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Solomon Gursky Was Here: Penguin Modern Classics
Moses Berger is very young when he first hears the name that will obsess him and drive him on a quest across Canada and Europe. His life becomes consumed with unravelling the secrets from the startling, almost mythical life of a man and family shrouded in lies.
Ranging from the underworld of nineteenth-century London, through the Franklin expedition to the Arctic, to the Prohibition years on the prairies and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Solomon Gursky Was Here is a grand, uncommonly rich tale from one of Canada's best storytellers.
524 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 1989
76 people are currently reading
3529 people want to read
About the author
Mordecai Richler
90 books372 followersWorking-class Jewish background based novels, which include
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
(1959) and
Saint Urbain's Horseman
(1971), of Canadian writer Mordecai Richler.
People best know Barney's Version (1997) among works of this author, screenwriter, and essayist; people shortlisted his novel Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989) for the Man Booker Prize in 1990. He was also well known for the Jacob Two-two stories of children.
A scrap yard dealer reared this son on street in the mile end area of Montréal. He learned Yiddish and English and graduated from Baron Byng High School. Richler enrolled in Sir George Williams College (now Concordia University) to study English but dropped before completing his degree.
Years later, Leah Rosenberg, mother of Richler, published an autobiography, The Errand Runner: Memoirs of a Rabbi's Daughter (1981), which discusses birth and upbringing of Mordecai and the sometime difficult relationship.
Richler, intent on following in the footsteps of many of a previous "lost generation" of literary exiles of the 1920s from the United States, moved to Paris at age of 19 years in 1950.
Richler returned to Montréal in 1952, worked briefly at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and then moved to London in 1954. He, living in London meanwhile, published seven of his ten novels as well as considerable journalism.
Worrying "about being so long away from the roots of my discontent", Richler returned to Montréal in 1972. He wrote repeatedly about the Jewish community of Montréal and especially portraying his former neighborhood in multiple novels.
In England in 1954, Richler married Catherine Boudreau, a French-Canadian divorcée nine years his senior. On the eve of their wedding, he met Florence Wood Mann, a young married woman, who smited him.
Some years later, Richler and Mann divorced and married each other. He adopted Daniel Mann, her son. The couple had five children together: Daniel, Jacob, Noah, Martha and Emma. These events inspired his novel Barney's Version.
Richler died of cancer.
People best know Barney's Version (1997) among works of this author, screenwriter, and essayist; people shortlisted his novel Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989) for the Man Booker Prize in 1990. He was also well known for the Jacob Two-two stories of children.
A scrap yard dealer reared this son on street in the mile end area of Montréal. He learned Yiddish and English and graduated from Baron Byng High School. Richler enrolled in Sir George Williams College (now Concordia University) to study English but dropped before completing his degree.
Years later, Leah Rosenberg, mother of Richler, published an autobiography, The Errand Runner: Memoirs of a Rabbi's Daughter (1981), which discusses birth and upbringing of Mordecai and the sometime difficult relationship.
Richler, intent on following in the footsteps of many of a previous "lost generation" of literary exiles of the 1920s from the United States, moved to Paris at age of 19 years in 1950.
Richler returned to Montréal in 1952, worked briefly at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and then moved to London in 1954. He, living in London meanwhile, published seven of his ten novels as well as considerable journalism.
Worrying "about being so long away from the roots of my discontent", Richler returned to Montréal in 1972. He wrote repeatedly about the Jewish community of Montréal and especially portraying his former neighborhood in multiple novels.
In England in 1954, Richler married Catherine Boudreau, a French-Canadian divorcée nine years his senior. On the eve of their wedding, he met Florence Wood Mann, a young married woman, who smited him.
Some years later, Richler and Mann divorced and married each other. He adopted Daniel Mann, her son. The couple had five children together: Daniel, Jacob, Noah, Martha and Emma. These events inspired his novel Barney's Version.
Richler died of cancer.
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September 7, 2018
Παράξενο βιβλίο, στοιχειωμένο, δαιδαλώδες, μακροσκελές, με μια ιστορία που γεννιέται, εξελίσσεται, περιπλανιέται μέσα στους αιώνες και στο τέλος, μπορεί εύκολα να χαρακτηριστεί με προσδόκιμο ύπαρξης μεγαλύτερο απο την ίδια τη ζωή.
Ένα πολύχρωμο μωσαϊκό πραγματικότητας και μυθοπλασίας όπου οι διαχωριστικές γραμμές χάνονται απο κάποιο σημείο και μετά, καθώς γίνεται απόλυτα κατανοητή η ιστορία μέσα απο τα συναισθηματικά ανθρώπινα μάτια του Μωϋσή Μπέργκερ, βιογράφου και δωρητή ζωής στην εκπληκτική ατελέσφορη οδύσσεια του περιπλανώμενου Ιουδαίου.
Η ιστορία ζωής του Σόλομον Γκάρσκυ, των αδελφών του, των παιδιών και εγγονιών τους καθώς και της μυθικής, αφόρητα θρυλικής, και αξεπέραστης φιγούρας του Εφραίμ Γκάρσκυ.
Είναι ο παππούς του Σόλομον, ο ιδρυτής της δυναστείας των Εβραίων Εσκιμώων, ο μέντορας της εβραϊκής μνήμης, ο σκιώδης κατακτητής πολλών πατρίδων, αυτός που περιπλανήθηκε μέσα σε αιώνες ιστορίας για να φθάσει αποτυχημένος νικητής στη γη των προϊστορικών προγόνων του.
Ο συγγραφέας με έναν τεράστιο αριθμό χαρακτήρων και συρταρωτών ιστοριών αρχίζει να δημιουργεί τις βάσεις που θα στηρίξει το τεράστιο οικοδόμημα της εβραϊκού έθνους.
Αρχικά ο αναγνώστης χάνεται, μπερδεύεται, αισθάνεται σαθρές αυτές τις βάσεις και αδυνατεί να στηρίξει την αντιληπτική του ικανότητα.
Πάρα πολλές πληροφορίες, ονόματα, χώρες, πόλεις, παλινδρομήσεις αφήγησης σε ένα μείγμα αποκάλυψης, εφεύρεσης και ιστορίας.
Πολιτική, θρησκευτική, φυλετική, πολιτισμική, κοινωνική, ηρωική και ατελείωτη αναζήτηση. Σκοπός του, να μας παρουσιάσει την εικόνα επιβίωσης και κυριαρχίας του τεράστιου εβραϊκού έθνους.
Οι Εβραίοι πάντα άστεγοι, πάντα χωρίς πατρίδα, αλλά με εκπληκτική ικανότητα προσαρμογής και εκμετάλλευσης των ευκαιριών που προέκυψαν για να τους βοηθήσουν να υπάρχουν.
Η πατρίδα του Ισραήλ παραμένει αιώνια στη συνείδηση τους, μα οπουδήποτε κι αν εγκαταστάθηκαν ως κοινότητα, το θεωρούσαν το «επόμενο καλύτερο μέρος» και έκαναν σπουδαία έργα σε οποιαδήποτε γη κατείχαν ως φιλοξενούμενοι.
Ίσως, στην χριστιανική μυθολογία ο περιπλανώμενος Ιουδαίος να είναι άξιος μόνο για περιφρόνηση και περιθωριοποίηση.
Η αγάπη του χριστιανισμού δεν επιδέχεται καμία μορφή έκφρασης προς τους καταραμένους που στερούνται πατρίδας και διασχίζουν διάφορους τόπους αέναα μέσα στην ανθρώπινη ιστορία.
Ίσως επειδή δεν προκαλούν τραγωδίες με την περιπλάνηση και την ύπαρξη τους να θεωρούνται μύστες φοβερών κακών που προμηνύονται απο την ικανότητα προσαρμογής τους.
Ίσως, έτσι, η εβραϊκή διασπορά έχει ως σύμβολο της την περιπλάνηση και η περιπλάνηση εμπεριέχει υποψίες, φόβους και αγωνίες για να στηριχτούν οι κατηγορίες εναντίον τους.
Αυτές οι μοναχικές περιπλανώμενες φιγούρες, ίσως,είναι τραγικές και προξενούν καταστολή... ίσως, προκαλούν, ίσως έτσι, να καθίστανται δικαιολογημένες ανείπωτες εγκληματικές πράξεις του 20ου αιώνα.
Λέω ίσως, δεν είμαι και σίγουρη, μήπως, κάπως έτσι,
η χριστιανική μυθολογία δικαιολογεί το Ολοκαύτωμα; Ίσως, έτσι απλώς, συνειρμικά μου ήρθε στο μυαλό.
Μπορεί ναι, μπορεί και όχι.
Τα συμπεράσματα εξάγονται απο υποκειμενικές συλλογιστικές διαδικασίες.
💰🌏🌕🌓🌓🌑🌘🌗🌔💰
✿◕ ‿ ◕✿
Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.
Ένα πολύχρωμο μωσαϊκό πραγματικότητας και μυθοπλασίας όπου οι διαχωριστικές γραμμές χάνονται απο κάποιο σημείο και μετά, καθώς γίνεται απόλυτα κατανοητή η ιστορία μέσα απο τα συναισθηματικά ανθρώπινα μάτια του Μωϋσή Μπέργκερ, βιογράφου και δωρητή ζωής στην εκπληκτική ατελέσφορη οδύσσεια του περιπλανώμενου Ιουδαίου.
Η ιστορία ζωής του Σόλομον Γκάρσκυ, των αδελφών του, των παιδιών και εγγονιών τους καθώς και της μυθικής, αφόρητα θρυλικής, και αξεπέραστης φιγούρας του Εφραίμ Γκάρσκυ.
Είναι ο παππούς του Σόλομον, ο ιδρυτής της δυναστείας των Εβραίων Εσκιμώων, ο μέντορας της εβραϊκής μνήμης, ο σκιώδης κατακτητής πολλών πατρίδων, αυτός που περιπλανήθηκε μέσα σε αιώνες ιστορίας για να φθάσει αποτυχημένος νικητής στη γη των προϊστορικών προγόνων του.
Ο συγγραφέας με έναν τεράστιο αριθμό χαρακτήρων και συρταρωτών ιστοριών αρχίζει να δημιουργεί τις βάσεις που θα στηρίξει το τεράστιο οικοδόμημα της εβραϊκού έθνους.
Αρχικά ο αναγνώστης χάνεται, μπερδεύεται, αισθάνεται σαθρές αυτές τις βάσεις και αδυνατεί να στηρίξει την αντιληπτική του ικανότητα.
Πάρα πολλές πληροφορίες, ονόματα, χώρες, πόλεις, παλινδρομήσεις αφήγησης σε ένα μείγμα αποκάλυψης, εφεύρεσης και ιστορίας.
Πολιτική, θρησκευτική, φυλετική, πολιτισμική, κοινωνική, ηρωική και ατελείωτη αναζήτηση. Σκοπός του, να μας παρουσιάσει την εικόνα επιβίωσης και κυριαρχίας του τεράστιου εβραϊκού έθνους.
