Down from Troy: A Doctor Comes of Age

by Richard Selzer

This beautifully crafted memoir by one of America's finest storytellers generally is considered Richard Selzer's most moving and personal work. The story is set in Troy, New York, during the Great Depression of the 1930s and is a classic rite-of-passage tale. Selzer was the son of two strong-willed parents, both of whom tried to shape their son to their own desires and ends. His father, the doctor, wanted his son to be a physician and to follow in his footsteps. His mother, a singer, wanted her son to become a writer. Richard struggled to choose as his emotions were buffeted by his parents and their persuasive and subtle argumentation. "Had I loved one more than the other," Selzer declared, "my choice would have been easier." In the end, he excelled both as a surgeon and as a writer, fulfilling his parents' wishes and discovering himself in the process.

Genres: Memoir

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

You might have to love Troy to love reading this memoir. Selzer's prose is unabashedly floral. Somehow he toed the line (closely at times!) and stayed in my good graces, despite being self-consciously sentimental and fastidious. The tale of a mama's boy following in his father's footsteps as the good doctor of Troy, New York. His experiences as a surgeon, recounted in gruesome detail, balanced a story that could have been syrupy. The unsavory characters of his childhood in Depression era Troy were treated with such affection, I found the effect delightful. The details of the city's history, including a harrowing tale about the Green Island Bridge, were a gold mine for me.

[Bonnie Noehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me because I had recently discovered that Troy was where my paternal family lived for three generations. Since the author covered that time period and I was about to visit Troy, I found the book interesting and informing. I appreciate the author’s wit and literary style... to a point. I agree with those who were critical of his lack of chronology from chapter to chapter and skimmed over some of the morbid content. Chapter 12 was the best. I’m glad to have read it but could not recommended it without the Troy tie in.

[Blaize · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who will soon be attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, I bought this book in hopes of getting a sneak peek of the city I will soon call home. Selzer, though he lived there almost a century before I, described Troy in all its glory and splendor to a child. I only wish I had gotten more.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it to learn more about life in Troy during the Depression and later. I thought there’d be more references to Jewish life because I didn’t realize they were non-observant. The streets and buildings and life came alive, and were so familiar because of the stories I heard.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read the first of Selzer's books I encountered, 'Confessions of a Knife', I noted in my review that I wouldn't read another by him unless recommended by a friend. Time perhaps makes that memory fade, as this book sounded intriguing when I found it at the book exchange at work. One of my beefs with Selzer then was that he tended to venture off on tangents unrelated to his job as a surgeon. Being that this was a memoir of his time spent in Troy, NY and not meant to be focused on his job, the tangents felt more acceptable, though they were undoubtedly still present.
Much of this book focuses on Selzer's relationship with his father, also a surgeon, who practiced in the family home as well as hospital rounds during the Depression but passed away when Selzer was 12. It was apparently a battle between his parents regarding whether Selzer would go into medicine or literature studies, with the well-read Richard intending to follow his mother's wishes until the death of his father, at which point he realizes the only way he can understand why he lost his dad is to figure out how the body works and what makes things go haywire in there.
Even after Selzer has grown and moved on with his life, he still visits Troy on occasion, though he finds that things are different with each visit, as time marches on. He returns to a cemetery, which he first visited with his father, because as a child the large on-site crematory interested him, but he never learned what went on behind its doors. Another time, after Selzer has retired to devote his time to writing, he arrives at the request of a fellow doctor, who is dying of AIDS and wants Selzer's help to end his suffering. AIDS was unfathomable in the era in which most of the book takes place, as is assisted suicide, and while Selzer adapts to the changes AIDS brings about, he finds himself ethically unable to help the man die.
It is fitting that the book came full circle, in that Selzer discusses his decision to pursue medicine over literature as a young child, yet retires from his medical position to become a celebrated author, recognized equally as his father's son, a doctor in his own right, and a writer of books.

[Judy Gacek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing. A book full of pain and love. Enjoyed reading about Troy in the thirties having lived there in the fifties while attending nursing school. A book I want to own as I will re-read it someday.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty nicely written memoir by this well known surgeon-author - himself the son of a physician - whose later books are truly stunning.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a series of stories more than a Bio or novel. Very interesting but not as coherent as I would have hoped. Jim

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

disorganized