My Brother Married Groucho Marx

Ivan Gilbert's MY BROTHER MARRIED GROUCHO MARX is a travelogue, journal, and personal narrative all wrapped into one-a deeply moving, rousing and oftentimes hilarious collection of essays that chart Gilbert's storied life from his childhood in 1920s Ohio to the present day. With a life marked by medicine, the Great Depression, family strife, Judaism, championship fencing, the rise of a highly successful national shoe chain, world travel, lost loves and young loves and true loves, World War II and many other detours along the way, Gilbert's past is recounted with elegant prose and quiet profundities. MY BROTHER MARRIED GROUCHO MARX allows us to experience his growth from being a callow youth simply trying to meet women (and afraid he'll succeed) to a reflective man wizened by the past. It's an affecting meditation on time, the nature of family, and what everyone leaves behind after they're gone.