Sydney in 1928 and Alva, a young Jewish wife, dies in childbirth. No family member is allowed to care for the baby, so ''Alva's boy'' is sent from one children's home to another. His father weds for the fourth time but young Alan finds his dreams of a real home shattered amid the ruins of this disastrous marriage. He navigates his way through childhood as a street-smart survivor, and not even the archetypal wicked stepmother, her terrible Ma or his own foolish father can rob him of hope. With a keen ear for authentic dialogue and a wry humor, Alan Collins tells a poignant story with vitality and a remarkable lack of sentimentality. The adult author reconstructs his childhood through the memory of vivid sensory experiences and presents a cast of unforgettable characters. He has an unerring sense of time and place, and through his eyes we glimpse Australia, and especially Jewish-Australian society, as it was in the 1930s and early 1940s. He shows us a community caught up in the Great Depression, anticipating and then experiencing war, coping with poverty, ill-prepared for the ''reffos'' who were coming from Europe. It is a memoir that is so Jewish and at the same time so Australian.
"Alan Collins' memoir successfully straddles both history and literature. It is a memoir that has wry appeal to the seasoned Jewish historical reader and the novice alike with its keen observations and its pacey narrative, detailing the life of a young Jewish boy growing up in Bondi in the 30s and 40s. Collins, who died in March 2008 aged 79, leaves a compelling story about part of Australia's ric
Sally Spalding, Moorabbin Glen Eira Leader
"Collins' memoir is an illuminating look at Sydney's lively Jewish community in the 1930s and 1940s. It is also a testament of courage and resilience. Collins somehow survived his childhood and went on to become a successful businessman, writer, husband and father."
