I don't know how I came across this book but I could not put it down. It is about a young immigrant teenager in the Lower East Side of New York. It is told without sentimentality. It does not have any imposed shaping or sense of an organized fictional plot to "get somewhere" or teach something. It is just a collection of anecdotes. For me they rang surprisingly and simply true. The characters, as wonderful as any I've read, also rang true. I was truly sorry when it ended. I can't replace it . Turns out Weidman wrote I Can Get It For You Wholesale which I think was a successful Broadway show and also other books (which I will try). I highly recommend this. If you're family came through the Lower East Side as mine did, I bet there were some experiences like these. The main character's point of view is wonderful--humble and humorous and also perpetually amazed to the point of slight shock--yet very intelligent.
What do You think about Fourth Street East (1970)?
