‘My Childhood in Pieces' Review: A Life of Grins and Groans
Ruby objected. A nasty little court battle ensued. Irma prevailed and the boy became Edward Hirsch—or so he and almost everyone else thought. But it turned out Irma didn't bother to file the legal papers to change her son's name until he was about to turn 21. He only found out decades later.
The deception was but one of many odd, occasionally funny and sometimes painful aspects of Mr. Hirsch's life growing up in a Chicago suburb, as recounted in 'My Childhood in Pieces.' The story unfolds in an almost pointillist style, in snippets of recollections, some only a sentence or two long. The result is a sprawling narrative peopled by an eccentric crew of relatives and friends and quickened with an array of setbacks, successes, disappointments and cruelties told with wit and a few regrets.
Mr. Hirsch subtitles his memoir 'A Stand-Up Comedy, a Skokie Elegy,' and he hits both notes. Skokie is a newish town some 15 miles north of downtown Chicago, populated in significant part by Jews, including, in Mr. Hirsch's youth, a fair number of Holocaust survivors.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
‘Pan' is funny, insightful and a little unhinged
On the face of it, Michael Clune's 'Pan' appears to traverse rather straightforward territory. At the dawn of the 1990s, a teenage boy in a Midwestern suburb is sent to live with his father after his parents' divorce. He begins to suffer panic attacks. He meets new friends, starts experimenting with drugs in a secluded hayloft he and those friends refer to as 'the barn,' and … well, to describe it any further in those terms would be a complete violation of what 'Pan' is actually about. Clune's vision here is essentially religious, and I don't mean religious in the way that Flannery O'Connor was a Catholic writer or Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Jewish one. I mean, rather, that 'Pan' is saturated with a grand, psychedelic spirit, the sort of holy mania one finds in writers like William Blake or Christopher Smart. The effect, to the extent one can refer to it as merely an 'effect,' is dazzling. Clune, a celebrated memoirist, delivers with 'Pan' a debut novel that is at once startlingly funny and radiantly — if here and there a little perplexingly — strange. The prose is colloquial and direct — Clune's narrator, Nick, is 15 and speaks the argot of an ordinary teenager — and yet somehow everywhere Nick's eye alights the world feels like it's being flayed bare. In a classroom, he notes: 'Winter in Illinois, the flesh comes off the bones, what did we need geometry for? We could look at the naked angles of the trees, the circles in the sky at night. At noon we could look at our own faces. All the basic shapes were there, in bone.' It's a mood, and a style, that could easily become exhausting if it were not so perfectly matched not just to Nick's panic attacks but to the mock-heroic register of adolescence in general. Because it is, Nick's encounters with teenage effluvia take on a revelatory intensity: Boston's 'More Than a Feeling' is 'just a quiet glitter of melody, a whisper of rhythm. Like a glass man, striding alongside the car, bones tinkling'; at his after-school job at Ace Hardware, he looks to avoid 'the three stigmata of idleness … the hanging hands, the half-open mouth, the unfocused eyes.' It's tempting to say that nothing much happens in this novel, but for the fact that everything that does happen is charged with so much fearsome grandeur that even the book's micro-movements feel operatic. Whatever 'Pan' might lack in terms of old-fashioned narrative mechanics, it more than makes up for in humor, particularity and what I am forced to refer to simply as meaning. Nick comes to believe that his panic attacks are not merely medical events but rather instances when he is being possessed by the spirit of the Greek god Pan. This rather baroque conceit is not so much a matter of plot — whether he is or isn't ultimately seems beside the point — but it thoroughly destabilizes any attempt to read 'Pan' through a modish lens of mental health or disability. 'Because a panic attack doesn't feel like a panic attack,' Nick observes at one point. 