A Good Place to Come From
Morley Torgov Classics
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
The "good place to come from” was Sault Ste Marie in northern Ontario during the tumultuous era leading to WWII. Morley Torgov’s tales of life are enduring classics: choosing the president of the Jewish community (when no one wants the job); the sorrows of the Chinese restaurant owner where Torgov and his irascible father ate most nights, while his stepmother lay dying in hospital; and Torgov’s obsession with George Gershwin, which he shared with his friend Irving Cohen are all unforgettable. Winner of the 1976 Leacock Medal for Humour, “A Good Place to Come From” was adapted for four dramas telecast by CBC TV and was the basis for three full length stage plays by Israel Horovitz which have been performed in New York City and throughout the US.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sault Ste. Marie's Jewish community in the 1930s, where Torgov grew up, is evoked in this Canadian memoir. Containing many mirthful moments, the book is deeply moving as well. Holding center stage is the author's profane, choleric, intolerant father. There is little about the boy's mother, who died when he was only 10, or the stepmother whom Torgov Sr. wed and then quickly divorced. Most of the fun as well as the sadness arises from duels between father and son and the latter's childhood escapades, such as conniving with a sympathetic maid to feast on forbidden foods. Torgov also brings to life members of the insular town's Jewish and Christian communities in his endearing anecdotes.
