From Our Editors
"A man without land is nothing," Duddy Kravitz' grandfather tells
him. Growing up on St. Urbain Street in Montreal's Jewish ghetto,
young Duddy takes the words to heart. Unscrupulous, inventive,
ruthless, untried, this magnetic anti-hero relentlessly pursues
property as he comes of age. In 1974, Mordecai
Richler's novel was made into an acclaimed movie starring
Richard Dreyfuss.
From the Publisher
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is the novel that
established Mordecai Richler as one of the world's best comic
writers. Growing up in the heart of Montreal's Jewish ghetto, Duddy
Kravitz is obsessed with his grandfather's saying, "A man without
land is nothing." In his relentless pursuit of property and his
drive to become a somebody, he will wheel and deal, he will swindle
and forge, he will even try making movies. And in spite of the
setbacks he suffers, the sacrifices he must make along the way,
Duddy never loses faith that his dream is worth the price he must
pay. This blistering satire traces the eventful coming-of-age of a
cynical dreamer. Amoral, inventive, ruthless, and scheming, Duddy
Kravitz is one of the most magnetic anti-heroes in literature, a
man who learns the hard way that dreams are never exactly what they
seem, even when they do come true.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
From the Jacket
"The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is the novel that established Mordecai Richler as one of the world''s best comic writers. Growing up in the heart of Montreal''s Jewish ghetto, Duddy Kravitz is obsessed with his grandfather''s saying, "A man without land is nothing." In his relentless pursuit of property and his drive to become a somebody, he will wheel and deal, he will swindle and forge, he will even try making movies. And in spite of the setbacks he suffers, the sacrifices he must make along the way, Duddy never loses faith that his dream is worth the price he must pay. This blistering satire traces the eventful coming-of-age of a cynical dreamer. Amoral, inventive, ruthless, and scheming, Duddy Kravitz is one of the most magnetic anti-heroes in literature, a man who learns the hard way that dreams are never exactly what they seem, even when they do come true.
About the Author
Mordecai Richler was born in Montreal in 1931. The
author of ten successful novels, numerous screenplays, and several
books of non-fiction, his novel, Barney''s Version, was an
acclaimed bestseller and the winner of The Giller Prize, the
Stephen Leacock Award for Humour, the QSpell Award, and the
Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Novel in the Caribbean and
Canada region. Richler also won two Governor General's Awards and
was shortlisted twice for the Booker Prize.
Mordecai Richler died in Montreal in July 2001.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Mass Market Paperbound
328 Pages, 4.25 x 7 x 0.65 IN
November 1, 1989
McClelland & Stewart
Canadian Author
077109972X
9780771099724