Οι Εβραίοι πάντα άστεγοι, πάντα χωρίς πατρίδα, αλλά με εκπληκτική ικανότητα προσαρμογής και εκμετάλλευσης των ευκαιριών που προέκυψαν για να τους βοηθήσουν να υπάρχουν.
Η πατρίδα του Ισραήλ παραμένει αιώνια στη συνείδηση τους, μα οπουδήποτε κι αν εγκαταστάθηκαν ως κοινότητα, το θεωρούσαν το «επόμενο καλύτερο μέρος» και έκαναν σπουδαία έργα σε οποιαδήποτε γη κατείχαν ως φιλοξενούμενοι.
Ίσως, στην χριστιανική μυθολογία ο περιπλανώμενος Ιουδαίος να είναι άξιος μόνο για περιφρόνηση και περιθωριοποίηση.
Η αγάπη του χριστιανισμού δεν επιδέχεται καμία μορφή έκφρασης προς τους καταραμένους που στερούνται πατρίδας και διασχίζουν διάφορους τόπους αέναα μέσα στην ανθρώπινη ιστορία.
Ίσως επειδή δεν προκαλούν τραγωδίες με την περιπλάνηση και την ύπαρξη τους να θεωρούνται μύστες φοβερών κακών που προμηνύονται απο την ικανότητα προσαρμογής τους.
Ίσως, έτσι, η εβραϊκή διασπορά έχει ως σύμβολο της την περιπλάνηση και η περιπλάνηση εμπεριέχει υποψίες, φόβους και αγωνίες για να στηριχτούν οι κατηγορίες εναντίον τους.
Αυτές οι μοναχικές περιπλανώμενες φιγούρες, ίσως,είναι τραγικές και προξενούν καταστολή... ίσως, προκαλούν, ίσως έτσι, να καθίστανται δικαιολογημένες ανείπωτες εγκληματικές πράξεις του 20ου αιώνα.
Λέω ίσως, δεν είμαι και σίγουρη, μήπως, κάπως έτσι,
η χριστιανική μυθολογία δικαιολογεί το Ολοκαύτωμα; Ίσως, έτσι απλώς, συνειρμικά μου ήρθε στο μυαλό.
Μπορεί ναι, μπορεί και όχι.
Τα συμπεράσματα εξάγονται απο υποκειμενικές συλλογιστικές διαδικασίες.
💰🌏🌕🌓🌓🌑🌘🌗🌔💰
✿◕ ‿ ◕✿
Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.
June 27, 2017
This is an ambitious, confusing and sometimes crazy mixture of fact and fantasy. It tells the story of an ultimately rich Jewish Canadian family from the early nineteenth century to the 1980s. The story is loosely held together by Moses Berger, an alcoholic writer obsessed with the family who has accumulated scraps of information over a lifetime.
At the heart of the story are the legends of the family's founding father Ephraim, a small-time criminal in London who somehow inveigles himself a place on Franklin's ill-fated expedition to find the North-West passage. In Richler's version of the story, Ephraim is the only survivor, first through cannibalism and then by persuading the local Inuit to follow his religious cult.
Ephraim's three grandsons are Bernard, Solomon and Morrie, who we first meet in a remote hotel in rural Saskatchewan where their father is a horse trader. Solomon bets their entire future in a poker game and wins the hotel, and the money that enables them to start a business, initially as bootleggers but eventually as a respectable business, which is run by the controlling patriarch Bernard after the charismatic Solomon disappears in a mysterious plane crash.
These are just two of the many strands of a tale that encompasses many disparate elements, and allows Richler to indulge his interests in history, Inuit customs, Judaism and much else besides.
The book is deliberately muddled, partly to reflect Moses's addled mind, and partly to allow some surprising revelations to be held back until quite late. For me it is too long, and I did feel that the female characters' roles were very limited, but the best parts are very good indeed.
I read it as part of The Mookse and the Gripes group's project to analyse the 1990 Booker prize shortlist. 1990 was another very strong year, and I can't place this one any higher that fifth, but in other years it might have been a strong contender, and I would be interested in reading more Richler.
At the heart of the story are the legends of the family's founding father Ephraim, a small-time criminal in London who somehow inveigles himself a place on Franklin's ill-fated expedition to find the North-West passage. In Richler's version of the story, Ephraim is the only survivor, first through cannibalism and then by persuading the local Inuit to follow his religious cult.
Ephraim's three grandsons are Bernard, Solomon and Morrie, who we first meet in a remote hotel in rural Saskatchewan where their father is a horse trader. Solomon bets their entire future in a poker game and wins the hotel, and the money that enables them to start a business, initially as bootleggers but eventually as a respectable business, which is run by the controlling patriarch Bernard after the charismatic Solomon disappears in a mysterious plane crash.
These are just two of the many strands of a tale that encompasses many disparate elements, and allows Richler to indulge his interests in history, Inuit customs, Judaism and much else besides.
The book is deliberately muddled, partly to reflect Moses's addled mind, and partly to allow some surprising revelations to be held back until quite late. For me it is too long, and I did feel that the female characters' roles were very limited, but the best parts are very good indeed.
I read it as part of The Mookse and the Gripes group's project to analyse the 1990 Booker prize shortlist. 1990 was another very strong year, and I can't place this one any higher that fifth, but in other years it might have been a strong contender, and I would be interested in reading more Richler.
August 7, 2023
Im Nachwort von Maxim Biller wird "Solomon Gursky war hier" als ein jüdisches Buddenbrooks bezeichnet. Der Roman ist jedoch wilder, rasanter, satirischer und respektloser. Das wird nicht jedem Thomas-Mann-Fan gefallen. Ich hatte aber mit dieser epischen Geschichte viel Spaß.
Die Saga der Gursky-Familie über sieben Generationen ist einer der fantasievollsten Romane, den ich in letzter Zeit gelesen habe. Der trunksüchtige Moses Berger, der eigentlich im Zentrum des Romans steht, schreibt an der Biografie des Solomon Gursky. Moses Vater war Redenschreiber für Solomons Bruder Bernard. Er selbst war liiert mit Solomons Tochter Lucy, die mittlerweile am Broadway erfolgreich ist. Die Biografie beschränkt sich aber nicht auf Solomon. Die gesamte Gursky-Familie steht im Fokus. Der vorne im Buch abgedruckte Stammbaum der sieben Generationen gibt Orientierung.
Der Roman wechselt zwischen Jahren (1871, 1983, 1908, 1973,...), Orten und Personen. Es ist eine Abenteuergeschichte, eine Geschichte über Religion, eine Geschichte über Diskriminierung, eine Geschichte eines Spielers, der erst Alkoholschmuggler ist und damit den Grundstein für ein erfolgreiches Unternehmen legt.
An einer Stelle wird das Programm des Buches beschrieben: "Bruchstücke, verheißungsvolle Indizien, Tonbänder, Tagebücher, Gerichtsprotokolle - und doch fehlten vom Gursky-Puzzle noch so viele Teile." Man benötigt einiges an Konzentration, um bei den Episoden mit all ihren Personen und Zeitebenen am Ball zu bleiben. Dann aber wird man reich belohnt.
Mordecai Richler (1931-2001) war einer der bedeutendsten kanadischen Schriftsteller. Er hat zweimal den Commonwealth Writers Prize gewonnen, u.a. für "Solomon Gursky". Der Roman war 1990 außerdem für den Booker Prize nominiert. Richler hat elf Romane veröffentlicht. "Solomon Gursky" wird nicht mein letzter gewesen sein.
Die Saga der Gursky-Familie über sieben Generationen ist einer der fantasievollsten Romane, den ich in letzter Zeit gelesen habe. Der trunksüchtige Moses Berger, der eigentlich im Zentrum des Romans steht, schreibt an der Biografie des Solomon Gursky. Moses Vater war Redenschreiber für Solomons Bruder Bernard. Er selbst war liiert mit Solomons Tochter Lucy, die mittlerweile am Broadway erfolgreich ist. Die Biografie beschränkt sich aber nicht auf Solomon. Die gesamte Gursky-Familie steht im Fokus. Der vorne im Buch abgedruckte Stammbaum der sieben Generationen gibt Orientierung.
Der Roman wechselt zwischen Jahren (1871, 1983, 1908, 1973,...), Orten und Personen. Es ist eine Abenteuergeschichte, eine Geschichte über Religion, eine Geschichte über Diskriminierung, eine Geschichte eines Spielers, der erst Alkoholschmuggler ist und damit den Grundstein für ein erfolgreiches Unternehmen legt.
An einer Stelle wird das Programm des Buches beschrieben: "Bruchstücke, verheißungsvolle Indizien, Tonbänder, Tagebücher, Gerichtsprotokolle - und doch fehlten vom Gursky-Puzzle noch so viele Teile." Man benötigt einiges an Konzentration, um bei den Episoden mit all ihren Personen und Zeitebenen am Ball zu bleiben. Dann aber wird man reich belohnt.
Mordecai Richler (1931-2001) war einer der bedeutendsten kanadischen Schriftsteller. Er hat zweimal den Commonwealth Writers Prize gewonnen, u.a. für "Solomon Gursky". Der Roman war 1990 außerdem für den Booker Prize nominiert. Richler hat elf Romane veröffentlicht. "Solomon Gursky" wird nicht mein letzter gewesen sein.
July 4, 2009
Imagine if I told you the story of Dr. Seuss’s “The Cat in the Hat” in the following way:
Chapter 1 – the birth of Thing One and Thing Two
Chapter 2 – after the children’s mother comes home at the end
Chapter 3 – the cat’s early childhood years
Chapter 4 – the fish’s perspective as the cat wrecks the house
And so on, and so forth, for 400 pages. Reading this book was a similar experience.
The basic plot of “Solomon Gursky was Here” focuses on the rise and exploits of the notoriously wealthy and powerful (and of course, highly dysfunctional) Gursky family, and on the self-destructive alcoholic would-be scholar, Moses Berger, who has become obsessed with documenting their story. Moses is particularly fixated on Solomon, the middle brother, whose alleged death is shrouded in mystery and may have been caused by Solomon’s older brother Bernard.
Several reviewers described this ambitious book as “Dickensian” and I agree – the basic story becomes a far-reaching saga with tangential episodes focusing on all sorts of peripheral characters. The problem is, I never much liked Dickens. In my opinion, Dickens’s novels reflected the fact that they had started out as magazine serials where he was paid by the word, and that he profited by drawing out the story as long as he possibly could. Writing long, sprawling epics rather than tight, focused stories may have worked for Dickens financially, but it doesn’t work artistically, at least for me.
I really appreciate Mordecai Richler as a writer, and it kills me to give him just two stars. For me, though, this was not one of his better books although it was certainly more ambitious and far-reaching than his others. The story was simply too long, dense, and convoluted for me. Richler constantly went back and forth between a multitude of characters (often peripheral to the story) and time periods, and it was difficult to keep everything straight. There were constant vague references to climactic events which I only started to get 2-300 pages later, when I no longer remembered the references or how they came in. I started to get into the story about halfway through, which is a little late for a 400+ page book. Even once I got into it, I never found the book particularly compelling.
