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Lale Eskicioglu The
Apprenticeship of When Montreal author Mordecai Richler's hugely successful fourth book The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz was first published 50 years ago, Richler himself was only 28. Richler passed away in 2001 but by then overly ambitious, misguided Duddy Kravitz had already become immortal.
Duddy, the young Jewish boy who took his beloved grandfather's, his Zeyda's well-meant advice, "a man without land is nobody" to ruthless extremes, nevertheless invokes the reader's sympathy. Rich with brilliant, energetic dialogue and delightful Jewish banter, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is sad and funny all at once, and a compelling story which you will not be able to put down once you start. Duddy is the underdog, or even the black sheep if you will, of a working-class Jewish family in mid 20th century in Montreal. He is obsessed with possession of land which he equates to the ultimate success in life. His ambitions know no bound. Duddy does not think twice about selling the antique furniture and book collection left to him by his uncle but further goes on to betray people who love and trust him unconditionally. In 1974, director Ted Kot-cheff's movie version of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz starred a very young Richard Dreyfuss in the role of Duddy. Dreyfuss portrays Duddy's transformation from the naïve poor boy to unscrupulous self-made entrepreneur is worth seeing. At the end, having achieved his dream, Duddy seems satisfied with himself, but Dreyfuss does not fail in giving us a hint of the hurt that is now inevitably a part of Duddy who no longer has the support of even his "zeyda."
Mordecai Richler (1931- 2001), as a novelist, screenwriter and journalist has become a distinctively unique voice in Canadian literature. His narrations of tight-knit Jewish communities of Montreal are unsurpassed in the realistic ambiance they create. Richler most definitely uses themes from his own childhood but he would not have become the icon he is today without his capacity for stinging satire, his talent for expressing so much with such economical use of the language (how much can you say with just one word: "Jeez!"), and his absurdly funny characters. When you finish The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz you will want to read more books by Richler and I recommend you continue with the highly entertaining Solomon Gursky Was Here, a hilarious family saga with myth and mystery, murder and disguise, delight and disgrace, and with quite a bit of Canadian and world history as well.
Non-fiction
of the month: American Journalist and Professor Thomas Goltz has been reporting from the conflict zones in the South Caucasus for two decades. He fluently speaks Turkish and Azerbaijani Turkish as well as Russian, German and Arabic. He is probably the only Western correspondent whose linguistic skills made possible this first-hand witness account to Azerbaijan's early years of independence. Goltz' book Azerbaijan Diary is the third in a series of "diaries," the others being Georgia Diary and Chechnya Diary.
Thomas Goltz was recently in Canada, giving a presentation on the atrocities committed against the people of Khojaly in 1992. A good-humoured lovable man who calls himself an "adventurer," Goltz is also the text and picture editor of two travel books: Insight Guide: Turkey, and City Guide: Istanbul.
Old Articles
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If
you wish to move on to more recent works by Mordecai Richler,
you can also pick up Barney's Version which won the prestigious
Giller Prize in 1997. Richler who received the Order of Canada shortly
before his death in 2001, is also author of Jacob Two-Two series
of children's books.
