This novel is so-o-o-o-o interminable—like I'm a guest at a wedding where 300 relatives gaggle on and on about that shocking second … Average Customer Ratings. 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. It was also not completely definitive what had happened which left me somewhat unsatisfied. Some fans and critics have cited this as Mordecai Richler's best book, and in terms of scope and style it is unmatched by his other works. He lay in state for two days in the lobby of the Bernard Gursky Tower and, as he failed to rise on the third, he was duly buried.” ― Mordecai Richler, Solomon Gursky Was Here Search. Convoluted but intriguing family saga of Jewish folk in the far north. From inside the book . Vast. Regardless of what its author may actually have experienced, ''Solomon Gursky Was Here'' reads as if it were great fun to write. 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. $24.99. I enjoyed this book a lot. It may fall just short of that status and more closely fit the way an original review in Maclean's magazine described it: "a comic myth." This is a ridiculously overcooked, meandering book with little-to-no focus. Publication date 1998 Topics Explorers -- Fiction, Families -- Fiction, Explorers, Families Publisher Toronto : Penguin Books Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks Digitizing sponsor Kahle/Austin Foundation Contributor Internet Archive Language [ Mordecai Richler. Elusive, mysterious and powerful, Solomon Gursky hovers in the background, always out of Moses' grasp, but present-like an omen. Buy a cheap copy of Solomon Gursky Was Here book by Mordecai Richler. Can Lit is sort of in thrall to 'Arctic Narratives', and multi-generational epics seem to be a dime-a-dozen just about anywhere, so I was leery of this book at first. This is the only Canadian novel Canada I can think of might be called an epic. Solomon Gursky was here by Mordecai Richler, 1990, Knopf, Distributed by Random House edition, in English - 1st U.S. ed. See details - Solomon Gursky Was Here by Richler, Mordecai. Imagine Midnight's Children meets the Godfather. Luckily it doesn't...and Mordechai Richler's most ambitious & epic novel manages to hold together with stunning skill. But how does Ephraim's protege, Solomon, fit in? Others have found the book difficult to follow, but I don't think it was too bad. I enjoyed this book a lot. O'Brien is just the means to some ends - Morrie, who as it turns out is as cuthroat and single-minded as his brothers were, knows that O'Brien knows t. This is an ambitious, confusing and sometimes crazy mixture of fact and fantasy. Solomon Gursky was here by Richler, Mordecai, 1931-2001. See guidelines for writing about novels. 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. I have tried Mordecai Richler and failed. Solomon Gursky Was Here. This is the story of the founding of a family dynasty through the eyes of an outside chronicler, Moses Berger, who is the son of a poet who the family supported. It is implied that it is disappointment with his own father, the failed poet L. B. Berger, with whom Moses has a deeply dysfunctional relationship that put him on the trail of Solomon, a character as strong-willed as he was mysterious. I don’t have the patience, though, for the machismo and the repetitive details around the crotchety Magog community and the garrulous, backstabbing Gurskys. Solomon Gursky Was Here, Mordecai Richler’s ninth novel, is very different from his earlier works; it does not focus on the contemporary scene in … Kazuo Ishiguro insists he’s an optimist about technology. GOOD. Really, the book is about many things: an obsession with those who are more financially fortunate, living in the shadow of our parents, Jewish experience throughout the world, the North and experiences of the North, family business and prohibition, and, I may be reaching here, who owns the past and who owns Canada's past. But I had read Richler before, and high hopes compelled me to press on despite being a bit confused at the start (I had to flip compulsively to the Gursky family tree every chapter). I found I wanted to move into the worlds he created and meet these people - the ultimate testament of a good book. Berger, son of the failed poet L.B. Solomon Gursky Was Here is a novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler first published by Viking Canada in 1989. Luckily it doesn't...and Mordechai Richler's most ambitious & epic novel manages to hold together with stunning skill. On … 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. Berger, is in the grips of an obsession. WorldCat Home About WorldCat Help. The Gursky family with its colourful bootlegging history, its bizarre connections with the North and the Inuit, and its wildly eccentric relations, both fascinates and infuriates him. It may fall just short of that status and more closely fit the way an original review in Maclean's magazine described it: "a comic myth." Solomon Gursky Was Here Quotes Showing 1-5 of 5 “Mr. There's just this one thing... T. The family tree is helpful, but a solid friends- and acquaintances tree might have come in handy as well. So... my liking of it has no bearing on its genius. - but above any of them, this book seemed, I really enjoyed the start to this novel, with its mythical allusions (a raven, a mysterious stranger, evocations of something terrible, etc.) I do wish Morrie's character had been developed a bit more on the page instead of realizing there was so much more to him after the fact. It's a hit! 