Interview with the Author

Professor Miriam Cohen sat down with Jeff Lefkoff to discuss The Brothers Isaacson

MC: Were the four Isaacson brothers based on real people?

JL: Yes, my actual great uncles lived together as bachelors in Miami. Like the characters in the book, they grew up in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn in the first decades of the 20th Century. Beyond that kernel of reality, their story comes from my imagination, though I tried to adhere to historical facts about the Brownsville culture and physical environment.

MC: So you met them as old men in Miami in the early 1980’s?

JL: That’s right. I lived in Miami for a year and a half. During that time, I saw them a few times when my mother came to visit. They were an eccentric bunch — Izzy’s refusal to pay a plumber and Max’s lady with the chicken legs were things I witnessed. Years later, they became the inspiration for the book.

MC: What were you doing in Miami?

JL: I moved there for my first professional job.

MC: Like Jules. Wait – is he you? Is this an autobiography?

JL: No. He’s nothing like me. For instance, he likes to swim for exercise, but I like to run.

MC: Uh-huh. So, what do you want readers to take from this story?

JL: Mostly to have fun and to feel the love within a complicated family. Also to reflect on their own lives, how their choices have been influenced by their family history.

MC: The ending left me feeling unresolved. What happens to Jules afterwards?

JL: That’s an odd question coming from you. Anyway, if readers are curious, they can replace Chapter 18 with this alternative ending. Spoiler alert: Only read this after you have finished the book.