Scraps, Orts, and Fragments: Pieces of a Life

Scraps, Orts, and Fragments: Pieces of a Life is a collection of essays, written in fits over several years, comprising what the title suggests: snapshots of a life without any attempt to fashion them into a coherent narrative. Michael Rosenthal explores subjects as diverse as his teen-age fascination with Hubert's Flea Circus on New York's 42nd Street; life with his stoic father; sex in the fifties (for "Nice Horace Mann boys"); a brief and unspectacular performance as a janitor while a gr...