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The Swag Man (Kindle Single) Kindle Edition

by Howard Jacobson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 136 ratings
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A hilarious and moving true story by Man Booker Prize-winning novelist Howard Jacobson about the greatest “swag man” in the history of Manchester. A charming, brazen salesman of genius, Frankie Cohen rises from selling cheap gewgaws, known as swag, for Jacobson's father in the rough market streets of the Northern English city, to buying and selling some of the world's greatest artworks. Jacobson's tale of a poor Jewish kid who becomes a friend of Dukes and Duchesses is the story of a man who succeeds not by changing his accent or clothes, but by being himself regardless of where he is or who he is with—which Jacobson comes to understand is how a truly sophisticated man behaves. An unusually poignant memoir of Jewish life in Manchester, The Swag Man is also a funny, fantastical meditation on how we define ourselves, how our roots do and don't define us, and the pleasures and perils of assimilation in a modern multi-ethnic society.

Howard Jacobson is a novelist and critic. He is the author of, most recently, “Zoo Time,” and “The Finkler Question,” which won the 2010 Man Booker Prize. He lives in London.

Tablet Magazine is a National Magazine Award-winning online publication covering Jewish life. Founded in 2009, it has become, in the words of New York Magazine, “a must-read for young politically and culturally engaged Jews”—one committed to political analysis and sophisticated cultural inquiry as well as fun. It can be found at www.tabletmag.com.
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  1. Print length
    31 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    June 25, 2013
  5. File size
    305 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00DNJ2ZEY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tablet Magazine; 1st edition (June 25, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 25, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 305 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 31 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 136 ratings

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
136 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

liel leibovitz
5.0 out of 5 stars A little gem of a tale
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2013
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"To embrace the world," Howard Jacobson writes in this entertaining and evocative little gem of a tale, "is to enjoy the flesh pots no matter that you are a man who values the spirit." Spirit and flesh are both on duty in this story of Manchester market swag man turned art impressario, and Jacobson is in his prime as storyteller, observer of class, and chronicler of human ingenuity in all its bold forms. A true pleasure.
4 people found this helpful
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Lee Paragas
4.0 out of 5 stars Manchester Market history
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2013
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Manchester Folklore for Mancunians and others. Great nostalgic humour for ex-Mancunians, well written by masterful novelist. Short, sweet and hilarious!
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JAK
3.0 out of 5 stars Jewish Manchester
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2013
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This is a longish short story and I would say a very good one. Jacobson appears to be writing about his own background and has a number of interesting observations to make. He gives you a good snapshot of a milieu that I was completely unfamiliar with, post WW2 Jewish Manchester England.The narrator posits that generational change worked roughly as follows.The first generation got over from Poland and didn't have to assimilate or learn English.Their children , made some money and their grandchildren became doctors and lawyers or in the case of the narrator a professional intellectual - writer.The old neighborhood is all Muslim now - kosher replaced by halal.Each generation moved further away from the inner city and eventually from their own background.There is a plot.The narrator is the son of a man who traveled far and wide selling goods in open air markets.He hired assistants, one of whom is Jackie Cohen.Narrator, now a writer, gets an assignment to do a hit job on the Venice Biennale for what I would say is a magazine of neo - conservative tendencies. There he runs into a strange man who starts talking to him about his father.I envision the man looking like David Hockney.Narrator in one of the funniest lines in the book can't picture his late father having known Aubrey Beardsley.Of course it's Jackie Cohen.This is a perceptive work by a writer with a good eye.
2 people found this helpful
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M. Young
5.0 out of 5 stars a delightful read
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2013
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I so enjoy Mr Jacobson's writing, and this tribute to his friend from his youth, and a hat tip to his father, always an equivocal thing I think for Mr Jacobson, is so beautifully written.
Much appreciated.
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alan goldman
4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2013
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I gave this book 4 stars because Jacobson is such a fine writer.
Anything he writes is worth reading. Being a Jew and an avid art collector I was excited to read this.
But, I was ultimately disappointed. The author tells us a lot about social mobility in England after the war, a lot about schlock merchants like his father a little about English art, but not much about how Frankie Cohen became a big art expert. We are told how Cohen got rich and that he married a cultured art savy woman but that's all.
In fact there is nothing in the book about Cohen's influence in the art world. All we know is that he is rich so he can buy expensive art. Maybe if you are British and involved with art you know these things, but I doubt if many Americans know Cohen's story and they are not going to learn it here.
7 people found this helpful
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Rena Weinreich
2.0 out of 5 stars interesting book
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2014
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I interesting book, well written. Good description of postwar Jewish Manchester. Loved the characters and especially Mr and Mrs Vohen
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suzanne gordon
3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2014
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I am a huge fan of Howard Jacobson which is probably why I found this so disappointing. It seems he only reached for the low-hanging fruit. All the cliches are here and none of the originality and verve of his other writings. Howard, please give us something new!
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R. Landowne
5.0 out of 5 stars England's Philip Roth
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2013
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What a pleasure to read Howard Jacobson's lovely and loving memoir of his colorful father and then enjoy the unexpected twist the tale takes when the author comes across one of the fruits of his father's labors. Jacobson is a keen and witty observer of Britain and its Jewish populace and if this is your introduction to his work, you will be anxious to read more; if you are already a fan....stop reading this, and download already!
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Top reviews from other countries

Abstract
5.0 out of 5 stars Re-readable!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2020
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I've read this book many times since buying it seven years ago. It's still a benchmark for me - a fantastically wonderful piece of writing. Thanks Howard Jacobson.
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Sally
5.0 out of 5 stars Bits and pieces
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2013
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A very sweet and funny memoir, vividly bringing to life the author's recollections of growing up in Jewish Manchester. And with an affectionate portrait not just of his market stall-holding, magic trick-purveying father, but of another character who turns out to be somethig of a hero: Frankie Cohen who started out as a helper on the Jacobson market stall and ended up as a world-class art dealer.
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Francesca
4.0 out of 5 stars Specialist sociology
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2013
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Delightful description of a social community which is now rare. It was a very good way to understand some quirky expressions and words and also a short(ish) rags to riches tale. Howard Jacobson can keep one's attention in a most charming manner.
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Andrew Murtough
2.0 out of 5 stars Not as described in the blurb
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2013
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Very short story. Focused only briefly the life of the author's father as a 'swag man' then went off in another direction, describing one of the swag man's assistants and his life as an art collector.
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jack saltman
5.0 out of 5 stars the long and the short of it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2013
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I love everything that Howard Jacobson writes so my comments are undoubtedly rosy-tinged. I came from the exact same background as Mr Jacobson in Cheetham Hill and Prestwich, Manchester so everything always sound so familiar. He used the language superbly and his stories always grip me....his character come to life....but then I am, unashamedly, a fan.
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