J. Jacob Potashnik’s collection of short stories about Montreal and other places is in the tradition of Saul Bellow, Mordechai Richler, and reminiscent of the work of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Sholom Aleichem, among others. Shortlisted for Canada’s 2017 Quebec Writer’s Federation Concordia First Book Prize with these Juror comments: Steeped in the texture of Jewish immigrant Montreal from the 1950s through to the present, from the culture of survival and working-class collaboration with the Queb cois, to the spiritual perils of the nouveau riche, Potashnik’s tales are not only beautifully written, they combine a sense of heritage with the potential. along with the impoverishment, of everyday lives. These richly detailed and multilayered stories draw a picture of a Montreal that is both mythic and tangible. This is a confident, self-assured, muscular book. Potashnik writes in an effortless, fluid, clear, compelling prose. This is an author who revels in language. There is a filmic/visual quality to the storytelling which is always, deft, sharp, witty and smart. Potashnik writes fully realized characters who exude personality and spirit.