'It feels like insight.' Insight, indeed, is what 'Pan' offers in spades, and part of what makes it so delicious is the way it mulches up both the familiar materials of millennial adolescence ('Gilligan's Island' reruns, crappy after-school jobs, the video game 'Ghosts 'n Goblins') and more esoteric ones ('Ivanhoe,' Giovanni Bellini's painting 'Drunkenness of Noah,' a fantasy novel called 'Nifft the Lean') into something that feels at once semi-typically earthy and decidedly cosmic, at times very nearly unhinged. This quality of insight is what art is for, but it is so rare at this point that 'Pan' feels almost like a work of outsider art. Ultimately, it's not, but the novel's brilliant intensity is such that it grows difficult to describe or boil down to its constituent parts. When Nick's friend Ian unpacks a theory of what he calls 'Solid Mind' ('when your thoughts flow in grooves, built deep into your brain. You don't even notice them') it feels both like the hilarious, weed-addled invention of almost any suburban teenager and like an intense theory of cognitive behavior that might belong to this book alone. It's a doubleness that makes Clune's novel approachable and inviting but also wild enough to seem practically avant-garde. Perhaps that's a quality not all readers will be inclined to prize — 'Pan' might be expressionist enough to disorient a traditional reader yet formalist enough to frustrate an avant-gardist. But for those who wonder if the American novel has anything new to offer (and perhaps for those who, rather tediously, have chosen lately to litigate the question of whether novels have abandoned male experience and male readers), 'Pan' is exhilarating, a pure joy — and a sheer, nerve-curdling terror — from end to end. Matthew Specktor is the author, most recently, of 'The Golden Hour.'
Boston Globe
7 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Sekou McMiller's ‘Urban Love Suite' celebrates social dance with Jacob's Pillow world premiere
With the support of NAACP Berkshires, McMiller — a Chicago-born and New York-based African Diasporic dance and music scholar/educator — immersed himself in the Berkshires' robust Afro-Latin community. He led workshops at a local elementary school and dance club. During a 'cultural exchange,' McMiller combined his own choreography with the celebratory traditions that local workshop participants offered him. McMiller incorporated some of the movement generated in this Pittsfield engagement into the new work, and it will live on in the choreography after it leaves the Berkshires. 'It's a love letter to the Black and brown communities,' McMiller said in a phone interview this week, 'the beautiful music and dance that has been created from hip-hop to samba to New York Mambo.' Advertisement So, despite the formal venue, you can expect this Jacob's Pillow performance to feel like a party. Advertisement 'Urban Love Suite' celebrates the relationships between different African diasporic communities through their dance and music traditions, 'their nuanced differences, their similarities and their shared roots from the continent of Africa,' McMiller said. To develop the work, with the support of the NAACP Berkshires, Sekou McMiller immersed himself in the Berkshires' robust Afro-Latin community. Pictured, Sekou McMiller and Friends' Sekou McMiller and Marielys Molina. Elyse Mertz The work also celebrates how a dense city can bring many cultures into close proximity, he said, creating opportunities for exchange that are unique to the urban experience. It can, as he put it, yield 'amazing fruits of music and dance.' 'Like New York City Mambo, which was done in New York, Harlem, where you had that cross pollination of Lindy Hop and jazz and tap dancers, with the Latin dancers coming directly from Cuba, but then [they] create a new way of doing the dance that only could have been done in an urban city like New York.' McMiller's point is that proximity can be challenging yet generative. You might not always be in the mood to listen to your neighbor's playlist, but after the fourth or fifth time through, you might find your hips moving to the beat, reluctantly familiar with the rhythms your neighbors prefer. McMiller, a classically trained flutist and jazz musician, is also the curator at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He reveres the intimate entanglement of music, movement, and social gatherings, and collaborated with music director Sebastian Natal on a score grounded in Afro-Latin jazz to be performed live alongside the dancers. 