. ...

, The New York Times Building, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York City, New York 10018, 24 December 1989. *Shapiro, Zeva. ''Shira'': A Translator’s Afterthoughts. In: Shmuel Yosef Agnon.
Shira
', S.Y. Agnon Library, ed. Jeffrey Saks, with an “Afterword,” pp. 771–790 by Prof. Dr. Robert Bernard Alter. Trans. Zeva Shapiro. New Milford, Connecticut: Toby Press, Koren Publishers, New Milford, CT 06776-8531, 1989, pp. 791–798, reprinted in:
American Jewish Congress Monthly
', New York, New York:

American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The AJCongress was ...

, 115 East 57th Street, Suite 11, New York, NY 10022, Volume 58, Number 2, February 1991, pp. 18–20. *Shavitsky, Prof. Dr. Ziva
The Continual Dislocation of German Jewry: S.Y Agnon’s ''Thus Far'', ''In Mr Lublin’s Store'' and ''Shira''
In: ''Revue Européenne des Études Hébraïques'', Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis: Institut Europeén d’Études Hébraïques,

Paris 8 University Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis (french: Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis) is a public university in Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public institution. It is one of the th ...

, Number 5, 2001, pp. 108–139.
''Shira''
In: ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', New York, New York: PWxyz LLC, 71 West 23 St., ste #1608, New York, NY 10010, Phone 212-377-5500, 1 October 1989. *Zimroth, Prof. Dr. Evan
Agnon and Ecstasy
In: '' Tikkun'', Durham, North Carolina:

Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...

, Duke University, 2342 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 1200, Berkeley, CA 94704, Volume 6, Number 1, January–February 1991, pp. 27ff. {{Wikiquotelang, he, שירה (ספר), ''Shira'' 1971 novels Adultery in novels BDSM literature History books about Jews and Judaism Campus novels Hebrew-language novels Historical novels 20th-century Israeli novels Novels set in Jerusalem Novels about antisemitism Novels about cities Novels about immigration Novels about marriage Novels about nationalism Novels about terrorism Novels first published in serial form Novels published posthumously Novels set in Mandatory Palestine Novels set in the 1930s Novels set in the 1940s Medical novels Satirical novels Sexuality in novels Unfinished novels Works about human pregnancy Works about old age Schocken Books books