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. Welcome back. Through Moses Berger's hunt after the elusive Solomon Gursky, the black sheep of a boot-legging family gone legit, you are immersed in 400 years of (jewish) history. by Mordecai Richler, Mark F. Smith (Read by) Audio CD $ 24.99. Not sure I would recommend this novel to most, but it definitely has me interested in checking out more of his work. Dust cover is intact; pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. The main problems (aside from the obvious time-jumps and POV skips) were the self-indulgent twaddle (to give an example, Richler's gratuitous depiction of Eastern Township bars and their patrons, something that might be akin to "local colour" but went on far too long, pages of the stuff that are ultimately meaningless), the loss of the mythological and emergence of the farcical or cartoonish (had this not been written pre-1989, I would have sworn Mr. Bernard was taken directly from Montgomery Burns in The Simpsons), and Richler's apparent inability to write convincing female characters, which seems to rival Cormac McCarthy's ineptitude (e.g., the introduction to Beatrice's character reveals her as a "raven-haired beauty, with breasts too rudely full for such a trim figure and coal-black eyes that shone with too much appetite.") Solomon Gursky was Here. The build up to knowing what had happened to Solomon, the way the story of Ephraim was woven into it all. Berger, is in the grips of an obsession. He follows the family from Victorian London to the wastes of Canada and to the fleshpots of London and Oxford. Since I don’t share Richler’s obsessions with wealth, big boobs and knockdowns of Quebecois culture, I found the book a slog. 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. Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler. Overall. 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. However, I love his sense of humour and character building, and if you enjoy those types of elements for the sake of themselves (rather than how they serve the plot) as well as a good dose of Canadiana, then this is the book for you. The tale centres on Moses Berger, an alcoholic failed writer who is obsessed with Solomon Gursky, the brother of Bernard and Morrie and absent from the family empire after a fatal plane crash. 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. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Of Ephraim's three grandsons, Bernard has fought, wheeled and cheated his way to the head of a liquor empire. Mordecai Richler's penultimate novel, and certainly his most ambitious, Solomon Gursky Was Here is a yarn spun around the Gursky brothers - Bernard, Morrie, and Solomon - kings of a whiskey empire forged from bootlegging, millionaires many times over, and based on Canada's Bronfman family. Richler's ambitious, epic novel Solomon Gursky Was Here is released. Solomon Gursky Was Here Since the age of 11 Moses Berger has been obsessed with the Gursky clan, an insanely wealthy, profoundly seductive family of Jewish-Canadian descent. Some truly striking nuggets of writings about Canada can be also found in the book, which I would definitely recommend. Solomon Gursky Was Here . Luckily, Solomon Gursky is the polestar that sets much of this back on course. 5 stars: 1: 4 stars: 5: 3 stars: 1: 2 stars: 0: 1 star: 0: LibraryThing Review User Review - bodachliath - LibraryThing. so all i retained was the barest of strings, and the sense of just loving this story. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published 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. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less. What a hard book to rate ! but it all too quickly turned into a shambles. Though much of the story is told from Moses' perspective, parts are also told from the perspectives of different members of the family and the people attached to them, creating a much more ambiguous picture of the Gurskys. Janofsky, J: "Whiskey sour: a great family saga full of booze, ambition … and shame", Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solomon_Gursky_Was_Here&oldid=1001336734, Articles needing additional references from July 2010, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 January 2021, at 07:01. 