Longpants exploits the experiences of growing up as a poor, Jewish boy in Buenos Aires Argentina, and then again when the author immigrates to the U.S. It consists of 30 short stories, all real-life memoirs, inviting the reader into a compelling series of intimate personal remembrances. His stories are a combination of special moments throughout his childhood, adolescent and adult life, reflecting the challenges and beauty of two distinct lands, each filled with the joy, wonderment and the suffering of daily life.
Argentina of the 50's and 60's was a rich and fertile country, however the author's personal experiences forced him to leave family and country behind. The stories rotate between Argentina and New York, and told against the backdrop of a suffering mother, alcoholic father, and the amazement of receiving the most basic of gifts on two continents. From the writer's excitement at receiving a strip of Bazooka bubble gum brought to him from the U.S., to the time he was able to buy his first car in New York for only a dollar down, each story is told with humor, heart break, and longing. The cover story, Longpants, is the author's hidden secret about his first sexual experience, and sets the stage for rites of passages on many levels.