At the end of the last century, when nearly all the Jewish inhabitants of the Polish town L. were killed by Cossacks in a pogrom, the surviving members of the Grünbaum family fled to Vienna where their eldest daughter was married to a furrier. The other children having perished, the family now consisted of the son-in-law Nathan Levi, a grandchild, and the parentsin-law. Young Mrs. Levi, the second Grünbaum daughter, had not died from kicks or blows in the pogrom itself, but from the consequences of a premature birth, for she had witnessed the murders of her own brothers through a small window in the cellar where she was hiding. She had been the favorite daughter. The elder one to whom they now traveled had always been looked upon as disagreeable and insufferable. Otherwise she might not have been given consent to marry so far away, even if into a family that hailed from the same town. Her longish face displayed features that were somewhat morose and uninviting, and it was hard to tell whether her peevish disposition was responsible for her aspect or whether her aspect had preyed upon her disposition. When she came for her people at the East Railway Station in Vienna, her mother in all her despair couldn’t shed the feeling of how dead the younger daughter was, how outrageously she had died, and how the sullen, wry-mouthed elder one was still living. Because despair, instead of soothing, relentlessly sharpens the memory of the dead and the semblance of the living. As was the elder daughter, so, too, was the son-in-law.

中文翻译：

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邮寄到应许之地

上世纪末，波兰小镇 L. 的几乎所有犹太居民都在一场大屠杀中被哥萨克杀害，幸存的 Grünbaum 家族成员逃往维也纳，在那里他们的大女儿嫁给了一个皮草商。其他孩子都死了，这个家庭现在由女婿内森·莱维、孙子和岳父母组成。年轻的列维夫人，格伦鲍姆的第二个女儿，并不是死于大屠杀本身的踢打或殴打，而是死于早产的后果，因为她通过地窖的一个小窗户目睹了自己兄弟的谋杀躲起来了。她一直是最喜欢的女儿。他们现在去的那个年长的人一直被认为是令人讨厌和难以忍受的。否则她可能不会被同意嫁给这么远的地方，哪怕是同城出身的家庭。长长的脸上流露出几分忧郁不讨喜的神情，分不清是她暴躁的性格造成了她的容貌，还是她的容貌掠夺了她的性情。当她在维也纳火车东站接人时，她的母亲在绝望中无法摆脱小女儿的死，她的死是多么的离谱，还有那个阴沉、歪嘴的大女儿的感觉。还活着。因为绝望，而不是抚慰，无情地加深了对死者的记忆和生者的外表。大女儿如此，女婿也是如此。也分不清是她脾气暴躁的性格造成了她的一面，还是她的一面掠夺了她的性格。当她在维也纳火车东站接人时，她的母亲在绝望中无法摆脱小女儿的死，她的死是多么的离谱，还有那个阴沉、歪嘴的大女儿的感觉。还活着。因为绝望，而不是抚慰，无情地加深了对死者的记忆和生者的外表。大女儿如此，女婿也是如此。也分不清是她脾气暴躁的性格造成了她的一面，还是她的一面掠夺了她的性格。当她在维也纳火车东站接人时，她的母亲在绝望中无法摆脱小女儿的死，她的死是多么的离谱，还有那个阴沉、歪嘴的大女儿的感觉。还活着。因为绝望，而不是抚慰，无情地加深了对死者的记忆和生者的外表。大女儿如此，女婿也是如此。那个闷闷不乐、满嘴苦笑的长老还活着。因为绝望，而不是抚慰，无情地加深了对死者的记忆和生者的外表。大女儿如此，女婿也是如此。那个闷闷不乐、满嘴苦笑的长老还活着。因为绝望，而不是抚慰，无情地加深了对死者的记忆和生者的外表。大女儿如此，女婿也是如此。