Although written more than thirty years ago Cocksure is still a startlingly fresh look at morality and the media; too bad it's no longer in print (..however at least here in Britain it isn't hard to find a copy at secondhand bookshops). Without exercising any form of restraint, Richler paints a modern world where prudes are ostracized and sexual liberation has gone wild. The book is quite rude, and so the easily offended should pass it by (..I think the title of the book is a fair warning of its contents).

The story is about a hapless middle-aged media man in London coping with a cheating wife, friends who falsely accuse him as being Jewish ("Jewish-ness", anti-semitism, and paranoia over anti-semitism are common themes in Richler novels), worries over his under-sized member, and a workplace overrun by very strange people. Society is morally corrupt (his kid's advant-garde school is really bizarre), and our poor chump always seems to come out on the losing end. It's a very funny read. However the story seems to move side-ways; nothing really exciting happens. Fortunately Richler's sarcastic wit has never been in better form.

Bottom line: a very rude and funny read. Worth a look.

COCKSURE is the wittiest, most amusing Richler book I have read so far. In COCKSURE Richler satirizes political correctness and reverse discrimination. In the world of the book, schoolchildren perform Christmas plays by the Marquis de Sade, and political correctness in general runs amuck. The protagonist is an open-minded Canadian Anglo-Saxon male who none-the-less feels that something is wrong when children perform works by de Sade and teachers freely perform oral sex on school children. Everyone should read this Governor-General's Award-winning book that shows the dangers of taking political correctness too far.

This is a hilarious book. Those who love satire should find this one somehow. Some of the passages are an absolute laugh riot. Only a Jewish writer could write such funny things about Jewish people. Gentiles will laugh too! If you like Vonnegut, you must source this one somehow.

Mordecai Richler is one of the greatest modern writers, and his Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a masterpiece; however, A Choice of Enemies falls short of being brilliant. It is, never-the-less, a very good book. Richler presents a great cold war story of divided and shifting loyalties. Richler also makes an insightful commentary about Canadian and European cultural and intellectual life.

This is quite the good book. Not so bad of a job mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Produced by Esse W. Ljungh
Conductor Morris Surdin
This story revolves around a Jewish family during World War 2 who takes in boarders. The first boarder is Heir Banbinger, a refugee who's waiting for his family to arrive from the old country. After a number of other borders, Mervyn, a struggling writer rents the Spare room. Mrs. Hirsh is taken with Mervyn and helps him stay even though Mr. Hirsh is demanding the rent. Mr Hirsh reads reads the book, changes his mind about Mervyn and becomes more lenient with the rent. Mr. Hersh then takes Mervyn under his wing, gives him some fatherly advice and his counsel.

This book is fast paced, vulgar, funny, and human. The world of Duddy Kravitz--an extraordinary Jewish teenager in Montreal in the 1940's--may sound very far removed from our lives, but very few things I have read have struck me as being so irresistably recognisable as life. It would be to deny yourself an immense pleasure not to read this book. Certain chapters are as classic as things we remember from great 19th century literature.

In a (1970) television interview Richler said that his best writing was the stuff that flowed out from him and did not require too much revision or re-writing. I think that a lot of that sort of "one-take" inspiration must have found its way into this fourth novel of his. As I read it, there was one word that kept recurring in my thoughts... "raw"! I don't think Richler is the type who had much use for a thesaurus in his study, and I say that in praise of his ability as a writer. Everything is just right up front and center with him, nothing embellished or re-written for the sake of eloquence. The result is sometimes brash, often vulgar... but all the while, it is very REAL and necessary to explain the impetuous character of Duddy. Very well written. Great bantering dialogue. Count how many times Richler puts the word "but" at the END of a sentence. It's bizarre.

This is a story of ambition run amok! A precocious upstart trying to satiate his obsessive perception of success. Duddy's particular obsession is this phrase that "a man without land is nobody!" Richler creates a fascinating (realistic, albeit despicable) character here in Duddy. There were a few redeeming moments, but most of the time I just wanted to strangle Duddy... in fact, my feelings for Duddy alternated between wanting to strangle him and then (next page) laugh at him. He's such a shyster! Often this story is hilarious, but it's really not funny. I see Duddy as a tragic figure. He consistently abuses the two people (Yvette and Virgil) who are trying the hardest to help him realize his dreams. Ultimately, Duddy has to face the fact that perhaps the only thing legendary about him are the stories that his father Max is already inventing down at Lou's Bagel and Lox Bar. There can only be one thing more miserable than someone who reaches his goals by trampling on others, and that is to find out after all the trampling... that you are no success story after all. In the end, Duddy can't even afford bus fare. He becomes a nobody... with land!

I was first introduced to Mr. Richler's writing when I read "Duddy" in the '70's. Since then, and partly because of Duddy, I have enjoyed many of Richler's books. The irreverent humour, fully realized characterization and exotic Montreal and Quebec settings make this book riveting. Duddy, a young, almost tragically (except it's too funny) ambitious man, embodies all the tensions and pitfalls of scheming to make a buck.

I was hoping that this book would be interesting since I find the Québec Separatism Movement to be one of the most fascinating things of recent politics. Well, I was wrong. I found this book to be extremely dry, I fell asleep a few times while reading it. I got annoyed with the fact that Richler kept bring Anti-Semitism into it. I understand his point of view, but I did not buy this book to read about Anti-Semitism, I bought it to read about the relations between Canada and Québec. Richler does get a plus because he at least explained things for the benefit of American readers, which was great or else I would be totally lost. He also gets a plus because he fully explains Québec's language laws. Overall, I was not too impressed with the book, I found it to be long, drawn out, and hopelessly boring.

My husband is an American of Canadian heritage, and we have spent a lot of time in Montreal. Of course, we've been interested in this language problem for many years; and I found Richler's book to be extremely informative because here in the Southwest, we are faced with the Spanish-English dilemma. Richler's wit and knowledge of his subject made the book extremely interesting. So what if it reeked of anti-simitism--he was just making a point about people who have values that they think should be shared by all; and if they're not shared, boy, are, "those outsiders" stupid.

As an American of Canadian descent, I found Richler's book to be a trenchant analysis of the problems the country faced with its separatist movement. I read the book a year or two after it came out in paperback, and I still recommend it to people who want to understand the divisions in Canada - whether they be English vs. Francophone, or Christian vs. Jew, a schism Richler knows well. If you have no stake or interest in what happens to Canada, perhaps it is indeed boring. But for those of us who care, it's indispensable...