A memoir about a young Jewish boy from a shtetl, a small village called Kortelisy in Eastern Europe, which was at that time part of Poland and is now part of Ukraine. When the Soviets arrive in 1939, young Pinchas adapts to their Communist ideals, and then with the invasion of the Nazis and the murders of his neighbours and family members, he and his family are forced to flee. He survives the Holocaust by hiding with local farmers and in the nearby forests. After the war, he immigrates to Canada and lives in Montreal, where he becomes involved in the Yiddish theatre community. Provided by publisher.

Map on page 2 of cover shows "the age of the principal European Jewish communities in 1939; map on page 3 of cover shows the number of Jews murdered between 1 September 1939 and 7 May 1945.

Machine generated contents note:pt. I Kortelisy -- Village Boy -- The Curse of Being Born in the Month of Tammuz -- Shaky World -- Magic Cures and Potions -- A Failed Thief -- This Too Is for the Good -- Bobehs and Zeydes -- At Home in Kortelisy -- Lords and Masters -- The Jew Test -- New Pictures on the Walls -- Caught between Galstuk and Tsitses -- Staying Awake -- pt. II The Horror Begins -- The Beginnings of Lawlessness -- A Double Beating -- Nothing Changed in the Synagogue -- Rehearsal for the Final Destruction -- Escape by the Back Door -- Massacre in the Marshes -- Death After Havdalah -- Oasis of Sabbath Tranquility -- Only the Lucky Ones Die -- My Only Friends and Companions -- Surprise Visit and the Sound of Guns from Ratno -- A Good Messenger -- Fathers Escape -- A Village Erased -- Adam, Nicotine and Psalms -- Beautiful Pants and the Scourge of Lice -- We Always Celebrated the Sabbath and Holy Days -- Lost on the Way to Samary -- Deep in the Forest -- Father's Encounter with Wolves of Every Kind -- Awakened from Death -- Because of Shatnez -- In the Forest Ranger's Home -- More Murder and Survival -- People With Guns, Looking for Causes -- On Account of a Sack of Buckwheat -- Finally, Liberation -- pt. III Full Circle -- Moved by an Invisible Hand -- Breaking Old Habits -- In School and on the Stage -- Second Son -- Survivor.