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A Good Place to Come From (1974)

by Morley Torgov

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I had a hard time understanding what I was reading at first, but this appears to be fact-based or factual episodes from Torgov's years growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in the 1930s and 1940s. It starts in 1949 but soon it dives back to his childhood during the Depression years. Torgov describes what it was like to be raised by middle-class Jewish parents, part of a small Jewish community in the centre of downtown. Episodes describe his family's interactions with the city's other cultures, a smorgasbord of immigrants attracted to the burgeoning steel industry, predominantly Italian, but also Ukrainian, Chinese and various others. There's several insights into his own culture, with careful descriptions of how it was atypical compared to the Jewish experience in other communities. The writing is fantastic, he's a great stylist, and the humour is gentle but really on point.

My sole criticism during was that he played it safe by consistently steering away from anything serious. We don't hear the speech about fundraising for Israel, only about the speaker's amusing discomfort. Torgov doesn't share the pain of his mother's passing, it's only mentioned casually. With everything so lighthearted and fun-poking in its characterizations, something was missing. The exception to this is his relationship with his father. With that one element more closely examined the story becomes a whole, because a good place to come from is not just a place. ( )
  Cecrow | Apr 20, 2023 |
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For their constant encouragement and support during the writing of this book, I am deeply indebted to my wife Anna Pearl, my children Sarah Jane and Alexander, and my friend Beverley Slopen, Lois and Jack Shayne, Lila and Alex Mogelon, Helen Mathe, Sydney M. Harris and Ben Kayfetz.
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It was four o'clock in the afternoon, a half hour before train time.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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