As an aside, I suspect this book had a strong role in inspiring Michael Chabon’s “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.” I had a strong sense of déjà vu as I read about tough Arctic Jews consorting with Eskimos. I give Richler credit, though, for knowing his Yiddish and his Jewish rituals and lifestyle way better than Chabon did.
Chapter 1 – the birth of Thing One and Thing Two
Chapter 2 – after the children’s mother comes home at the end
Chapter 3 – the cat’s early childhood years
Chapter 4 – the fish’s perspective as the cat wrecks the house
And so on, and so forth, for 400 pages. Reading this book was a similar experience.
The basic plot of “Solomon Gursky was Here” focuses on the rise and exploits of the notoriously wealthy and powerful (and of course, highly dysfunctional) Gursky family, and on the self-destructive alcoholic would-be scholar, Moses Berger, who has become obsessed with documenting their story. Moses is particularly fixated on Solomon, the middle brother, whose alleged death is shrouded in mystery and may have been caused by Solomon’s older brother Bernard.
Several reviewers described this ambitious book as “Dickensian” and I agree – the basic story becomes a far-reaching saga with tangential episodes focusing on all sorts of peripheral characters. The problem is, I never much liked Dickens. In my opinion, Dickens’s novels reflected the fact that they had started out as magazine serials where he was paid by the word, and that he profited by drawing out the story as long as he possibly could. Writing long, sprawling epics rather than tight, focused stories may have worked for Dickens financially, but it doesn’t work artistically, at least for me.
I really appreciate Mordecai Richler as a writer, and it kills me to give him just two stars. For me, though, this was not one of his better books although it was certainly more ambitious and far-reaching than his others. The story was simply too long, dense, and convoluted for me. Richler constantly went back and forth between a multitude of characters (often peripheral to the story) and time periods, and it was difficult to keep everything straight. There were constant vague references to climactic events which I only started to get 2-300 pages later, when I no longer remembered the references or how they came in. I started to get into the story about halfway through, which is a little late for a 400+ page book. Even once I got into it, I never found the book particularly compelling.
As an aside, I suspect this book had a strong role in inspiring Michael Chabon’s “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.” I had a strong sense of déjà vu as I read about tough Arctic Jews consorting with Eskimos. I give Richler credit, though, for knowing his Yiddish and his Jewish rituals and lifestyle way better than Chabon did.
December 28, 2010
What a rollicking humdinger of a roller coaster ride! Moses Berger's obsession with the Gursky dynasty pitches the reader from an early 19th century Durham coal mine to the 1980s Eastern Townships, with Franklin's disastrous voyage to find the Northwest passage and the building of a commercial empire based on the sale and production of alcohol with the murkiest, muddiest, most questionable of methods that slide in and out of legality in a slippery and deadly game. Five generations of Gurskys, interspersed with Berger's own growing realisation that he was never the fisherman, but always the fish, caught and played and made to dance across the water by Solomon, the central figure, whose mysterious death provides the narrative drive. The story is not told in a linear way, but bucks and switches between time and place, from Canada to China and all points between, mixing legend and truth, mixing Jewish and Inuit mythology. A certain amount of tenacity is a prerequisite for the reader; it took me until part five, a good 300 pages in, before the characters began to come together and hold a place in my mind, before I began to see a pattern emerging. It is not so much the unravelling of a knot, it is more a whole skein of loose threads that are, at last, knitted up into a complete picture.
Small note on the edition: I wouldn't recommend this Vintage paperback, it was proof read by a dyslexic.
Small note on the edition: I wouldn't recommend this Vintage paperback, it was proof read by a dyslexic.
March 15, 2015
E’ un buon romanzo, ma meno coinvolgente de La versione di Barney, probabilmente perché quest’ultimo aveva un unico protagonista che catalizzava tutta l’attenzione, a dispetto delle tante figure, secondarie o meno, che pur costellavano il racconto. Barney era un “figlio di puttana”, al pari del precedente Duddy Kravitz, che non potevi fare a meno di trovare simpatico. Qui, diciamo, di “figli di puttana” ce ne sono un po’ troppi per reggerli proprio tutti.
Ci vuole un po’ ad ingranare, perché la storia si snoda lungo due secoli e ci racconta della famiglia dei Gursky, di come si sono affermati, moltiplicati e ripetutamente offesi, con continui salti temporali in avanti e all’indietro. Come se ciò non bastasse, vengono richiamati e ripercorsi anche dei veri e propri pezzi di storia, in qualche modo intrecciati dall’autore alle vicende dei protagonisti, come, ad esempio, la spedizione di John Franklin alla ricerca del famoso “passaggio a nord-ovest” e quelle successivamente partite sulle sue tracce dopo che non se ne ebbero più notizie. Il che non facilita sicuramente la lettura. Ma i romanzi di Mordecai Richler sono tutti così: un casino della madonna. Parte del loro fascino, d’altro canto, deriva proprio da questo.
Stupisce sempre l’abilità con cui lo scrittore riesce a reggere le fila di materie tanto complicate. In questo senso, è un affabulatore a dir poco eccezionale. Manca sempre, altresì, una vera e propria introspezione psicologica dei personaggi. O meglio, lui li schiaffa lì, davanti al lettore, e pare dirgli “Vedi un po’ tu se riesci a capire cosa cavolo avevano dentro la testa. Io questa responsabilità non intendo prendermela.”. E così, pagina dopo pagina, ti ritrovi lì a smazzarti i comportamenti paranoidi di questo e di quello. Però ti diverti una cifra a farlo. Anche se poi, alla fine, magari finisci per chiederti: “Sì, vabbè, e allora?”.
Proprio come ne La versione di Barney, la storia comincia a prendere forma e farsi comprensibile poco a poco. Solomon, che dà il titolo al romanzo e inizialmente viene solo citato ad uso e consumo di chi ne fa riferimento, compare effettivamente solo dopo circa trecento pagine, portando a compimento e facendo esattamente “incastrare” ingranaggi che si erano messi in moto molto prima, saziando curiosità che il lettore aveva da tempo, chiarendo particolari che erano rimasti in sospeso.
Proprio per questo è meglio procedere con calma e pazienza nella lettura, altrimenti si rischia di perdersi e di non coglierne la caotica bellezza.
PS: E poi c’è Moses Berger, naturalmente. ;-)
Ci vuole un po’ ad ingranare, perché la storia si snoda lungo due secoli e ci racconta della famiglia dei Gursky, di come si sono affermati, moltiplicati e ripetutamente offesi, con continui salti temporali in avanti e all’indietro. Come se ciò non bastasse, vengono richiamati e ripercorsi anche dei veri e propri pezzi di storia, in qualche modo intrecciati dall’autore alle vicende dei protagonisti, come, ad esempio, la spedizione di John Franklin alla ricerca del famoso “passaggio a nord-ovest” e quelle successivamente partite sulle sue tracce dopo che non se ne ebbero più notizie. Il che non facilita sicuramente la lettura. Ma i romanzi di Mordecai Richler sono tutti così: un casino della madonna. Parte del loro fascino, d’altro canto, deriva proprio da questo.
Stupisce sempre l’abilità con cui lo scrittore riesce a reggere le fila di materie tanto complicate. In questo senso, è un affabulatore a dir poco eccezionale. Manca sempre, altresì, una vera e propria introspezione psicologica dei personaggi. O meglio, lui li schiaffa lì, davanti al lettore, e pare dirgli “Vedi un po’ tu se riesci a capire cosa cavolo avevano dentro la testa. Io questa responsabilità non intendo prendermela.”. E così, pagina dopo pagina, ti ritrovi lì a smazzarti i comportamenti paranoidi di questo e di quello. Però ti diverti una cifra a farlo. Anche se poi, alla fine, magari finisci per chiederti: “Sì, vabbè, e allora?”.
Proprio come ne La versione di Barney, la storia comincia a prendere forma e farsi comprensibile poco a poco. Solomon, che dà il titolo al romanzo e inizialmente viene solo citato ad uso e consumo di chi ne fa riferimento, compare effettivamente solo dopo circa trecento pagine, portando a compimento e facendo esattamente “incastrare” ingranaggi che si erano messi in moto molto prima, saziando curiosità che il lettore aveva da tempo, chiarendo particolari che erano rimasti in sospeso.
Proprio per questo è meglio procedere con calma e pazienza nella lettura, altrimenti si rischia di perdersi e di non coglierne la caotica bellezza.
PS: E poi c’è Moses Berger, naturalmente. ;-)
June 27, 2017
Έπος. Έπος. Έπος. Ένα σύμπαν δημιουργημένο πάνω στις εβραϊκές γραφές, στημένο σε 4 γενιές μεταναστών που κάνουν τα πάντα για την επιβίωση, αναγνωρίζοντας κ αξιοποιώντας κάθε ευκαιρία που η ζωή θα προσφέρει. Χωρίς να χάνουν φυσικά ποτέ την ευκαιρία να υποδηλώσουν και την κυριαρχία τους στην περιοχή τους , οπότε αυτό κριθεί αναγκαίο. Σαν το κοράκι του Νώε, πετούν μόνο μπροστά, χωρίς να παραλείπουν πότε κ τη ζωώδη σωματική απόλαυση παντώς είδους.
April 13, 2021
This is where ratings mislead. Richler is a genius. This book is a high-wire act that only an author of extreme talent and chutzpah dare attempt. This book is dripping with historical fiction, biblical allegory, mysticism, Arctic adventure, prohibition gangster lore and Wall Street intrigue.
Richler breaks the mold and introduces 5 generations of the Gursky family in no particular order. Ephraim Gursky is the progenitor of the many colorful offspring that stem from his seed. The orphaned Ephraim runs afoul of the law in England and flees on a doomed Artic adventure, or did he? Whether he was the sole survivor of the Campbell expedition in the 1850s to the Arctic regions in unclear. What is clear is that he is street smart and a survivor. Traits that will later be found in that of his favorite grandson, the eponymous Solomon. Solomon is a ladies man, gambler and rule-breaker. With his brother Bernard, the empire-building eldest brother, and the amiable and loyal Morrie, the brothers Gursky create a Canadian bootlegging behemoth.
Our sometimes guide is the son of a famous Canadian poet L.B Berger, Moses. Moses is an alcoholic writer who has thrown away his talent for drink. He is consumed by the tragic life of Solomon Gursky and seeks to find living relatives and friends who can tell his story. Moses is looking for Solomon's journal that is believed to exist but he has yet to track down.
Besides our guide Moses, Richler uses an omniscient narrator with sometimes precise and sometimes shaky reliability as we span near 150 years of the Gursky past. Richler takes us on benders with Moses, tells a whopper of a fish tale, immerses us in the sibling rivalry between Solomon and Bernard, provides the origin story of Ephraim, spins a yarn about a defining high-stakes poker game, and introduces us to the frivolous and vulgar 4th Gursky generation.
