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Synopsis
The Closer We Are to Dying is newspaper columnist Joe Fiorito’s spectacular debut as a book writer. A natural story-teller, Fiorito’s extraordinary talent is revealed in prose that is spare, tough, and tender. In this memoir of his family, he writes with a full heart, wielding language like a knife.
In the 1950s in Fort William, Ontario, when Joe Fiorito was growing up, it was wrong to be poor and Italian, and risky to be bookish – and he was all of these. He was also marked as a member of a lively and infamous clan. Strangers could size him up at a glance and tell he was a Fiorito; Dusty’s boy.
Everyone knew Dusty. He was handsome and hard and hot-tempered. He was a man his son loved and loathed with equal fervour. And it is Dusty who occupies the heart of this book.
A letter carrier, a small-town trombonist and occasional crooner, a heavy drinker, Dusty was both the keeper and maker of the family’s many stories. At the end of his life, as Dusty lay dying in hospital, Joe sat with him at nights, listening one last time to the family legends, now burnished to a perfect lustre by repeated tellings – stories too fantastic to be fiction, too pointed to be entirely true. Stories narrated in exquisite style in The Closer We Are to Dying.
Fiorito’s striking talent is revealed both in his laconic prose and superlative story-telling, and in the affection and empathy of his vision. The Closer We Are to Dying is a beautiful reminder that while only the powerful are remembered in the history books, the lives of the powerless can also be the stuff of enduring myths.
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About the Author
Joe Fiorito is the author of Comfort Me With Apples, first published in 1994, and Tango on the Main (1996), a selection of his city columns from the Montreal Gazette. His family memoir, The Closer We Are to Dying, published in 1999, was a national best-seller and earned the author further critical acclaim. Guy Vanderhaeghe called it “a remarkable memoir, perhaps the finest by a Canadian writer since John Glassco’s Memoirs of Montparnasse appeared in 1970.” Fiorito lives in Toronto and writes for the Toronto Star.
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The Closer We Are to Dying
Published by
Mcclelland & Stewart, 1999
ISBN 10: 077103119X
ISBN 13: 9780771031199
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: B-Line Books, Amherst, NS, Canada
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. 321 pages. Seller Inventory # 27189
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Closer We Are To Dying
Published by
Mcclelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1999
ISBN 10: 077103119X
ISBN 13: 9780771031199
New
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: B-Line Books, Amherst, NS, Canada
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. First Edition; First Printing. New book, unmarked, in crisp glossy DJ. ; 321 pages; The Closer We Are to Dying is newspaper columnist Joe Fiorito?s spectacular debut as a book writer. A natural story-teller, Fiorito?s extraordinary talent is revealed in prose that is spare, tough, and tender. In this memoir of his family, he writes with a full heart, wielding language like a knife. In the 1950s in Fort William, Ontario, when Joe Fiorito was growing up, it was wrong to be poor and Italian, and risky to be bookish ? and he was all of these. He was also marked as a member of a lively and infamous clan. Strangers could size him up at a glance and tell he was a Fiorito; Dusty?s boy.Everyone knew Dusty. He was handsome and hard and hot-tempered. He was a man his son loved and loathed with equal fervour. And it is Dusty who occupies the heart of this book. A letter carrier, a small-town trombonist and occasional crooner, a heavy drinker, Dusty was both the keeper and maker of the family?s many stories. At the end of his life, as Dusty lay dying in hospital, Joe sat with him at nights, listening one last time to the family legends, now burnished to a perfect lustre by repeated tellings ? stories too fantastic to be fiction, too pointed to be entirely true. Stories narrated in exquisite style in The Closer We Are to Dying.Fiorito?s striking talent is revealed both in his laconic prose and superlative story-telling, and in the affection and empathy of his vision. The Closer We Are to Dying is a beautiful reminder that while only the powerful are remembered in the history books, the lives of the powerless can also be the stuff of enduring myths. Seller Inventory # 22851
Quantity: 1 available
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The Closer We Are to Dying
Seller: A Good Read, Toronto, ON, Canada
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. Light wear to edges, stamp on half title page, clipped corner on ffep ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 328 pages. Seller Inventory # 208947
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Closer We Are To Dying
Published by
McClelland & Stewart, 1999
ISBN 10: 077103119X
ISBN 13: 9780771031199
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: A Good Read, Toronto, ON, Canada
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition; First Printing. Minor tip wear. Faint coffee spot to edge of text block. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. ; X X ; 321 pages. Seller Inventory # 77891
Quantity: 1 available
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The Closer We Are to Dying
Seller: Booked Experiences Bookstore, Burlington, ON, Canada
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. Fine in Fine jacket 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. pp.321. 1950's Fort William, Ontario, Italian, poor and bookish-stories from this setting and family. clean tight unread copy. Seller Inventory # 007000
Quantity: 1 available
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The Closer We are to Dying
Published by
McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1999
ISBN 10: 077103119X
ISBN 13: 9780771031199
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Bailey Books, St.Albert, AB, Canada
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. Fine/Fine. First Edition. SIGNED on the title page. As new, unread, unclipped & not remaindered. Very slight shelfwear and a tiny bump at the foot of the spine, otherwise F/F. Authors first novel. Signed by the Author. Seller Inventory # 000343
Quantity: 1 available
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Closer We Are to Dying,The
Published by
McClelland & Stewart, 1999
ISBN 10: 077103119X
ISBN 13: 9780771031199
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: The Next Page, Calgary, AB, Canada
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition 1999. First printing. Signed on Title page. Wrapped in mylar. Seller Inventory # 978077103119C
Quantity: 1 available
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The Closer We Are To Dying
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00039169808
Quantity: 1 available
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The Closer We Are to Dying
Seller: Skoob-ebooks, Pontiac, QC, Canada
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Minor wear only. Clean with no highlighting or writing. DJ edges are mostly straight and crisp. 30-day return policy and free shipping within Canada. For shipments outside of Canada, custom duties or other charges may be levied on receipt. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 328 pages. Seller Inventory # 6316
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Closer We Are To Dying
Published by
McClelland & Stewart, 1999
ISBN 10: 077103119X
ISBN 13: 9780771031199
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Heroes Bookshop, Paris, ON, Canada
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Signed and Inscribed on the title page by Joe Fiorito, this copy is tight and square with a clean unmarked interior. Signed by Author. Seller Inventory # 0042817
Quantity: 1 available