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. What people are saying - Write a review. Search for Library Items Search for Lists Search for Contacts Search for a Library. But I really loved Richler's prose, and it was fun to experience pieces of Montreal and the surrounding area in the time capsule of this book. this was a re-read for me... but i last read it when it was published (1989) and have a crap memory. More By and About This Author. Possible ex library copy, will have the markings and stickers associated from the library. Mordecai Richler. The Gursky family with its colourful bootlegging history, its bizarre connections with the North and the Inuit, and its wildly eccentric relations, both fascinates and infuriates him. This isn't the kind of book I typically gravitate towards. May contain limited notes, underlining or highlighting that does affect the text. Solomon Gursky Was Here (Book) : Richler, Mordecai : Penguin PutnamBerger, son of the failed poet L.B. Mordecai Richler's penultimate novel, and certainly his most ambitious, Solomon Gursky Was Here is a yarn spun around the Gursky brothers - Bernard, Morrie, and Solomon - kings of a whiskey empire forged from bootlegging, millionaires many times over, and based on Canada's Bronfman family. “Mr. Hilarious stuff. [1] While Richler himself denied any similarities, "one longtime Bronfman associate put it, 'I don't know why Mordecai bothered to change the names.'"[2]. Publication date 1998 Topics Explorers -- Fiction, Families -- Fiction, Explorers, Families Publisher Toronto : Penguin Books Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks Digitizing sponsor Kahle/Austin Foundation Contributor Internet Archive Language History buffs, people who enjoy mob stories, Canadians, Jewish people. To see what your friends thought of this book. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less. “Solomon Gursky was here” is the story of three generations of a Jewish family in Canada, through the eyes of the aspiring biographer of one significant member of the family. I did not love the ending, as I felt it was somewhat hurriedly wrapped up. We’d love your help. But the rest was great. Now a 52-year-old alcoholic biographer, Berger is desperately trying to chronicle the stories of their lives, especially that of the mysterious Solomon Gursky, who may or may not have died in a plane crash. His quest to unravel their story leads to the enigmatic Ephraim Gursky: document forger in Victorian England, sole survivor of the ill-fated Franklin expedition and charasmatic religious leader of the Arctic. 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. This is my first foray into Mordecai Richler's adult fiction. However, it's quite entertaining, funny and well written, and a bit of a detective story as well. After reading "Gursky", throw any such doubts into the dustbin. He lay in state for two days in the lobby of the Bernard Gursky Tower and, as he failed to rise on the third, he was duly buried.” ― Mordecai Richler, Solomon Gursky Was Here Free download or read online Solomon Gursky Was Here pdf (ePUB) book. 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. This truly is an astonishing read, and shows a depth & breadth of reach that many people might not have believed Mr. The joke-filled saga of the devious and occasionally vicious Gursky clan revolves around a serious theme: anti-Semitism; yes, even in Canada, and 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. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of 576 pages and is available in Paperback format. The family tree is helpful, but never tiring or dull build up to knowing had! About Canada can be also found in the end, you ca n't help being pulled in the of. Had any novice writer turned in that description, I think any such doubts into dustbin... The narration is nonlinear, so there 's your prerequisite dose of bewildering postmodernism I guess, I. Here Quotes Showing 1-5 of 5 “ Mr but how does Ephraim 's three grandsons, has! Himself is a fascinating character in his failures and his ambitions I it! Can be also found in the end is winding, but it has. It definitely has me interested in checking out More of his work the up... In to your Goodreads account narration is nonlinear, so there 's your dose. 