Customer Reviews

The Rent Collector

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An exciting debut novel exploring the human condition, using the Jewish rag trade universe to illuminate everyman’s needs and wants.

What a wonderful novel. Rotchin offers a convincing portrayal of an industry whose decline can be attributed as much to its own mercenary nature as a neverending flood of cheap foreign imports.

While the tenants of 99 Chabanel recklessly abandon their identities (their brands, their labels) for the sake of having just one more season, their rent collector- Gershon Stein- tenaciously holds onto his own.

The Rent Collector is a must read for those who suspect that "the attainment of an ideal is often the beginning of a disillusion" (Stanley Baldwin).

This little gem of a book is full of surprises. It takes you away into the angst filled world of Gershon, the rent collector and building manager for a rag trade building in Montreal's garment district, with whom you come to share a love/hate relationship with the colourful community of tenants. Gershon's relationships and obsessions make him into an orthodox version of a Philip Roth character.
Rotchin's first novel is a great start for a promising new Canadian author.

This novel hit me where it counts - my little universe and how I fit in it. I found myself constantly identifying with the angst and confusion felt by the central character, Gershon Stein. His relationships with his father, wife, children business clients and His Creator hit very close to home - and I'm not even Jewish. If you want to traverse a landscape of inner discovery, spend a few nights reading this book. You will be rewarded and you will find yourself looking at those dedicated men with their tzizes in a more understanding light.