The Frumkiss Family Business

by Michael Wex

Thomas Mann meets Mordecai Richler in this outstanding novel of great intellect and humour that already reads like a classic.

The Frumkiss family doesn't look much different from any of the others in Toronto's Bathurst Manor. Grandpa survived the Holocaust; Grandma the Second came from Poland at the age of five. Dad's a foot doctor; Mom is dead, and her mother — Grandma Number One —died while giving birth to her in Kazakhstan. Her three kids — the oldest is forty-two — are as frustrated and directionless as most baby boomers with no real financial worries. One's in Toronto, there's one in the suburbs and the third lives in Israel. As far as the Frumkisses know, all that distinguishes them from anybody else is that Grandpa is a famous Yiddish writer who ended up working for the CBC. But Grandpa's death sets off a chain of events that force the Frumkisses to see how different their family is from all the others.

The Frumkiss Family Business , Michael Wex's brilliant and hilarious new novel, is a family saga for the twenty-first century, a lovingly accurate portrait of middle-class Canadian life at the turn of the century and of the Toronto neighbourhood that has produced such famous Canadians as Howie Mandel and Wex himself. Imagine Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks without the stodgy Germans or The Brothers Karamazov with only one brother. Finally, a novel that does for Toronto what Mordecai Richler's books did for Montreal.

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Michael Wex is a novelist, professor, translator (including the only Yiddish translation of The Threepenny Opera ), and performer (of stand-up and one person shows). He has been hailed as a Yiddish national treasure and is one of the leading lights in the current revival of Yiddish, lecturing widely on Yiddish and Jewish culture. He lives in Toronto.

Reviews

[Kenneth]

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this book. Not that I am any authority on Yiddish literature, I was expecting the writing to be in that kind of tradition, but found the style to be more like that of Vonnegut or Vidal, or perhaps, to some extent, for what it is worth, Philip Roth or Mordechai Richler.

I was attracted to the piece because of its setting in Bathurst Manor, where I grew up, but then read that the author was from Lethbridge Alberta, of all places. I think Wex gives himself away as not quite home-grown when he references "the U of T" for instance. If you are from Toronto, you leave out the "the."

In the end, I did enjoy the book as it had some funny moments, kept me interested and it did hit some familiar chords that might be described as Jewish, but in a broader sense are universal.

So I gave it three stars and would recommend it to all.

[Lynda Kraar]

I totally got the premise and where the story right out of the gate. Cool thing - I was raised in Bathurst Manor and recognized the landmarks in the book. That was definitely a first. The characters and story line were - for me - a la Isaac Bashevis Singer: a good thing. Kudos, Mr. Wex.

[Jennifer]

A Canadian Yiddish story, spanning generations. Clever and entertaining.

[Lauren B]

Very very funny book. Wonderful satire. Full of "Wexisms"

[Donna]

Will look forward to hearing the author's review. I found this a shallow book.