King of the Fields

In King of the Fields—the last novel published in Isaac Bashevis Singer's lifetime—the Nobel Prize laureate explores Poland's pagan history, telling a tale of conquest and survival suffused with superstition and violence. Centering on Cybula, chieftain of a clan of hunter-gatherers called the Lesniks, the novel tells of the onslaught of the Woyaks, a band of warriors intent on using the Lesniks' land for agriculture and turning the Lesniks themselves into slave-like peasants. Part parable of modern civilization, part fascinating historical novel, it reaffrims the author's reputation as a master storyteller.