The Abramsky variations

by Morley Torgov

Book by Torgov, Morley

Genres: Fiction

175 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Morley Torgov BA, LLB, DLitt is a Canadian novelist, humorist and lawyer. He remains a partner in the Toronto-based legal firm Olch, Torgov, Cohen LLP.

He studied law in Toronto at Osgoode Hall, formally becoming a lawyer in 1954. Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in 1990.

The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick was a 1988 film based on his 1982 novel.

Torgov is the father of former actress and current artist Sarah Torgov who appeared in the movies Meatballs and American Gothic among others.

Reviews

[Keith B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a short Jewish-Canadian version of Larry McMurtry's Duane Moore series ,(The Last Picture Show through The Rhino Ranch series) but much abbreviated. Would make a great Book Club book for discussion.

Torgov is from my home town of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (Canada), and while A Great Place To Come From is his most well known work, his other books are great also. Looking forward to reading more as I explore Canadian authors and literature.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Torgov mastered the art of comic novels containing unexpected emotional depths. This one spans a wide range. It is gently witty, a bit satirical, sad, funny, bittersweet. And ultimately, it is a serious story of characters coming to terms with who they really are, and how the persons they are may be determined in part by their family and by the traditions they have inherited. There's also some meditation on material culture, as practised in Toronto in the 1970s. Didn't much like a snarky 19-year-old character whose attitudes force a kind of reckoning, but you have to accept that people are all different. Torgov's work is well past the height of its popularity of 40 years ago but deserves much more attention than it gets now; it is better and more significant writing than a lot of modern novels.