The stories are told in a voice of a brilliant orator who likely has refined and enhanced details over many cocktails to numerous strangers. The reason this has a 4 rather than 5 star rating is due to the complexity. Richler jumps generations, centuries and characters throughout. The characters are presented fast and furious at the outset and only towards the last third of the book does the family tree come into focus. Even then, just as the first three generations are becoming clear, Richler sends in the four generation with still unfinished business remaining with Solomon and Bernard. He leaves essential questions unanswered. The reader is faced with accepting the loose ends or rereading the book for clues that are scattered through and missed during the first run through.
This is a double-black diamond reading comprehension challenge. Richler is raw as ever. Racism, sexism and other uncomfortable "isms" rear their heads. It is discomfiting, but life with the Gurskys and Moses Berger call for a rough and tumble ride.
Richler breaks the mold and introduces 5 generations of the Gursky family in no particular order. Ephraim Gursky is the progenitor of the many colorful offspring that stem from his seed. The orphaned Ephraim runs afoul of the law in England and flees on a doomed Artic adventure, or did he? Whether he was the sole survivor of the Campbell expedition in the 1850s to the Arctic regions in unclear. What is clear is that he is street smart and a survivor. Traits that will later be found in that of his favorite grandson, the eponymous Solomon. Solomon is a ladies man, gambler and rule-breaker. With his brother Bernard, the empire-building eldest brother, and the amiable and loyal Morrie, the brothers Gursky create a Canadian bootlegging behemoth.
Our sometimes guide is the son of a famous Canadian poet L.B Berger, Moses. Moses is an alcoholic writer who has thrown away his talent for drink. He is consumed by the tragic life of Solomon Gursky and seeks to find living relatives and friends who can tell his story. Moses is looking for Solomon's journal that is believed to exist but he has yet to track down.
Besides our guide Moses, Richler uses an omniscient narrator with sometimes precise and sometimes shaky reliability as we span near 150 years of the Gursky past. Richler takes us on benders with Moses, tells a whopper of a fish tale, immerses us in the sibling rivalry between Solomon and Bernard, provides the origin story of Ephraim, spins a yarn about a defining high-stakes poker game, and introduces us to the frivolous and vulgar 4th Gursky generation.
The stories are told in a voice of a brilliant orator who likely has refined and enhanced details over many cocktails to numerous strangers. The reason this has a 4 rather than 5 star rating is due to the complexity. Richler jumps generations, centuries and characters throughout. The characters are presented fast and furious at the outset and only towards the last third of the book does the family tree come into focus. Even then, just as the first three generations are becoming clear, Richler sends in the four generation with still unfinished business remaining with Solomon and Bernard. He leaves essential questions unanswered. The reader is faced with accepting the loose ends or rereading the book for clues that are scattered through and missed during the first run through.
This is a double-black diamond reading comprehension challenge. Richler is raw as ever. Racism, sexism and other uncomfortable "isms" rear their heads. It is discomfiting, but life with the Gurskys and Moses Berger call for a rough and tumble ride.
June 6, 2016
this was a re-read for me... but i last read it when it was published (1989) and have a crap memory. so all i retained was the barest of strings, and the sense of just loving this story.
i have to say that i get so much enjoyment out of reading richler (and, as with carol shields, i get bummed fairly frequently over the fact they are no longer here to share new work with us). if the word 'romp' were ever well used in reviewing a book, it would be for this novel. it's a total romp. (can't believe i'm using that word!) it's epic and grand, fun and sharp, and for all its literariness, there is also an interesting mystery.
in her review for the NY Times, Francine Prose says this of the book:
(here's the link to prose's review, if you are interested, written 08 april 1990: https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/12/2... )
i have to say that i get so much enjoyment out of reading richler (and, as with carol shields, i get bummed fairly frequently over the fact they are no longer here to share new work with us). if the word 'romp' were ever well used in reviewing a book, it would be for this novel. it's a total romp. (can't believe i'm using that word!) it's epic and grand, fun and sharp, and for all its literariness, there is also an interesting mystery.
in her review for the NY Times, Francine Prose says this of the book:
"In this, his ninth and most complex novel, Mr. Richler, a Canadian, is after something ambitious and risky, something slightly Dickensian, magical realist: ''Two Hundred Years of Jewish-Canadian Solitude.'' Richler fans will find the scenes one expects in his work -funny, biting, snide-sympathetic takes on Montreal Jewish life - incorporated into a fanciful superstructure of history, geography, myth... Regardless of what its author may actually have experienced, ''Solomon Gursky Was Here'' reads as if it were great fun to write. Dense, intricately plotted, it takes exuberant, nose-thumbing joy in traditional storytelling with all its nervy cliffhangers and narrative hooks, its windfall legacies, stolen portraits, murders and revenges, its clues that drop on the story line with a satisfying thud."and i think the cool thing prose hit on in her review was the aspect of fun -- as i was reading i kept hoping richer had as much fun writing this as i was having reading it. there seems to be a whole lot of mischievous joy seeping from the pages, and that was a great experience!
(here's the link to prose's review, if you are interested, written 08 april 1990: https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/12/2... )
May 9, 2021
This is the only Canadian novel I can think of that might be called an epic. It may fall just short of that status and more closely fit the description offered in an original review in Maclean's magazine: "a comic myth." The main flaw — noticeable in my rereading 30 years after initial publication — is Richler's tendency to drift from witty, incisive satire to clumsy and contemptuous sideswipes. The joke-filled saga of the devious and occasionally vicious Gursky clan revolves around a serious theme: anti-Semitism; yes, even in Canada. It's a little odd that many comments about the book do not mention the serious intent that Richler buried just below the surface of his broad humour. Solomon Gursky himself is a bit of a conundrum, a redeemer but also a Gursky through and through.
Rounded up from 4.5 stars on entertainment value.
Footnote 1: Richler would have finished writing the book by 1988 at the latest, but one of the characters expresses concern about reports of runaway global warming caused by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The relatively early mention probably owes something to Richler's habit of collecting interesting newspaper clippings.
Footnote 2: One of the character's descriptions of Canada is deliciously succinct sarcasm and remains entirely relevant in the political atmosphere of 2019: "Let me put it this way. Canada is not so much a country as a holding tank filled with the disgruntled progeny of defeated peoples."
Rounded up from 4.5 stars on entertainment value.
Footnote 1: Richler would have finished writing the book by 1988 at the latest, but one of the characters expresses concern about reports of runaway global warming caused by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The relatively early mention probably owes something to Richler's habit of collecting interesting newspaper clippings.
Footnote 2: One of the character's descriptions of Canada is deliciously succinct sarcasm and remains entirely relevant in the political atmosphere of 2019: "Let me put it this way. Canada is not so much a country as a holding tank filled with the disgruntled progeny of defeated peoples."
April 12, 2011
Imagine Midnight's Children meets the Godfather. Now make it contiguous with 200 years of Canadian history. Now make it one of the most suspenseful, fascinating and hilarious thing you've ever read.
If you were able to imagine all that, you might have a taste for what this remarkable (but unfortunately underrated) novel has to offer. If you can keep up with the non-chronological narration, dozens of interesting characters, and the magical properties of the mysterious, trickster raven that weave throughout the story, you are in for a real treat!
If you were able to imagine all that, you might have a taste for what this remarkable (but unfortunately underrated) novel has to offer. If you can keep up with the non-chronological narration, dozens of interesting characters, and the magical properties of the mysterious, trickster raven that weave throughout the story, you are in for a real treat!
May 31, 2017
My second Booker 1990 shortlist read as part of the Mookse and Gripes group revisit.
This is a novel that asks a lot of its reader. At times it's tempting to quit, such is the seemingly random sequence of events and characters thrown into the mix. Timelines are not only non linear; there seems to be little reason why one passage precedes and follows another.
While there are nominally eight sections, each with roughly seven chapters, it would not change the reading experience if each of the (roughly) fifty six chapters were cast into the air, re-assembled and then read in the new, randomly formed sequence.
Solomon Gursky is a chaotic read. The question is whether Richler pulls it off in, obviously deliberately, writing a story that constantly shifts focal points. Minor characters, newly introduced characters, spring out of the page, and the reader is rarely allowed to get comfortable.
There are compensations.
Richler writes great comedy.
L.B Berger says of his son:
"If he is really determined to become a writer he is certain to be compared to me and suffer for it. Possibly I never should have had a child. It was indulgent of me"(96)
(L.B. isn't particularly talented, as it happens!!).
Many of the individual characters are compelling, in different ways:
L.B Berger, for his arrogance
Mr. Bernard Gursky, for his frustrations and paranoia.
Solomon Gursky; for his quick and witty retort to any provocation, and his raw ability to excel at everything.
Henry and Isaac for their willfulness.
Ephraim Gursky as the great pioneer and philanderer.
Then there are the other hundred characters who emerge at society parties; who hang out at bars; the many advisors to the Gursky business empire; mysterious lovers and muses.
Solomon Gursky Was Here charges through Canadian history in the Prohibition era. It is a worthy Booker short list candidate in my opinion. I suspect that it will annoy, baffle and alienate readers while, in equal measure, it wins new admirers.
This is a novel that asks a lot of its reader. At times it's tempting to quit, such is the seemingly random sequence of events and characters thrown into the mix. Timelines are not only non linear; there seems to be little reason why one passage precedes and follows another.
While there are nominally eight sections, each with roughly seven chapters, it would not change the reading experience if each of the (roughly) fifty six chapters were cast into the air, re-assembled and then read in the new, randomly formed sequence.
Solomon Gursky is a chaotic read. The question is whether Richler pulls it off in, obviously deliberately, writing a story that constantly shifts focal points. Minor characters, newly introduced characters, spring out of the page, and the reader is rarely allowed to get comfortable.
There are compensations.
Richler writes great comedy.
L.B Berger says of his son:
"If he is really determined to become a writer he is certain to be compared to me and suffer for it. Possibly I never should have had a child. It was indulgent of me"(96)
(L.B. isn't particularly talented, as it happens!!).
Many of the individual characters are compelling, in different ways:
L.B Berger, for his arrogance
Mr. Bernard Gursky, for his frustrations and paranoia.
Solomon Gursky; for his quick and witty retort to any provocation, and his raw ability to excel at everything.
Henry and Isaac for their willfulness.
Ephraim Gursky as the great pioneer and philanderer.
Then there are the other hundred characters who emerge at society parties; who hang out at bars; the many advisors to the Gursky business empire; mysterious lovers and muses.
Solomon Gursky Was Here charges through Canadian history in the Prohibition era. It is a worthy Booker short list candidate in my opinion. I suspect that it will annoy, baffle and alienate readers while, in equal measure, it wins new admirers.
October 7, 2018
Με αφορμή τη συγγραφή μιας βιογραφίας μιας αινιγματική και ταυτόχρονα συναρπαστικής προσωπικότητας, ξεδιπλώνεται το χρονικό 4 γενεών Εβραίων από την Αγγλία στον Καναδά στη διάρκεια κοντά 2 αιώνων. Η ιστορία ξεδιπλώνεται με πολλά μπρος πίσω, λιγο χαοτικά αλλά ταυτόχρονα και γοητευτικά, και σιγά σιγά οι διαφορές ιστορίες συνθέτουν το παζλ της αφήγησης. Συναρπαστικό ανάγνωσμα που διανθίζεται από ένα διακριτικά καυστικό χιούμορ που αποδομει πανέξυπνα την αριστοκρατία και τη δημιουργία πλούτου.
