Praise for...

... Davy the Punk, the book

"A splendid book... Lots of people's lives are fascinating but it takes a writer like Bossin to make them seem so." – Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of Reindeer Moon, The Hidden Life of Dogs

“Fascinating... amazing and sometimes hilarious.” – Michael Enright, CBC Radio

“I have always wondered if there was an ur-text to explain this confounding town, some fundamental document that shows who we really were, once, here… We have had no such book about Toronto. Until now.” – Joe Fiorito, Literary Review of Canada

“[Davy the punk], simply put, is remarkable.” – Peter Gross, Down the Stretch

“A superbly researched and exquisitely presented book, tender and touching, beguiling and enlightening, hilarious and infuriating… this is a great story.” – Stephen Aberle, Outlook Magazine

“A charming Runyonesque portrait… of a colourful character.” – Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail.

“A life so fascinating, hilarious and outrageous, it’s worthy of a Mordecai Richler novel.”” – Andreas Schroeder, author of Renovating Heaven and Dustship Glory.

“At times [it will] leave you laughing, at other times perhaps crying, but at all times royally entertained.” – Bernie Ballen, Jewish Post and News

“These stories bring to life a city of gangsters and horse racing and the underworld.” – Deborah Dundas, Toronto Star

“Bob Bossin's father lived in the seamy underside of Toronto the Good between the wars – a Runyonesque milieu of bookies and baseball, horses and payoffs, right in the zone where crime buys a drink for enterprise. Bossin's memoir of Davy is fascinating, funny, dark and poignant, a vividly readable portrait of an unforgettable man in a remarkable habitat.” – Silver Donald Cameron, author of The Education of Everett Richardson and The Living Beach.

“A memoir of a childhood that is the stuff of dreams and movies. With a songwriter's ear, a performer's sense of timing and a poet's grace, Bossin brings Davy the Punk to life, spinning his tales tall and true to the circle of small time Jewish hoods in 1940s Toronto, mesmerizing them and us with his magic. – Si Kahn, musician and playwright.

“Amid the fascinating and sometimes belly-laugh-funny anecdotes of underworld life, Davy the Punk depicts a son’s poignant search for his infinitely resourceful, elusive and wounded father. Bob Bossin has penned a witty and generous memorial to a man, we sense, he is still seeking to know.” – Gabor Maté M.D., author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and Scattered Minds.

“Damon Runyon meets Sholem Aleichem where the Orange Order calls all the shots. Davy the Punk is a touching and very funny portrait of a part of Jewish Toronto that too many people like to pretend wasn't there.” – Michael Wex, author of Born to Kvetch.

“It’s fuckin’ great.” – Joe Medjuck, producer of Up in the Air and Ghostbusters.

“Davy the Punk is a thoroughly enjoyable and revealing romp through the historical underside of Toronto the Good. With verve and enthusiasm, Bob Bossin brings a performer's skill to the tall but true tales in what is, ultimately, his family's story.” – Lilian Nattel, author of Web of Angels and The River Midnight.

“‘I come from a family of storytellers,' writes Bob Bossin, and he has clearly inherited the gift. A rich mix of stories about his father, his family, Jewish immigrant life, political high life and the criminal underworld. Entertaining, illuminating and, at times, touching.” – Leon Rosselson, author of Home is a Place Called Nowhere and Rosa's Singing Grandfather.

“The generation he writes about has now vanished, but the colourful, hard-talking comedy of life on the edge, comes back. Bossin is a great story-teller, and these are great stories.” – Clayton Ruby

…For Davy the Punk, the show.

“Bob Bossin's paean to his dad, a bookie in 1940s Toronto, is charming... moving storytelling and fine musicianship.” – Georgia Straight's Colin Thomas, Vancouver.

“Fascinating from first to last.” – On Stage, Ottawa.

“The best of the dozen shows I saw at the Fringe” – Bernie Ballen, Jewish Post and News

“Davy the Punk was a beautifully told, immaculately performed night of intimate storytelling.” – Mooney on Theatre

“Davy the Punk [is] a truly bizarre, utterly Canadian tale. I wished it had gone another hour.” – The Marble, Victoria.

“Davy the Punk was a beautifully told, immaculately performed night of intimate storytelling.” – Mooney on Theatre

“I got that shiver that runs up and down the spine when you realize you are in on the start of something great.” – Stephen Aberle, Outlook Magazine

“A quiet and thoughtful exploration of an immigrant father’s not-so-innocent past.” – CBC Radio, Manitoba

“[I was] simply blown away.” – janislacouvee.com, Ottawa

“With sprinklings of Yiddish, tastes of wisdom and a generous helping of original songs, Bob Bossin creates a delicious glimpse into a forgotten Jewish-Canadian era.” – Jane Enkin, Winnipeg Jewish Review

“Bossin spins humorous and sentimental tales about the colourful characters of the Jewish underworld in Toronto the Good. – Winnipeg Free Press

“A smashing success. The capacity audience was enthralled by the colourful characters, touching anecdotes and characteristic Bossin songs. Bob’s intelligence, erudition and folksy charm combine in an intimate musical theatre experience for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.” – Eric Stein, Artistic Director, Ashkenaz Festival, Toronto.

“Our audiences loved it. Davy the Punk is a triple crown of music, wry comedy, and affecting family reunion. The songs are thoroughbred Bossin, the story is beguiling, and the reunion – between Bob and the father he knew as a softspoken booking agent but who turns out to be, well, Davy the Punk – is something to cheer about.” – Frank Moher, Artistic Producer of Western Edge Theatre.

“Sold out a month in advance.  Bossin puts his audience at ease and then zaps them with one surprise after another.” – Leslie Parrot, Artistic Director, Gabriola Theatre Festival.

“I was thoroughly charmed by Bob Bossin's... Davy the Punk.” – Barb Popel, Apartment 613, The Best of Ottawa Arts and Culture.

“Wickedly funny.” – Dan McPeake, Wilde Thing, Vancouver

…For Bob Bossin

“Bossin is funny, informative and inspiring at the same time.” – Pete Seeger

“What Lou Reed would sound like if he lived on Gabriola Island.” – Jeff Goodes, CBC Radio

“Bossin is a Canadian folk hero for good reason. He has given us a glorious patchwork quilt with many riveting images and soul-revealing truths.” – Joseph Blake, The Times-Colonist.

“Only a handful of song writers have created a body of work that constitutes a portrait of our country. Stan Rogers did that. So did Gordon Lightfoot. And so does Bob Bossin." – Stuart Mclean