The Jews that I knew

the long version

"In this multi-genre religious autobiography, Schwartz offers a funny, poignant testament to the ways the secular and spiritual can merge in the life of one person. Schwartz grew up in the Borscht Belt, the affectionate name given to communities of American Jews in upstate New York in the middle of the last century. This is his effort to capture that region's dynamic mix of Yiddish tradition and American pride. He does so by pulling together a variety of different literary forms--Scripture, poetry, drama, memoir--and mashing them into an idiosyncratic but thoroughly appropriate celebration of the culture that created him"--Kirkus Reviews.