June 28, 2019
A voler essere sbrigativi, basterebbe scrivere che, purtroppo, non è "La versione di Barney". E so che farei un grande torto a Richler, che è un narratore meraviglioso, un Dickens dei nostri tempi. In questo romanzo, poi, ha dispiegato fantasia, impegno, ricerca storica, una messe enorme di personaggi (che lui miracolosamente padroneggia con sicurezza), di dati sia reali che inventati sulle spedizioni nell'Artico, di storia inglese e nordamericana nell'arco di due secoli. C'è una descrizione a tutto tondo della società canadese, dei suoi rapporti con quella Inuit, e della sottocultura ebraica in particolare, che non fa sconti a nessuno, e non mancano nemmeno pagine salaci, divertenti, scoppiettanti, malinconiche, romantiche come da lui ci si aspetterebbe.
Eppure... (Quando uno inizia così, si sa, l'eppure è in agguato.)
Eppure non mi è piaciuto veramente. Troppo lungo, troppo. Un clan di affaristi pieno di avidità e rancori, già visto e ben descritto ne "La famiglia Winshaw" di Coe e altrove.
Soprattutto ci vedo due difetti: la mancanza di un vero baricentro e un protagonista imperdonabilmente sfuocato. La prima imputazione è dovuta alla quantità di sottostorie e di personaggi minori, secondari e terziari di cui questo "affresco storico" (si dice ancora così?) gronda. Dickens non avrebbe mai esagerato così, intendo.
La seconda, strettamente correlata alla prima, è la mancanza di fascino sia del protagonista, Solomon Gursky, che del suo antagonista-stanatore, il "fallito" Moses Berger che ne insegue le tracce per tutta la vita. Se potremmo liquidare in fretta Moses come un malinconico epigono di Barney che si lascia sfuggire la donna amata e non si sa se sia stato rovinato più dalla meschina figura paterna, dall'alcolismo o dalla sua ossessione per i Gursky, più complicato - in apparenza -è spiegare come mai Richler abbia così clamorosamente (a mio parere) fallito il personaggio di Solomon.
Al punto che i suoi fratelli minori Bernie e Morrie, l'affarista volgare e senza scrupoli e il timido impedito che sognava solo di costruire mobili, risultino quasi più interessanti di lui. Secondo me la causa di questo franare del personaggio Solomon è il gigantismo, il superomismo caricato all'eccesso... a meno che non fosse voluto, nel qual caso la faccenda mi sembra ancor più grave, se l'autore lo ha dipinto così apposta per farcelo venire a noia, per poi parlare di lui per quasi 600 pagine!
Perché Solomon è sia un Dutch Schultz che attraversa confini con camion carichi di alcol illegale, sia un Grande Gatsby elegante con l'eterno bastone di malacca. Sia un letterato coltissimo e un esteta, sia un ebanista capace di costruire, senza averlo mai fatto prima, un tavolino di ciliegio selvatico da donare alla donna amata. Sia Casanova che salvatore di ebrei dal nazismo, vedi alla voce Schindler.
Già abile domatore di mustang selvaggi, fa la fortuna della sua famiglia con una partita a poker truccata alla tenera età di 16 anni ma poi si arruola come aviatore nella prima guerra mondiale. E' sia amico degli esquimesi e capace da bambino di tornare a casa in slitta da solo dopo giorni di viaggio tra i ghiacci, sia venditore di armi agli israeliani, un paio di vite dopo. Orgoglioso del suo ebraismo ma laico e cinico in ogni suo comportamento. Ha come animale totem il corvo - che ricorre come elemento magico, fino alla noia, per tutto il romanzo - e, come il nonno Ephraim, intrattiene strani rapporti con gli esquimesi. Solomon è sia fuori che dentro le regole del denaro della sua avidissima famiglia. E' sia affarista senza scrupoli che anima delicata e sensibile. Capace di innamorarsi ma rapidissimo a liberarsi dei suoi amori.
Larger than life, Solomon Gursky è fortunato come Gastone in ogni sua impresa, affascina tutti e tutte e non la paga mai... a differenza di Gatsby e di Schindler e di molti altri personaggi reali o inventati simili a lui. Ora, in un romanzo intriso di realismo come quelli di Richler, l'elemento fantastico rappresentato dai magici rapporti di Solomon con il corvo, o dalla sua miracolosa capacità di scomparire, fingersi morto, ricomparire in giro per il mondo e continuare da lontano a giocare a domino con il denaro dei suoi parenti, alla lunga infastidisce un po'.
Non solo, ma un altro errore è narrare le sue vicende per lo più dall'esterno, attraverso il pettegolezzo, l'ipotesi, la diceria, la maldicenza, il diario, la testimonianza di seconda mano. Non sappiamo quasi mai cosa pensa, cosa prova, cosa soffre Solomon, e non tanto perché sia un uomo riservato e misterioso ma perché alla fin fine non è poi così interessante, anzi, è antipatico e borioso...
Insomma: qualcuno ha mai provato simpatia per Gastone? No? Ma non mi dite... vi stava molto più simpatico Paperino!
E sia: ma il problema è che neanche Moses, lo sfigato Moses, è poi così simpatico o affascinante nella sua cialtroneria. Barney, per dire, lo era infinitamente di più. Insomma, per me non ci siamo. Tante parole (belle e messe giù bene) per nulla, o quasi.
Eppure... (Quando uno inizia così, si sa, l'eppure è in agguato.)
Eppure non mi è piaciuto veramente. Troppo lungo, troppo. Un clan di affaristi pieno di avidità e rancori, già visto e ben descritto ne "La famiglia Winshaw" di Coe e altrove.
Soprattutto ci vedo due difetti: la mancanza di un vero baricentro e un protagonista imperdonabilmente sfuocato. La prima imputazione è dovuta alla quantità di sottostorie e di personaggi minori, secondari e terziari di cui questo "affresco storico" (si dice ancora così?) gronda. Dickens non avrebbe mai esagerato così, intendo.
La seconda, strettamente correlata alla prima, è la mancanza di fascino sia del protagonista, Solomon Gursky, che del suo antagonista-stanatore, il "fallito" Moses Berger che ne insegue le tracce per tutta la vita. Se potremmo liquidare in fretta Moses come un malinconico epigono di Barney che si lascia sfuggire la donna amata e non si sa se sia stato rovinato più dalla meschina figura paterna, dall'alcolismo o dalla sua ossessione per i Gursky, più complicato - in apparenza -è spiegare come mai Richler abbia così clamorosamente (a mio parere) fallito il personaggio di Solomon.
Al punto che i suoi fratelli minori Bernie e Morrie, l'affarista volgare e senza scrupoli e il timido impedito che sognava solo di costruire mobili, risultino quasi più interessanti di lui. Secondo me la causa di questo franare del personaggio Solomon è il gigantismo, il superomismo caricato all'eccesso... a meno che non fosse voluto, nel qual caso la faccenda mi sembra ancor più grave, se l'autore lo ha dipinto così apposta per farcelo venire a noia, per poi parlare di lui per quasi 600 pagine!
Perché Solomon è sia un Dutch Schultz che attraversa confini con camion carichi di alcol illegale, sia un Grande Gatsby elegante con l'eterno bastone di malacca. Sia un letterato coltissimo e un esteta, sia un ebanista capace di costruire, senza averlo mai fatto prima, un tavolino di ciliegio selvatico da donare alla donna amata. Sia Casanova che salvatore di ebrei dal nazismo, vedi alla voce Schindler.
Già abile domatore di mustang selvaggi, fa la fortuna della sua famiglia con una partita a poker truccata alla tenera età di 16 anni ma poi si arruola come aviatore nella prima guerra mondiale. E' sia amico degli esquimesi e capace da bambino di tornare a casa in slitta da solo dopo giorni di viaggio tra i ghiacci, sia venditore di armi agli israeliani, un paio di vite dopo. Orgoglioso del suo ebraismo ma laico e cinico in ogni suo comportamento. Ha come animale totem il corvo - che ricorre come elemento magico, fino alla noia, per tutto il romanzo - e, come il nonno Ephraim, intrattiene strani rapporti con gli esquimesi. Solomon è sia fuori che dentro le regole del denaro della sua avidissima famiglia. E' sia affarista senza scrupoli che anima delicata e sensibile. Capace di innamorarsi ma rapidissimo a liberarsi dei suoi amori.
Larger than life, Solomon Gursky è fortunato come Gastone in ogni sua impresa, affascina tutti e tutte e non la paga mai... a differenza di Gatsby e di Schindler e di molti altri personaggi reali o inventati simili a lui. Ora, in un romanzo intriso di realismo come quelli di Richler, l'elemento fantastico rappresentato dai magici rapporti di Solomon con il corvo, o dalla sua miracolosa capacità di scomparire, fingersi morto, ricomparire in giro per il mondo e continuare da lontano a giocare a domino con il denaro dei suoi parenti, alla lunga infastidisce un po'.
Non solo, ma un altro errore è narrare le sue vicende per lo più dall'esterno, attraverso il pettegolezzo, l'ipotesi, la diceria, la maldicenza, il diario, la testimonianza di seconda mano. Non sappiamo quasi mai cosa pensa, cosa prova, cosa soffre Solomon, e non tanto perché sia un uomo riservato e misterioso ma perché alla fin fine non è poi così interessante, anzi, è antipatico e borioso...
Insomma: qualcuno ha mai provato simpatia per Gastone? No? Ma non mi dite... vi stava molto più simpatico Paperino!
E sia: ma il problema è che neanche Moses, lo sfigato Moses, è poi così simpatico o affascinante nella sua cialtroneria. Barney, per dire, lo era infinitamente di più. Insomma, per me non ci siamo. Tante parole (belle e messe giù bene) per nulla, o quasi.
October 2, 2022
Well, I finally finished this big sprawly blend of fact, fiction and myth that spans one and a half centuries and ranges from England to the high Arctic to halfway across Canada and beyond. It was a bit of a struggle but I did enjoy it more after a second reading – the first being utterly confusing.
Here goes ...
In Canada’s far North Ephraim Gursky was supposedly the sole survivor of the Franklin Expedition. He survived with the help of Inuit** tribes whom he converted to Judaism. After wandering through North America as a small-time con-man, he had married and disappeared before turning up in the Saskatchewan village where his family were eking out an existence. He carried off his chosen grandson Solomon, just nine at the time, to the Arctic to indoctrinate him in the ways of survival, from where Solomon – amazingly - was able to find his way back home.
On to the nineteen twenties when Solomon and his two brothers were bootleggers: Bernard, the oldest, was the scheming, driving force while Morrie, the youngest, was more the passive partner. Solomon had gambled the family’s entire fortune to win back more than enough to found what became the powerful and wealthy Gursky liquor dynasty. However, Solomon disappeared in the early thirties, presumed killed in a plane crash.