'Love Suite' draws parallels between parading traditions like Uruguayan candombe and New Orleans' second line, and layers party dances from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Chicago, and New York. It also highlights the roots of these movement forms in cultural traditions from Nigeria, Senegal, and Burkina Faso — the region the colonialist machine favored for the capture, export, and exploitation of human beings as a resource, who became the ancestors of Afro Caribbean, Afro Latin, and African American communities. Advertisement 'They're social dance in nature,' McMiller said, 'so they're not born of a studio. They're born from culture. They're born from parties. They're born from celebrations. They're born from traditions and rituals.' After noticing a lack of social dance in the Jacob's Pillow archive, artistic and executive director Pamela Tatge has made efforts to uplift dance artists working inside those traditions — with the help of her curatorial team. 'If we are charged with representing the breadth of dance in the world, to not center social dance would be a mistake,' said Tatge in a recent phone interview. It's complicated to bring these dances to the stage because social dance is a participatory art, and The Theater fosters an inherent separation between the audience and performer. McMiller is up for the challenge, and his solution: improvisation in both music and dance. 'It's call and response from beginning to end. I allow my choreography to be a call to the dancers to then respond … so at some point you won't be able to tell the difference between improv and choreography,' McMiller explained. 'So every night, it's same format, different show.' 'Love Suite' will also disrupt the performer-observer relationship by dancing among the audience and inviting attendees onto the stage. Performance is a call too, that asks the audience to respond. 'I hope this pushes people to get out there and come join us,' McMiller said, 'to not just spectate with us, but become an active participant in this life.' Advertisement URBAN LOVE SUITE At Jacob's Pillow's Ted Shawn Theatre, Becket, July 30 to Aug. 3. Tickets start at $65. 413-243-0745, Sarah Knight can be reached at sarahknightprojects@
Buzz Feed
11 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
27 Things From Goldbelly For Your Summertime Feasts
A "Taste of L'Artusi" pasta kit if your idea of a feast is three different kinds of pasta. This kit can feed up to 12, but no judgement if you keep it all for yourself and have a month of solo Pasta Feasting (TM). This package serves 12 people and includes three pasta kits (pasta, sauce, cheese, and parsley) for tagliatelle bolognese, rigatoni with mushroom ragu, and taglierini all'Amatriciana. Promising review: "I loved the great packaging as no sauce spilled over! Also, the directions were precise and appreciated the ingredients listed. It was fascinating to learn! But at the end, it was just delicious! L'artusi is a difficult reservation to get so it was satisfying to eat it in my very own kitchen." —Celine Y. Price: $179.95 A Chicago-style chili dog kit to honor our forefathers who I'm *pretty sure* had a hot dog cookout when they powdered their wigs and declared Chicago THE hot dog capital of America. Promising reviews: "Best hotdogs ever — I've ordered them before and they came right on time. Best way to celebrate the Super Bowl or any Sunday for us." —Gail B."So delicious and just like the Chicago dog I got on a recent trip but we don't have the ingredients where I live in Utah! This was so yummy and will get again!!" —Monica $99.95 An apple pie baked in a paper bag as classic as summer itself. Does it even *count* as a summer gathering if there's not an apple pie to munch on? Have this shipped to your door and enjoy ready-to-eat deliciousness in less than an hour. Promising reviews: "The Elegant Farmer paper bag apple pie is outstanding in flavor and delivers a fun experience. It's a homey casual way to experience an apple pie because the temptation of family digging in with their forks cannot be controlled. Yum." —Annette R."This pie lives up to all that's touted about it. It's delicious and was enjoyed by everyone." —Sandra T. Price: $69.95 A 4-pound velvety Snow's BBQ Brisket that's rated #1 by Texas Monthly. (Look, as a Texan, I'm telling you that means this brisket is LEGIT.) The best part? No matter whether you're a grill master or not, this is a pop-in-the-oven main dish that will melt in