Jonathan Schwartz

I was of the impression that a memoir was a book written about a certain event, or a limited period of time in the author’s life. Mr. Schwartz’s memoir begins prior to his birth, and ends five or six decades later. Fortunately, he was still around to write about it, but this book is technically an autobiography. I’m hoping he writes a sequel.

I have written a review of his first book of short stories, Almost Home, after having re-read it almost forty years since the first reading. I assumed that many of those stories were autobiographical in their conception, and literary license was heavily applied in the telling of the tale. Apparently, I shouldn’t have. I recognized large chunks of each of those stories in All in Good Time.

I used to listen to Jonathan Schwartz on the FM radio back in the 60s and 70s. As it is difficult to find anything published by him, I was floored to come across this book in a used-book store (one of several I visit on a regular basis), and began reading it as soon as I could get to a coffee shop.

He doesn’t hide anything. There were parts of his life that, frankly, I’d have been very happy not knowing about. Yet, if he had left those things out, and I (somehow) found about them later, I would then have to question the validity of the memoir. In short, he’s brutally honest about his life, and if nothing else, you have to respect him for that.

There is a pervasive theme throughout the book where it seems, with rare exception, he doesn’t know anyone who isn’t famous. Most of the people he knew were friends/associates of his father, songwriter Arthur Schwartz. As a result, pretty much half of the people in the Hollywood phone book (for several decades) are mentioned throughout. Some might think he’s trying to draw your interest by name-dropping, but these celebrities were as much a part of his life as Zung (a stuffed monkey doll) was to my youngest son.

This was a good book to read. Most of it doesn’t leave you feeling uplifted, but overall; it is as honest a self-examination of a life as I’ve ever read – and with more details than I would feel comfortable about revealing about myself.

So, would I recommend it? Sure, I would. Just keep in mind that although the book ends on a happy note, it’s a story of loneliness and tragedy, and demons. You have to respect him for laying it all out there.… (mer)

Former DJ of formerly Progressive Rock WNEW-FM in NYC, this is the first book by Jonathan Schwartz. He has written six books since the release of this one back in 1970. When I was a teen, I listened to WNEW almost exclusively, and after I got my drivers license, my first solo trip was to a bookstore about 20 miles from my house to purchase a paperback copy of this book. That was almost 40 years ago. Somewhere along the way, it found its way out of my possession, and I’ve been searching for another copy of it ever since I found it was missing – 20 years ago when I moved to Texas. The following is a review of a re-read of the First Edition that I found in a local used-book store just 2 months ago. The wait was more than worth it.

The book is a collection of 13 short stories of fiction. The breadth of personalities in these tales (collectively) is exceeded only by the depth of the emotional complexity they possess. Had he written only from a man’s perspective, the book would be mistaken for a memoir. A lot the places and occupations he uses in the stories are from his personal experiences. He DID play piano bar in Paris for a time; he is still on the radio. And yes, almost all of the main characters are, as he is, Jewish. To me, it’s irrelevant; it doesn’t add or detract anything from any of the characters, other than to add another layer of texture. It’s the same in each story, though, so I don’t understand why it’s mentioned at all. I have to wonder if Mr. Schwartz was conscious of that fact when he amassed the stories for the book. I suppose only he could say how much of it is truly autobiographical.

Regardless, you recognize the characters in all their complexity as people you’ve probably run into at some time in your life, resplendent with subtle idiosyncrasies and insecurities that most authors don’t seem to be able to consider when developing personalities in their books. The one titled Family Matters struck me that way more than the others, but there were twelve close seconds.

Oddly enough, I haven’t bought ANY of his other books – yet. I now have a list of them, and will make it a point to get them into my collection, and my brain, as quickly as possible.

The stories were written when he was not quite thirty years old (if I have my facts right). I first read them when I was eighteen and very impressed with the depth of the characterizations. Now, closing in on sixty, and having a lifetime of experiences that I didn’t have back then, I find it astonishing that Mr. Schwartz had the insight to write about characters with such a level of introspection. There is SUCH depth to these characters!

This book gets my highest recommendation, right along side of books by Anne Fadiman, but for different reasons.… (mer)