But wait, there’s more! In Montreal, Moses Berger, whose father was a little-appreciated poet with a demeaning job as Bernard’s publicity agent, became interested in Gursky history and discovered that that virtually all references to Solomon had been mysteriously removed from newspaper archives. Thus began his obsessive pursuit of Solomon’s story, taking him back to the Arctic (where Solomon’s son Henry carried on Ephraim’s Hasidic traditions), to London (and a brief affair with Solomon’s daughter Lucy) and to Quebec’s Eastern Townships where Moses had his retreat. Moses also suspected that Bernard was responsible for the plane crash, but that Solomon survived somehow.
This is a fable big enough to let Richler satirize not just his usual targets - the wealthy and the aspiring Montreal Jewish communities and la francophonie - but also Montreal WASP society, Eastern Township yokels, the Canadian arts scene and even Victorian England through Ephraim’s early life as a petty criminal.
Mercifully, his satire doesn’t extend to the Inuit - he already did that in the embarrassingly awful The Incomparable Atuk - though Inuit culture with a Yiddish flavour is played for a few weak laughs. Henry’s son Isaac, (yes, count them, five generations!) with his rebellion against his father’s Orthodox Judaism, does provide some sharp humour though.
But wait, there’s more! While in England - we’re now into more recent times - Moses was invited to work for the mysterious and impossibly rich Sir Hyman Kaplansky (cue more satire, on antisemitism in the English Upper Classes) who had previously made intermittent appearances in the story. When Sir Hyman drowned, he left Solomon’s long-lost diaries to Moses … but how? and here the novel really rushes towards its chaotic finish ...
So what does it all mean? Just that, in the end, Moses’ attempts to uncover the “truth” about the Gurskys have all failed. I think.
As I’ve summarized it you might almost think “linear plot.” But you’d be wrong. The narrative jumps crazily back and forward in time with the perspectives of a huge cast of characters, many more than I’ve mentioned, and not forgetting the omniscient narrator.
I’m not saying Solomon Gursky isn’t sharp and witty – it is, like all of Richler’s later novels - but it’s bloated and unfocussed too. There is a family tree for the five generations but I felt there should have been an Org Chart for all the non-Gursky characters too. Not that that would have helped much. At sixty-five chapters, It’s. Just. Too. Big. Barney’s Version is still my favourite.
…
**Richler says Eskimo - no doubt for “historical accuracy.” But it’s not the only racially disparaging term either.
[Original review 2012: I started this years ago and never finished. Why? it might have been the crappy edition - small print on newspaper-quality pages with no margins - that really gets in the way.]
Here goes ...
In Canada’s far North Ephraim Gursky was supposedly the sole survivor of the Franklin Expedition. He survived with the help of Inuit** tribes whom he converted to Judaism. After wandering through North America as a small-time con-man, he had married and disappeared before turning up in the Saskatchewan village where his family were eking out an existence. He carried off his chosen grandson Solomon, just nine at the time, to the Arctic to indoctrinate him in the ways of survival, from where Solomon – amazingly - was able to find his way back home.
On to the nineteen twenties when Solomon and his two brothers were bootleggers: Bernard, the oldest, was the scheming, driving force while Morrie, the youngest, was more the passive partner. Solomon had gambled the family’s entire fortune to win back more than enough to found what became the powerful and wealthy Gursky liquor dynasty. However, Solomon disappeared in the early thirties, presumed killed in a plane crash.
But wait, there’s more! In Montreal, Moses Berger, whose father was a little-appreciated poet with a demeaning job as Bernard’s publicity agent, became interested in Gursky history and discovered that that virtually all references to Solomon had been mysteriously removed from newspaper archives. Thus began his obsessive pursuit of Solomon’s story, taking him back to the Arctic (where Solomon’s son Henry carried on Ephraim’s Hasidic traditions), to London (and a brief affair with Solomon’s daughter Lucy) and to Quebec’s Eastern Townships where Moses had his retreat. Moses also suspected that Bernard was responsible for the plane crash, but that Solomon survived somehow.
This is a fable big enough to let Richler satirize not just his usual targets - the wealthy and the aspiring Montreal Jewish communities and la francophonie - but also Montreal WASP society, Eastern Township yokels, the Canadian arts scene and even Victorian England through Ephraim’s early life as a petty criminal.
Mercifully, his satire doesn’t extend to the Inuit - he already did that in the embarrassingly awful The Incomparable Atuk - though Inuit culture with a Yiddish flavour is played for a few weak laughs. Henry’s son Isaac, (yes, count them, five generations!) with his rebellion against his father’s Orthodox Judaism, does provide some sharp humour though.
But wait, there’s more! While in England - we’re now into more recent times - Moses was invited to work for the mysterious and impossibly rich Sir Hyman Kaplansky (cue more satire, on antisemitism in the English Upper Classes) who had previously made intermittent appearances in the story. When Sir Hyman drowned, he left Solomon’s long-lost diaries to Moses … but how? and here the novel really rushes towards its chaotic finish ...
So what does it all mean? Just that, in the end, Moses’ attempts to uncover the “truth” about the Gurskys have all failed. I think.
As I’ve summarized it you might almost think “linear plot.” But you’d be wrong. The narrative jumps crazily back and forward in time with the perspectives of a huge cast of characters, many more than I’ve mentioned, and not forgetting the omniscient narrator.
I’m not saying Solomon Gursky isn’t sharp and witty – it is, like all of Richler’s later novels - but it’s bloated and unfocussed too. There is a family tree for the five generations but I felt there should have been an Org Chart for all the non-Gursky characters too. Not that that would have helped much. At sixty-five chapters, It’s. Just. Too. Big. Barney’s Version is still my favourite.
…
**Richler says Eskimo - no doubt for “historical accuracy.” But it’s not the only racially disparaging term either.
[Original review 2012: I started this years ago and never finished. Why? it might have been the crappy edition - small print on newspaper-quality pages with no margins - that really gets in the way.]
December 24, 2016
What a joy to read! How do you describe Solomon Gursky Was Here? In its simplest form, it's the story of Ephraim Gursky, a minor crook and forger, who escapes from prison in England and tricks his way onto the ill-fated Franklin expedition, and manages to survive the disaster. He roams the Arctic, becomes a religious leader to a band of Eskimos; in some way he persuades them they are one of the 12 tribes of Israel. He eventually finds his way to Saskatchewan, starts a family and then the story follows his three grand-children; Solomon, Barnie and Morrie and their children. The grand-sons found successful liquor business, built partly on smuggling booze to the US during their prohibition; then settle in Montreal. The other aspect of the story follows one Moses Berger, son of poet LB Berger, who worked for the Gursky families. Moses goes through this story trying to find out the truth about Solomon Gursky; a trickster like his grand father, who died in a plane crash in the North of Canada. That is the story in its simplest form. It meanders from the past, following Ephraim, then his grand sons and their kids; also following Moses, now drunk, a failed writer as he explores the Gursky family. There are so many lovely tidbits, humor; just great, entertaining story-telling. It's an entertaining read and it winds up in such a satisfying manner; it was a pure joy to read. I highly recommend. It's been many years since I read something by Mordecai Richler and I'm going to have to find Barney's Version next.
June 22, 2014
What a mess! ... This was my first and likely last Richler novel. I was expecting something a lot more coherent out of a man who was supposedly one of the great Canadian novelists. This is a ridiculously overcooked, meandering book with little-to-no focus. I think as late as the final few chapters, Richler was STILL introducing new characters!! I find it pretty infuriating when an author does that.
The book is far too grandiose in scope. He introduces too many characters, too many disconnected scenes, and the overall focus of the story becomes clouded long before the end.
Maybe his earlier books, which seemed somewhat simpler in scope e.g. Duddy Kravitz, were more coherent. This, however, is an incoherent mess and it's absolutely laughable to me that it was nominated for the Booker Prize. Overlong, convoluted, a true mess of a book.
The book is far too grandiose in scope. He introduces too many characters, too many disconnected scenes, and the overall focus of the story becomes clouded long before the end.
Maybe his earlier books, which seemed somewhat simpler in scope e.g. Duddy Kravitz, were more coherent. This, however, is an incoherent mess and it's absolutely laughable to me that it was nominated for the Booker Prize. Overlong, convoluted, a true mess of a book.
March 23, 2015
Bez váhání pět hvězdiček. Sága jedné rodiny sepsaná tak neotřelým způsobem, že jsem chvílemi měl pocit, že knihu napsali nejméně čtyři spisovatelé a ne jen ten, kdo se pod knihu podepsal. Velmi zajímavá a neobvyklá forma.
February 11, 2021
Ο Σόλομον Γκάρσκυ ήταν εδώ. Τώρα έφυγε γιατί το βιβλίο ήταν δανεικό! Συναντώ μια δυσκολία όταν ένα μυθιστόρημα ξεκινάει με τόση πληροφορία. Αισθάνομαι χαμένος στις πρώτες σελίδες και άρχιζει να με περιβάλλει ένας αρνητισμός ο οποίος όμως όπως συνέβει και μ' αυτό το βιβλίο, υποχωρεί, πρόσωπα και πράγματα 'κουμπώνουν' εκεί που πρέπει στη μνήμη κι έτσι μπορώ πλέον να απολαύσω μια ιστορία, ένα παραμύθι για μεγάλους όπως αυτό του Ρίχλερ.
Παρόλα αυτά θα έλεγα ότι μια σύγχυση σχετικά με το τι έγινε, πότε κι από ποιούς, έκανε την παρουσία της σε διάφορα σημεία. Ο Ρίχλερ παλινδρομεί χρονικά χτίζοντας αρκετές ιστορίες κάτι που απαιτεί την προσοχή του αναγνώστη. Εν τέλει μου έμεινε η εντύπωση ότι θα έπρεπε να είχα πέσει για ώρες πολλές με τα μούτρα στην ανάγνωση, για να μην μου προκαλούνται κενά και να το τελείωνα ... Περισσότερα εδώ: https://spirosglykas.blogspot.com/201...
Παρόλα αυτά θα έλεγα ότι μια σύγχυση σχετικά με το τι έγινε, πότε κι από ποιούς, έκανε την παρουσία της σε διάφορα σημεία. Ο Ρίχλερ παλινδρομεί χρονικά χτίζοντας αρκετές ιστορίες κάτι που απαιτεί την προσοχή του αναγνώστη. Εν τέλει μου έμεινε η εντύπωση ότι θα έπρεπε να είχα πέσει για ώρες πολλές με τα μούτρα στην ανάγνωση, για να μην μου προκαλούνται κενά και να το τελείωνα ... Περισσότερα εδώ: https://spirosglykas.blogspot.com/201...
March 18, 2021
Quatre étoiles sur l'échelle québécoise. La traduction de Saint-Martin et Gagné qui rend brillamment le ton et le style grincheux de Richler est superbe
Malheureusement le lecteur d'outre-mer aura énormément de difficulté à trouver des repères dans ce roman qui contient un grand nombre des références aux incidents historiques obscures.