the mouths of your friends and fam, no matter your skillset. Psst. If you're hosting a BIG feast and want to make your life extra easy and delicious, Snow's BBQ also has a feast that serves 30. Yep. Y'all are reviews: "It was hands down the best brisket I've eaten in my life." —Peter H."Absolutely incredible, I had company and they are still raving about the flavor." —Kathleen $239.95+ (also available with a sauce and an additional T-shirt) A 24-pack of macarons because is a feast *really* complete without *INHALES* chocolate, vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, espresso, pistachio, raspberry, and cassis-flavored sugary goodness to top it all off? I think not. Promising reviews: "The macarons were excellent." —Tantika T."Excellent! A shot in the dark not knowing if the recipients even liked macarons and it turns out they love them. This might become a yearly purchase!" —ElainePrice: $89.95 A pack of famous Pike Place clam chowder and seafood bisque straight from Seattle and into your eager belly for the best Perfect Summer Day lunch around. (Don't forget to grab some oyster crackers to round out the most perfect Pike Place feast!) Includes a quart of New England clam chowder and a quart of seafood reviews: "Pike Place chowders are the BEST! And I know what I'm talking about, being a New England girl!" —June G."It was sooooooo good! Delivered on time. Both soups were FABULOUS!! Would totally order them again. I especially loved the clam chowder. Smelled and tasted amazing." —Sheryl B. Price: $99.95 A "Taste of New York" weekender box if your heart is in the Big Apple, even if Google Maps says you actually live somewhere else. Don't let something as basic as geography get you down: Have the city's best foodie delights come to any friends worthy of this real New Yorker feast. Includes one John's of Bleecker Street cheese pizza, one Eli Zabar's pastrami sandwich kit (sliced pastrami, six slices of rye bread, six packets of Gulden's spicy brown mustard), a 6-inch Junior's original cheesecake, six Zucker's bagels, and six William Greenberg Desserts' black and white reviews: "The way the order was packed was incredible. Great job. The food was unbelievable." —Mom G. "Sent as a gift! NYC memories…" —Dominick V. Price: $229.95 A 12-pack of New Orleans creamy assorted pralines only for the sweetest of summer gatherings that deserve a level up in the form of pecans, butter, vanilla, and heavy cream. If you're over the grocery store sugar cookies at your group activities, sweeten the deal by bringing these nom-noms instead. Promising review: "This service is awesome. So effortless to order with minimum redundancy. I love the e-mail option. My recipients LOVED their gifts. I can't wait to do more. I even ordered for myself. Very simple site and easy to navigate and the shop-by video makes it so accessible." —Mary $44.95 Some creole jambalaya filled with smoked sausage, onions, diced tomatoes, and the kinds of spices that will have your (highly honored) feast guests counting down the days until the next get-together. The jambalaya serves 6–8 people!Promising review: "This was a gift for a 'hard to buy for' recipient who called me raving about how much he enjoyed the order from DookyChase. This is not my first time with Goldbelly or DookyChase and will certainly not be my last." —Matthew $99.95 Some mouth-watering shrimp dumplings straight from New York's first and oldest dim sum restaurant, Nom Wah, which has been around since the Roaring '20s. And you are SURE to have a roaring time feasting your way through 1.5 whole pounds of shrimp deliciousness encased in delicate wrappers. Promising review: "The visual of the dumplings really are world-class. So much so that it almost feels bonus that they actually taste amazing also. Well done, Nom Wah!" —Fran $109.95 (available in packs of two, three, and four and with four sauce options) A four-pack of Philly cheesesteak straight from the kitchen of the OG CREATORS OF THE PHILLY CHEESESTEAK (yes, really), so you know you can't get any more authentic than that! Put that in your calendar invite and watch the "yes's" rack up to your Philly Feast. Promising review: "A regular go-to for my whole family. I ordered a four-pack for my two sons-in-law and myself. Perfect delivery and so easy to prepare. Great taste and perfect quality. We'll do it again for sure!" —Mark $119.95 for a pack of four (available in six