Take Me to Coney Island

Susan Patrick is a librarian at Ryerson University.

Most of these stories centre on the personal (mostly family)
relationships of Hannah Davidson, the daughter of a Jewish immigrant
family living in Montreal. Coney Island is not so much a physical place
as a state of mind—a symbol, for Hannah’s mother, of love and youth
before the unpleasant realities of life took over. These stories are
like a shuffled pack of photographs depicting Hannah’s life—glimpses
of relationships and characters remembered, flashing back and forth in
time. Through these personal and intimate reflections come such
universal themes as empathy for the victims of injustice, and the
indomitable spirit of women trapped in conditions of adversity. The
strength of this collection lies in the depth of feeling Packer has for
her characters.