"Solomon Gursky" est l'épopée du Canda juif. Parce qu'il vient de la plume d'un auteur qui a mené un polémique contre l'indépendance du Québec et les mesures qui visaient à protéger la langue française, il est un des livres incontournables de la littérature québécoise. Richler est un satiriste extrêmement talentueux et très méchant. Dans "Solomon Gursky" les juifs nouveaux riches et très vulgaires de Montréal sont ses cibles principales. Il fait aussi des commentaires corrosifs au sujet des Canadiens-anglais. Comme dan ses autres romans, Richler est relativement tendre avec les Canadiens-français. (Ses attaques contre la nationalisme québécois se trouvent seulement dans ses écrits journalistiques.)
Le récit de Richler prend la forme d'une histoire d'une famille juive milliardaire, les Gurskys, qui ont pour modèle les Bronfmans de Montréal. Pourtant, il faut reconnaitre que les vrai Bronfmans étaient en même temps beaucoup moins abjects et un peu moins héroïques les Gurskys de Richler qui appartiennent au monde du mythe ou de légende.
Éphraïm Gursky , le pater familias, participe à l’expédition Franklin (1844-1848), une expédition britannique qui avait pour but de faire la première traversée du passage du Nord-Ouest; c'est-à-dire de trouver une route à travers l'archipel arctique canadien de l'océan atlantique à l'océan pacifique entre le détroit de Davis et la baie de Baffin à l'est et la mer de Beaufort à l'ouest. La tentative a été un fiasco; Franklin et ses 148 hommes sont morts dans le froid. La fiction de Richler qu'il y a eu un juif dans l'équipage qui a, en plus, survécu est une absurdité . Le but de Richler est de montrer que les juifs ont participé à tous les grands projets canadiens qui est plus ou moins vrais.
Après son aventure avec l'expédition, Éphraïm fonde un culte qui annoncé la fin du monde et qui vole les biens des adhérents. Ici, le modèle semble être le mouvement Millerite qui a annoncé la parousie ou la « seconde venue » du Christ sur la Terre pour le 22 octobre 1844. L'idée d'un juif à la tète d'un culte protestant millénaire est farfelue mais de tels cultes ont bel et bien existé en Amérique du Nord. Le but de Richler ici est de montrer que les juifs sont des fois des vrais bandits.
Arrivé au vingtième siècle les crimes se multiplient. Les Gurskys deviennent riches dans la vente de l'alcool contrebande aux États-Unis. Selon la légende populaire que les Bronfmans sont devenus riche de cette manière. Peter C. Newman a répété l'accusation dans Bronfman Dynasty: the Rothschilds of the New World publiés quelques années avant "Solomon Gursky." Malgrét tout, c'est une exagération. C'est vrai que les Bronfmans ont participé dans l'exportation illégale des spiritueux envers les États-Unis pendant une courte période, mais ca ne veut pas dire que leur fortune a été basée sur des activités criminelles.
Les Gurskys commencent à s'impliquer dans des causes communautaires. En 1939, Solomon essaie sans succès de convaincre ses amis dans le gouvernement canadien d'accueillir 900 réfugiés juifs qui l'Allemagne nazie qui s'approche du Canada à bord du paquebot St. Louis. Le Canada refuse de permettre aux réfugiés d'atterrir ont Canada et ce qui les condamne à mourir dans les camps de concentration. Ici, Richler raconte l'histoire vraie d'un geste très honteux de la part du Canada.
Solomon connaitra plus de succès en 1976 quand il participera à l'organisation du Raid Entebbe ou un commando israélien libérera 102 otages détenus à l'aéroport international d'Entebbe en Ouganda par une cellule djihadiste. Ici, c'est un autre élément carrément fantaisiste mais il permet à Richler de finir son intrigue sur une note positive.
"Solomon Gursky" est richement comique mais trois fois trop long, Bien que les événements du roman sont pour la plupart basés sur des incidents historiques, l'intrigue est rocambolesque. Malgré mes réserves, Richler présente bien sa thèse que les juifs ont fait une contribution importante à la société canadienne et continuent de le faire. Je le recommande fortement à tous les Canadiens surtout les Québécois qui puissent lire l'édition magnifique de Boréal.
Malheureusement le lecteur d'outre-mer aura énormément de difficulté à trouver des repères dans ce roman qui contient un grand nombre des références aux incidents historiques obscures.
"Solomon Gursky" est l'épopée du Canda juif. Parce qu'il vient de la plume d'un auteur qui a mené un polémique contre l'indépendance du Québec et les mesures qui visaient à protéger la langue française, il est un des livres incontournables de la littérature québécoise. Richler est un satiriste extrêmement talentueux et très méchant. Dans "Solomon Gursky" les juifs nouveaux riches et très vulgaires de Montréal sont ses cibles principales. Il fait aussi des commentaires corrosifs au sujet des Canadiens-anglais. Comme dan ses autres romans, Richler est relativement tendre avec les Canadiens-français. (Ses attaques contre la nationalisme québécois se trouvent seulement dans ses écrits journalistiques.)
Le récit de Richler prend la forme d'une histoire d'une famille juive milliardaire, les Gurskys, qui ont pour modèle les Bronfmans de Montréal. Pourtant, il faut reconnaitre que les vrai Bronfmans étaient en même temps beaucoup moins abjects et un peu moins héroïques les Gurskys de Richler qui appartiennent au monde du mythe ou de légende.
Éphraïm Gursky , le pater familias, participe à l’expédition Franklin (1844-1848), une expédition britannique qui avait pour but de faire la première traversée du passage du Nord-Ouest; c'est-à-dire de trouver une route à travers l'archipel arctique canadien de l'océan atlantique à l'océan pacifique entre le détroit de Davis et la baie de Baffin à l'est et la mer de Beaufort à l'ouest. La tentative a été un fiasco; Franklin et ses 148 hommes sont morts dans le froid. La fiction de Richler qu'il y a eu un juif dans l'équipage qui a, en plus, survécu est une absurdité . Le but de Richler est de montrer que les juifs ont participé à tous les grands projets canadiens qui est plus ou moins vrais.
Après son aventure avec l'expédition, Éphraïm fonde un culte qui annoncé la fin du monde et qui vole les biens des adhérents. Ici, le modèle semble être le mouvement Millerite qui a annoncé la parousie ou la « seconde venue » du Christ sur la Terre pour le 22 octobre 1844. L'idée d'un juif à la tète d'un culte protestant millénaire est farfelue mais de tels cultes ont bel et bien existé en Amérique du Nord. Le but de Richler ici est de montrer que les juifs sont des fois des vrais bandits.
Arrivé au vingtième siècle les crimes se multiplient. Les Gurskys deviennent riches dans la vente de l'alcool contrebande aux États-Unis. Selon la légende populaire que les Bronfmans sont devenus riche de cette manière. Peter C. Newman a répété l'accusation dans Bronfman Dynasty: the Rothschilds of the New World publiés quelques années avant "Solomon Gursky." Malgrét tout, c'est une exagération. C'est vrai que les Bronfmans ont participé dans l'exportation illégale des spiritueux envers les États-Unis pendant une courte période, mais ca ne veut pas dire que leur fortune a été basée sur des activités criminelles.
Les Gurskys commencent à s'impliquer dans des causes communautaires. En 1939, Solomon essaie sans succès de convaincre ses amis dans le gouvernement canadien d'accueillir 900 réfugiés juifs qui l'Allemagne nazie qui s'approche du Canada à bord du paquebot St. Louis. Le Canada refuse de permettre aux réfugiés d'atterrir ont Canada et ce qui les condamne à mourir dans les camps de concentration. Ici, Richler raconte l'histoire vraie d'un geste très honteux de la part du Canada.
Solomon connaitra plus de succès en 1976 quand il participera à l'organisation du Raid Entebbe ou un commando israélien libérera 102 otages détenus à l'aéroport international d'Entebbe en Ouganda par une cellule djihadiste. Ici, c'est un autre élément carrément fantaisiste mais il permet à Richler de finir son intrigue sur une note positive.
"Solomon Gursky" est richement comique mais trois fois trop long, Bien que les événements du roman sont pour la plupart basés sur des incidents historiques, l'intrigue est rocambolesque. Malgré mes réserves, Richler présente bien sa thèse que les juifs ont fait une contribution importante à la société canadienne et continuent de le faire. Je le recommande fortement à tous les Canadiens surtout les Québécois qui puissent lire l'édition magnifique de Boréal.
June 6, 2017
This was pretty good most of the way through, though I think it may have been just a hair too long, since by the end I found myself wondering what it added to have the timelines and characters all mixed up, where at the start I found this pleasing.
As a side note, this book makes me wonder if those who claim great originality for the likes of Pynchon and DFWallace for doing exactly this kind of mixing up are either underread or full of it. I am not even sure that this technique was invented in the modern or postmodern periods, however much it has come to be associated with them.
As a side note, this book makes me wonder if those who claim great originality for the likes of Pynchon and DFWallace for doing exactly this kind of mixing up are either underread or full of it. I am not even sure that this technique was invented in the modern or postmodern periods, however much it has come to be associated with them.
August 29, 2011
In what is touted by critics as possibly Canadian author Mordecai Richler’s best novel, we accompany Moses Berger in his obsessive quest to unravel the secrets of the Gurskys, a Jewish family who ran one of the biggest Canadian business empires. Berger, the son of a Jewish poet, a drunkard and an unsuccessful writer, particularly searches for traces of Solomon Gursky, the most enigmatic of the three Gursky brothers who saw the rise of their family’s fortune during the prohibition years as bootleggers and rumrunners. Fleeing court action against him and his family, Solomon reportedly died in a plane crash.
Thus, following Berger, we zigzag through time and place, from 19th century London, the Arctic Circle, up to 20th century Canada. There’s the adventure of the Gursky patriarch, Ephraim, a criminal from London who joins the ill-fated Franklin expedition to the Arctic, survives it and lives with Inuit tribes, and then swindles hapless pioneers in 19th century Canadian frontier lands. We read Ephraim’s grandchildren’s exploits in building their family empire, their dysfunctional lives, and the feuds that followed over their wealth. Berger’s own storyline, his childhood and the life of an unsuccessful writer in the figure of Berger’s own father.
Newspaper clippings, letters, even a chapter from a novel supposedly written by one of the characters, and other memorabilia that adds to Berger’s investigation are inserted in between chapters. Historical figures hobnob with fictional ones. And since Berger’s quest (and thus the narrative) spans six generations of the Gurskys, we get a family tree (and a map of Canada) before the first chapter begins. It’s a wonder how each disparate scene are weaved together into a richly coherent whole.
From Solomon Gursky Was Here
Thus, following Berger, we zigzag through time and place, from 19th century London, the Arctic Circle, up to 20th century Canada. There’s the adventure of the Gursky patriarch, Ephraim, a criminal from London who joins the ill-fated Franklin expedition to the Arctic, survives it and lives with Inuit tribes, and then swindles hapless pioneers in 19th century Canadian frontier lands. We read Ephraim’s grandchildren’s exploits in building their family empire, their dysfunctional lives, and the feuds that followed over their wealth. Berger’s own storyline, his childhood and the life of an unsuccessful writer in the figure of Berger’s own father.
