 With this novel, originally published serially in a Yiddish newspaper, Abramovitsh introduced his alter ego, the character of Mendele Moykher Sforim ("Mendel the Book Peddler"), the character who narrates this and many succeeding stories.Abramovitsh himself is often known by this name, and it appears as the "author" on several of his books, producing a complex set of relations between the author, the persona and the readership which has been explored most thoroughly by Dan Miron.Abramovitsh’s work is ironic and sharp, while maintaining the voice of a folksy narrator.