Down from Troy: A Doctor Comes of Age [Paperback]

Richard Selzer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

This New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 1992 cements seven-time author Richard Selzer as the modern-day heir to such doctor-authors as Chekhov and William Carlos Williams. Here, he presents the colorful story of his parent's attempts to shape his destiny.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a physician's eye and an artist's vision, surgeon-turned-writer Selzer traces the arc of his life from his 1930s childhood in Troy, N.Y., through his medical training and surgical career to his retirement.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

From the author of Confessions of a Knife ( LJ 9/1/79) and Taking the World in for Repairs ( LJ 12/86) comes a poignant, elegiac memoir of his childhood in Troy, New York, as well as formative experiences in Korea and New Haven. While several sections of the book cover familiar ground for Selzer fans, such as his description of the similarities between surgery and writing ("In surgery there is a scalpel, in writing, a pen"), the rest is a heartbreakingly personal reflection on his mother and father--a woman who once sang in dance halls and a man who was a solid old general practitioner with a black bag and a sense of wonder. The city of Troy is a supporting character, described with a perception so acute as to be photographic. This is a terrible beauty of a book, full of love and pain and a palpable rich sadness that will stay with a reader forever. Selzer's finest work; highly recommended for most collections.
- Mark L. Shelton, Athens, Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (P) (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316780650
• ISBN-13: 978-0316780650
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,367,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There is a place in my heart for Troy, NY, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Down from Troy: A Doctor Comes of Age (Curley Large Print Books) (Paperback)

Before Richard Selzer I didn't think much of Troy. Selzer's descriptions of his Dad's practice, the story tellers at the corner pub, and the action along the river are not glamorous but they are rich and warm. He taught me how to make the best French coffee and dazzled my mind with exotic words. Now I beg my husband to make detours through Troy. He thought I was nuts until he read the book, and now he's hooked too. I have read nearly all of Selzer's books and this is my favorite.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inconsistent, April 2, 2003

By 

J. Rosenberg "reggieroy" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Down from Troy: A Doctor Comes of Age (Paperback)

I enjoyed very much the chapters about Selzer's childhood and about his physician-father. I don't think the book needed to be 300 pages long. At 200 pages, focused on his childhood, it would have been much better. The "stuff" he used to fill in and create a 300 page book wasn't relevant and sometimes was totally ridiculous. Did I want to read a paper he wrote in high school? I don't think so.