Newspaper clippings, letters, even a chapter from a novel supposedly written by one of the characters, and other memorabilia that adds to Berger’s investigation are inserted in between chapters. Historical figures hobnob with fictional ones. And since Berger’s quest (and thus the narrative) spans six generations of the Gurskys, we get a family tree (and a map of Canada) before the first chapter begins. It’s a wonder how each disparate scene are weaved together into a richly coherent whole.
From Solomon Gursky Was Here
October 11, 2020
Mon troisième Mordecai Richler. J'avais adoré "Le monde selon Barney" et "L'apprentissage de Duddy Kravitz", mais je suis un peu moins pâmé sur celui-là, qui a pourtant été nominé pour un prix Booker.
Il y a de nombreux passages où l'on retrouve l'humour auto-dérisoire et la verve qui caractérisent Richler, mais il se perd aussi souvent dans ses ambitions de grandeur. La structure du livre est complètement éclatée et on passe d'une époque et d'un personnage à un autre sans qu'un fil conducteur ou une logique précise ne détermine l'ordre des chapitres. On a parfois l'impression que le roman a été écrit de façon linéaire et brassé dans un chapeau de manière aléatoire pour déterminer la séquence des événements.
Mais bon, je ne voudrais pas être trop négatif; quand c'est bon, c'est très bon. C'est surtout inégal. On se passionne pendant 40 pages pour s'endormir pendant 30. L'originalité et la recherche sont indéniables mais ne garantissent pas le plaisir de lecture.
Il y a de nombreux passages où l'on retrouve l'humour auto-dérisoire et la verve qui caractérisent Richler, mais il se perd aussi souvent dans ses ambitions de grandeur. La structure du livre est complètement éclatée et on passe d'une époque et d'un personnage à un autre sans qu'un fil conducteur ou une logique précise ne détermine l'ordre des chapitres. On a parfois l'impression que le roman a été écrit de façon linéaire et brassé dans un chapeau de manière aléatoire pour déterminer la séquence des événements.
Mais bon, je ne voudrais pas être trop négatif; quand c'est bon, c'est très bon. C'est surtout inégal. On se passionne pendant 40 pages pour s'endormir pendant 30. L'originalité et la recherche sont indéniables mais ne garantissent pas le plaisir de lecture.
August 10, 2010
Non è una lettura facile. Il continuo andirivieni nelle vite dei Gursky ti costringe a consultare l'albero genealogico di inizio libro più e più volte. Storie che si intrecciano e saltellano avanti e indietro sulla linea del tempo, mescolando personaggi, effetti e cause in una struttura narrativa nella quale è umanamente possibile perdere il filo. Il Solomon del titolo è solo uno dei tre fratelli che con una certa predisposizione al raggiro riuscirà a costruirsi un simil impero ai tempi del proibizionismo, poi abilmente sfruttato dal fratello Bernard e lontanamente ammirato dal timido Morrie. Questo il nucleo, dal quale - al terzo libro di Richler - apprezzi le caratteristiche ricorrenti nella sua scrittura: il fare fortuna con l'ingegno, l'abilità degli ebrei di sfruttare le occasioni, il loro cinismo, le difficoltà di chi della penna ha fatto la sua ragione di vita. Si parte quindi da uno scrittore fallito in cerca di Solomon e si finisce ad un nonno dall'istinto di sopravvivenza particolarmente sviluppato e considerato una sorta di dio dagli eschimesi. Avanti e indietro, dai primi anni dell'800 fino ad oggi. La scrittura di per sè è tagliente ed efficace, con pagine molto vicine alla sceneggiatura di un film e descrizioni dello sconfinato Nord da documentario. E' lo stile - come sempre in Richler - a renderle vivide ed attuali, quasi te ne stesse parlando Ephraim stesso seduto in poltrona accanto a te. Ci vuole impegno però, devi leggere stando attento, altrimenti finisci per apprezzarne solo le singole scene (come è successo a me per un buon 200 pagine) e ti viene quasi da lasciar perdere. Ma sarebbe un peccato.
March 31, 2016
This is my first foray into Mordecai Richler's adult fiction. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't expecting to enjoy it - perhaps because being assigned a nearly 600-page novel in the last few weeks of my degree is a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. However, I ended up actually quite enjoying it, mostly for the reason that people seem to dislike it: I'm a huge fan of multiple interlocking narratives, most especially if they aren't presented chronologically. Others have found the book difficult to follow, but I don't think it was too bad. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, especially in the Gursky family tree - it took me awhile to really get a grasp on how everyone was related to one another. But I don't generally have a hard time keeping track of complex, non-chronological narratives.
I also loved the revisionist approach to Canadian history, another criticism of the book. I believe Margaret Atwood called it sacrilegious (blasphemous? something quite damning) to have Ephraim Gursky on the Franklin Expedition - but then, Atwood used the expedition very differently in her 1991 short story "The Age of Lead". Regardless, I thought it was like a delightful game of Where's Waldo? to spot Ephraim and Solomon all across history.
I liked the writing style as well - acerbic, direct. Not that I'd expect any differently of a Montreal writer. I know I mentioned just the other day that I prefer texts with characters who I can relate to, but I thoroughly enjoyed Solomon Gursky despite the fact that there really isn't a single likeable character in the whole thing. I suppose a good, well-told tale can triumph for me once in awhile.
I also loved the revisionist approach to Canadian history, another criticism of the book. I believe Margaret Atwood called it sacrilegious (blasphemous? something quite damning) to have Ephraim Gursky on the Franklin Expedition - but then, Atwood used the expedition very differently in her 1991 short story "The Age of Lead". Regardless, I thought it was like a delightful game of Where's Waldo? to spot Ephraim and Solomon all across history.
I liked the writing style as well - acerbic, direct. Not that I'd expect any differently of a Montreal writer. I know I mentioned just the other day that I prefer texts with characters who I can relate to, but I thoroughly enjoyed Solomon Gursky despite the fact that there really isn't a single likeable character in the whole thing. I suppose a good, well-told tale can triumph for me once in awhile.
August 29, 2017
Di Mordecai Richler, prima di questo, conoscevo lo straletto e strafamoso, ma anche bellissimo, "La versione di Barney".
Se si ha ancora in testa l'autore di quel romanzo, è bene dimenticarsi di una parte di esso, poiché "Solomon Gursky è stato qui" si presenta come un'opera abbastanza differente, senz'altro più ambiziosa e complessa.
Di "Barney" ci restano la prosa brillante e condita di malinconica ironia, l'irrinunciabile cultura ebraica e tutto ciò che ne consegue.
Se lì al centro della vicenda trovavamo un solo personaggio attorno al quale ne ruotavano pochi altri, qui, tralasciando il titolo per certi versi fuorviante, ne abbiamo una miriade; si tratta infatti una storia corale e complessa, un racconto familiare sfaccettato, che attraversa più di un secolo.
Piacere, eccessi, potere, religione, sesso, soldi, cultura ebraica, Canada, Inghilterra, tradizioni eschimesi, tradimenti, ossessioni (quella del "protagonista", tra mille virgolette, per la famiglia Gursky, che è poi la vera regina del romanzo) e nefandezze si alternano in una narrazione fiume, imperfetta ma incredibile negli intenti e nei risultati, che in alcune pagine rasenta il capolavoro.
Consigliato a chi ama una letteratura che si serve degli elementi elencati poco sopra.
Se si ha ancora in testa l'autore di quel romanzo, è bene dimenticarsi di una parte di esso, poiché "Solomon Gursky è stato qui" si presenta come un'opera abbastanza differente, senz'altro più ambiziosa e complessa.
Di "Barney" ci restano la prosa brillante e condita di malinconica ironia, l'irrinunciabile cultura ebraica e tutto ciò che ne consegue.
Se lì al centro della vicenda trovavamo un solo personaggio attorno al quale ne ruotavano pochi altri, qui, tralasciando il titolo per certi versi fuorviante, ne abbiamo una miriade; si tratta infatti una storia corale e complessa, un racconto familiare sfaccettato, che attraversa più di un secolo.
Piacere, eccessi, potere, religione, sesso, soldi, cultura ebraica, Canada, Inghilterra, tradizioni eschimesi, tradimenti, ossessioni (quella del "protagonista", tra mille virgolette, per la famiglia Gursky, che è poi la vera regina del romanzo) e nefandezze si alternano in una narrazione fiume, imperfetta ma incredibile negli intenti e nei risultati, che in alcune pagine rasenta il capolavoro.
Consigliato a chi ama una letteratura che si serve degli elementi elencati poco sopra.
August 15, 2022
This book is intriguingly constructed and beautifully ambitious, but collapses under the weight of its many twisting narratives. Its characters are fascinating, but all of them are terrible people, and I couldn’t make myself care about what happened to any of them.
I wanted to like this book so badly! It has so many of my interests: Canadian history and culture, Jewish history and culture, magical realism, trickster characters, hidden secrets and people struggling to come to terms with the past. It’s unfortunate that a novel with such huge and deserving themes ended up feeling so small, clenched and mean.
Also, the prominent sexual themes here were incredibly weird and tired and often made me feel like I needed a shower. Women as either hot, loyal idiots or manipulative shrews? Homosexuality as a symbol of decadence, corruption and madness? I’ve seen it all before, and I would have thought that a writer of Richler’s stature could do more than rehash these boring and skeevy tropes.
I wanted to like this book so badly! It has so many of my interests: Canadian history and culture, Jewish history and culture, magical realism, trickster characters, hidden secrets and people struggling to come to terms with the past. It’s unfortunate that a novel with such huge and deserving themes ended up feeling so small, clenched and mean.
Also, the prominent sexual themes here were incredibly weird and tired and often made me feel like I needed a shower. Women as either hot, loyal idiots or manipulative shrews? Homosexuality as a symbol of decadence, corruption and madness? I’ve seen it all before, and I would have thought that a writer of Richler’s stature could do more than rehash these boring and skeevy tropes.
April 6, 2013
There were times when I believed "Solomon Gursky Was Here" would collapse under the weight of some many time lines, characters, and emotional baggage...it's the novel equivalent of the most exquisitely constructed Jenga tower...ready to topple over at any moment. Luckily it doesn't...and Mordechai Richler's most ambitious & epic novel manages to hold together with stunning skill. This truly is an astonishing read, and shows a depth & breadth of reach that many people might not have believed Mr. Richler capable of achieving. After reading "Gursky", throw any such doubts into the dustbin.
January 20, 2011
I would give it a 5 if I were only expressing the pleasure I had in reading this hilarious and interesting shaggy family saga based mainly on the Canadian Bronfman family, of Prohibition liquor running fame. Richler manages to sneak a pair of Jewish con-men onto Franklin's Arctic expedition, one of them purportedly Gursky's/Bronfman's progenitor and the rest is history - sort of.
February 12, 2011
This was my second reading of the book, and twenty years later I still found it an intelligent and hilarious, if somewhat biting, romp through Canadian Jewish history.
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