varieties) An around-the-world cheese basket because every potluck gathering is basically a shared girl dinner, and no girl dinner is complete without lots and lots of cheese. You'll be the star of board game night with this basket of cheese, jam, and crackers in tow! The basket includes five cheeses from five different countries (each 3/4 of a pound), a box of crackers, and a jar of review: "This was a gift and the recipients were very pleased." —Waldo $154.95 A Four & Twenty Blackbirds salty honey pie — rich honey custard with notes of vanilla and flaked with Maldon sea salt? Your people are simply ~not~ going to forget this gift of a dessert you bring to the function. This pie serves up to 10, so it's perfect for a big get-together!Promising review: 'The taste of my pie was OUT OF THIS WORLD!' —J $84.95 A vegan taco kit so the Taco Tuesday love can expand to whatever day you're meeting with pals! Plus, it comes straight from Dallas — a taco capital FOR CERTAIN — so you know you're bringing the crème de la crème to the party. (Er, crèama de la crèama.) Includes 16 corn tortillas, your choice of two types of soy-based protein (each 1-pound), rice, red salsa, green salsa, beans, pico de gallo, and two review: 'OMG — so good!! Some of the best vegan/veg tacos I've had. The tortillas are incredibly fresh, and the accompaniments are all well-flavored.' —Aditi $94.95 (available in eight vegan protein varieties) A pack of Chicago deep-dish pizzas from the Windy City to your doorstep, no matter how far from Chicago you might actually be. Promising review: 'I used to live close to one of the restaurants, and without being there, this certainly was the next best thing. The flavors and taste were great. Sometimes, pizza doesn't always taste the same when shipped. Not the case here. It was delicious.' —Jeff $83.99 for two (available in 17 varieties) Or a four-pack of New York-style pizzas if thin crust pizza is more your ~style~. No matter your preference, everyone is gonna be SO PSYCHED to get together around some ooey-gooey delicious 'za. Promising reviews: "Great pizza! Fantastic crust, sauce, and stringy cheese." —Steve H."The pizza was delicious!! Will order it again." —Laurie $129.95+ (available in Margherita and pepperoni) A Stan's Donuts gift pack that dollars to donuts will make the people in your life bust into spontaneous feet-kicking glee. If they donut know how great a friend you are, they will when you bring these to the table. The donut flavors include cinnamon sugar, vanilla sprinkled, lemon pistachio, coconut cake, glazed old-fashioned, and apple fritter. Three of them are traditional cake donuts; two are blooming cake donuts made with buttermilk and sour cream; and then, of course, there's the fritter, which is…well, a fritter, and therefore yeasted. Promising review: 'LOVED the sour cream donut the best, although they all were delicious. It was nice to also have the mug, coffee, and the cold drink cup/straw. Thank you!!' —Joye $79.95 (also available with add-on accessories for an additional cost) And a three-pack of whole bean coffee to give you and your gang some small-batch and delicious pep in your steps. With this and the donuts, you're about to become the IT place for brunch treats. Promising review: 'Red Truck Bakery is fabulous, and we would not have access to their wares if not for you! Delivered on time and with outstanding care.' —Sara $64 (available in three varieties) A Blue Ribbon sushi night kit for the friend group who is basically 50% wasabi at this point. Instead of going out, stay in and have equally delicious sushi from the comfort of your own living room. Is it just me, or does sushi just slap extra hard in the summer? YUM. The kit includes six types of fish, crispy rice, cooked rice, nori sheets, and a whole bunch of sauces and garnishes, plus a bamboo sushi mat — no need to spring for extra supplies! The whole thing feeds 2–3 people, just review: 'Blue Ribbon ALWAYS delivers top quality fish, sliced and prepped to enjoy immediately. It is all packaged in beautiful and organized packaging.' —Cathy $199.95 (also available with add-ons for an additional cost) A Maine lobster roll kit so y'all can feast on authentic "lobsta" (a quintessential summer treat) even if the closest ocean is a plane ride away. Promising reviews: "This was easily the best lobster roll I've had in many years. I was pleasantly surprised by how fresh the lobster