Israel’s is a classy Judaica outfit with two stores in Toronto – one just up the road from us on Eglinton and one in Thornhill.
They have always been supportive of Michael’s work and we were delighted when good old Google alerts picked up this review of The Frumkiss Family Business.
“If you haven’t already started reading Michael Wex’s Yiddish-inflected books, “The Frumkiss Family Business” is a hilarious place to start.
In the guise of a family saga over four generations, Wex has creatively woven the most engaging, entertaining, and even surprising comedy. It stretches from life in the shtetls of Europe to the landmarks of today’s Toronto… including Caplansky’s deli on College Street. For sure, you’ll be trying to see which fictional characters and which elements of the plot seem to be kind of like people you know and things you recall from reading the newspapers.
The patriarch, Faktor, is a multi-talented actor, comic, and writer, with an urge to confound everybody. The family secret is slowly revealed and how Wex unravels, re-ravels, and twists and turns the secret is a joy to read. And you bet you won’t hear how he does it from me.
Don’t miss this book. Very amusing, full of historical reminiscences, a tour-de-force of Jewish life here and in the most fervent corners of Jerusalem – not always complimentary, fun with Yiddish, and lots more.”