A Lost Paradise

Samuel Chotzinoff was a very smart and clever guy, and he knows it, and it all comes out in his memoirs "A Lost Paradise", which deals with his childhood, before he became a concert pianist, music critic and author. He was born in Vitebsk (as was Marc Chagall) and emigrated to his family (via England) to NYC, where he grew up (with a small detour to Waterbury CT). I assume that his memoirs are 50% accurate and 50% exaggeration, but who cares? They are delightful.

For example, the story of how his mother and father met and married. His mother, the daughter of a local rabbi, had been three times divorced (is that even remotely possible?) and had two daughters. His father was the son of a tailor (the lowest possible occupation, he says, and therefore not favored as a bridegroom), who was widowed with two children. The matchmaker, with the rabbi's agreement, told his mother not to tell his father about her two daughters until after they were married. In fact, she told him (actually, brought the girls home) two months later. He was incensed, the girls traumatized. He wanted out of the marriage, but the rabbi/father convinced him that if he let on that he was hoodwinked, he would be the laughing stock of the town (no, beyond the town) for the rest of his life.

That's just one of the many stories that are very cleverly written, but hard to take without a shaker of salt.

Do I recommend the book?? Absolutely! Without reservation! It is a kick and a half. And, beyond that, every time someone mentions something that happens to them, I seem to think: "Oh, something like that happened to Sam." and I start to laugh. So it is very au currant as well.

(Au currant. Is that correct??)