was, and there were so many pieces of lobster tails along with claw meat. It was absolutely delicious! I'm going to tell everyone how good this is!" —Sharonda A. "It was fun to get a little something fun delivered to our door for our daughter's birthday. We live in the mountains of Virginia, and not a lot of lobsters are available. :)" —Katie L. Price: $159.95 (also available with add-ons for an additional cost) A rib eye and filet mignon prime steak gift box the Ron Swanson in you is going to love because this box is basically a two-fer: You get to cook a steak *and* eat it. Show off your excellent gas, grill, or broiling skills to your friends and get a feast in the end? Win-win all around. Each box serves 4–6 people and includes two prime ribeyes (14 ounces each), two prime filet mignons (8 ounces each), signature steak seasoning, herbed steak finishing butter, a thermometer, and a cooking guide in a beautiful black gift review: "The box arrived on time and neatly packaged. The steaks I will order again." —Jennifer $299.95 A Maine blueberry pie with locally sourced Maine ingredients to give you the truest taste of the Northeast, no matter which part of the country you call home. Serve with some scoops of vanilla ice cream to really up the summery goodness! Promising reviews: "My 94-year-old dad's favorite. Maine blueberry pie! He looks forward to its arrival. This is the third time I have ordered it from this bakery! We lived in Maine growing up…a little taste of home." —Paul K."Pie crust was like my great-grandmother's, grandmother's, and mom's! Blueberries were fresh. Excellent product!!" —Gail C. Price: $79.95 A Brooklyn Blackout Cake for a group watch of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory because this thing is basically a chocolate factory in cake-and-buttercream-icing form. You'll be happier than an Oompa Loompa watching kids make poor decisions when it arrives. This cake serves 12–15 people. A feast, indeed!Promising review: "This cake was incredible. We knew it would be good, but it was even better than we could've imagined! Absolutely delicious." —Billy $99.95 A burrito dinner box that's like a hug, but with food! Wrap your guests up in chewy, soft tortillas and the most scrumptious of fillings and watch them start ~subtly~ asking when you can schedule the next summer gathering. Each box serves four people and includes four beef birria burritos, four frijoles y queso (bean and cheese) burritos, and one container of review: "These are the best burritos ever!! Sauce and meat on the birria are amazing, and the frijoles y queso are the best beans, and so cheesy. And tortillas are awesome. Very happy with these, it's my second time buying." —Shelly $89.95 Nancy Silverton's favorite gelato gift box for really putting yourself in prime "host with the most" territory. With desserts that taste as wonderful as they look, everyone will be talking about these on the way home. Is there anything better than a treat that tastes great *and* cools you off? Probs not. Promising review: "This was a home run! I ordered this for two different family members and they LOVED it!" —Jeanette $99.95 A choose-your-own tamales adventure in which you get to pick your four fave flavors to have shipped straight to your door. With beef, black bean, chicken, verde chicken, fiesta, smoked pork, and hatch and cheese on the docket, MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR IN YOUR CHOOSING. Or just order four dozen so you can try all seven flavors. FEAST, FEAST, FEAST!Promising review: "In my opinion the best tamales! I ordered brisket tamales, and they were soooo good I decided to try their other tamales. Winner winner, chicken dinner!" —Tierra D. Price: $129.95 for two dozen And finally, a banana pudding cake so you can *cue the Hannah Montana theme* 🎶get the best of both worlds🎶 and have your cake and eat your banana pudding, too. Maybe it's the southern in me, but is it even summer if you don't eat a GOOD banana pudding something or other?Promising reviews: "The banana pudding cake reminded me of my brother, since this was his favorite dessert. It was a hit at a retirement party for a colleague and not a crumb was left (of either cakes from this bakery). Super moist and the flavors were delightful! Thank you so much!" —Jauna B."I sent this cake to my dad, he LOVED it for his birthday cake, said it was the best cake he has ever had." —Gary $80
