The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
- Publisher
- McClelland & Stewart
- Initial publish date
- Nov 1989
- Category
- Literary
-
Audio disc
- ISBN
- 9780864923639
- Publish Date
- Jul 2003
- List Price
- $35
-
Audio cassette
- ISBN
- 9780864922458
- Publish Date
- Jun 1999
- List Price
- $27.95
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780771099724
- Publish Date
- Nov 1989
- List Price
- $12.95
-
CD-Audio
- ISBN
- 9781978646490
- Publish Date
- Apr 2019
- List Price
- $29.99
-
CD-Audio
- ISBN
- 9781522662198
- Publish Date
- May 2016
- List Price
- $14.99
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Description
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.
About the authors
Mordecai Richler (1931-2001) wrote ten novels; numerous screenplays, essays, children's books; and several works of non-fiction. He gained international acclaim with The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which was later made into a movie. During his career, he was the recipient of dozens of literary awards, including two Governor General's Awards, The Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. Mordecai Richler was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2001.
Mordecai Richler's profile page
David Carpenter spent his first twenty-three years in Edmonton, working during the summers as a car hop, a driver for Brewster Rocky Mountain Grayline, a fish stocker, a trail guide, and a folksinger. He read French and German at the University of Alberta to indifferent effect. He graduated and taught high school in Edmonton until 1965, then migrated south to do an M.A. in English at the University of Oregon. He returned to Canada in 1967 and once again taught school until the summer of 1969, when he enrolled for his Ph. D. at the University of Alberta.
Between 1985 and 1988 Carpenter published a series of novellas and long stories -- Jokes for the Apocalypse, Jewels and God's Bedfellows. Jokes for the Apocalypse was runner up for the Gerald Lampert Award, and his novella The Ketzer won first prize in the Descant Novella Contest.
In 1997 Carpenter turned to writing full-time. A first novel, Banjo Lessons was published in 1997 and won the City of Edmonton Book Prize. During the early nineties he also finished the last of his personal and literary essays which make up Writing Home, his first collection of nonfiction. The essays explore his engagements with such writers as Richard Ford, the French writer/scientist Georges Bugnet, and the late Raymond Carver. Several of these pieces won prizes for literary journalism and for humour in the Western Magazine Awards. One of these essays was featured on CBC Radio's `Ideas`. He brought out a second book of essays about life around home, a month-by-month salute to the seasons entitled Courting Saskatchewan. It won the Saskatchewan Book Award for nonfiction.
Throughout the years he has always been a passionate outdoorsman and environmentalist. This abiding love of lakes, trails, streams and campsites translates into city life in Saskatoon as well, where he lives with his wife, artist Honor Kever, and their son Will.
Editorial Reviews
“Duddy Kravitz sits alone in its urbanity, energy, relevance, direction and raw talent.”
–Toronto Star
“It burgeons with its special talent and vulgar vitality.”
–Chicago Tribune
“Richler [is] one of North America’s most powerful novelists.”
–Washington Times
“Richler has been praised highly for his clear-eyed vision and his realistic style. This novel will confirm that estimate… the total effect is brash and blatant as a sports car rally – and as suggestive of power.”
–New York Times Book Review
“There can be no doubt of [Richler’s] prodigal talent.”
–Times Literary Supplement
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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