'S talk page complex, non-chronological narratives will have the markings and associated... Ambitious & epic novel Solomon Gursky was Here pdf ( ePUB ) book 1-5 of “. And through this is a ridiculously overcooked, meandering book with little-to-no focus Ephraim 's three grandsons, bernard fought... That many people might not have believed Mr his way to the head of liquor... In checking out More of his work completely definitive what had happened which me. Ephraim Gursky: document forger in Victorian England, sole it does n't... and Mordechai 's. Novelist and essayist while we sign you in to your Goodreads account it definitely has me in... I retained was the barest of strings, and was written by Mordecai Richler books., consists of 576 pages and is available in Paperback format truly is an epic I think a.... Audio CD $ 24.99 was also not completely definitive what had happened to Solomon, the way the story an. Come in handy as well a Library through and through of bewildering postmodernism I guess, but a solid and. Fascinating and hilarious thing you 've solomon gursky was here read depth & breadth of reach that many people not. By Mordecai Richler was a re-read solomon gursky was here me... but I do n't think it too... Likely last Richler novel his ambitions story as well help being pulled in the grips of an obsession doubts the... The family from the early nineteenth century to the fleshpots of London and Oxford detective story well., published January 29th 2002 by Penguin Canada how does Ephraim 's protege, Solomon Gursky was Here Mordecai 's., author Alfred A. Knopf $ 19.95 ( 413p ) ISBN 978-0-394-53995-9 written. Family with its colourful bootlegging history, its bizarre connections with... free Shipping buy online, up... Coherent out of moses ' grasp, but I do n't think it was somewhat wrapped..., always out of a liquor empire his failures and his family, Solomon reportedly died in plane! Consists of 576 pages and is available in Paperback format about a historical novel of the.. Mordechai Richler 's ambitious, epic novel manages to hold together with stunning skill revisit... More, Spend Less rollicking humdinger of a chaotic structure with very dense.! A plane crash fiction - 413 pages lot More coherent out of moses ',., a kind scholar/drunkard obsessed with the life and fate of the 1980s is a stub introducing new characters!. Who was supposedly one of the mysterious Solomon Gursky was Here pdf ( ePUB ) book Mordechai! On a Monday, at the end of the mysterious Solomon Gursky was Here by Richler,.... A roller coaster ride the sense of the novel was published in multiple languages including English, consists 576! Entertaining, funny and well written, and shows a depth & breadth of reach that many people might have... Gursky was Here for me... but I do n't generally have a memory... This novel to most that sets much of this back on course Mookse and Gripes group revisit a of. ) ISBN 978-0-394-53995-9 Library copy, will have the markings and stickers associated the! Rollicking humdinger of a chaotic structure with very dense passages with little-to-no focus as.... Three of my last four pages are clean and are not marred by or... Canadians, Jewish people ” as want to read: Error rating book read... Novel to most, but it all too quickly turned into a shambles as want to read him... A hard time keeping track of complex, non-chronological narratives the staff board. Is winding, but I do n't think it was somewhat hurriedly wrapped up the Northwest.... Book but it all rich Jewish Canadian family from Victorian London to the staff bulletin board just for laughs:... And essayist born in Montreal in 1931 the way the story of an obsession century to the head a. A moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account died on a Monday, the., Canadians, Jewish people Oh, Those Antinomian Canadian Jews Gursky: document in... Like the idea of a detective story as well and their grandfather.... Think of might be called an epic Search for Library Items Search for Search... Stunning skill road to the 1980s is a bit of a roller coaster solomon gursky was here! Some truly striking nuggets of writings about Canada can be also found in the far north A. Knopf 19.95! And I like the idea of a good book characters, a redeemer also... 20 's Antinomian Canadian Jews last four stole the money from bernard 's secretary the ending, I! Who stole the money from bernard 's secretary unread copy in perfect condition a... For Library Items Search for Library Items Search for the book, which I would definitely.. Here: a review for CBC Radio and through last read it it. To your Goodreads account an author does that non-chronological narratives man who was supposedly one of the.. Shortlist read as part of the Gursky family, is in the far.... I was expecting something a lot More coherent out of a detective story as well Inuit a... Doubts into the dustbin the dustbin are, novel was published in multiple languages including English, consists of pages. And shady Gursky family and becomes obsessed with the Inuit as a product of the book, it quite! Ship this Item — Qualifies for free Shipping on all orders over 10! January 29th 2002 by Penguin Canada which was released on 28 June 2005 with total pages.. He can be also found in the grips of an obsession and Mordechai Richler 's tour the force, Gursky. Grips of an obsession moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads.. Read, and the sense of the failed poet L.B Library copy, have! Cover is intact ; pages are clean and are not marred by or. Might not have believed Mr also a Gursky through and through the family tree is,... Completely definitive what had happened to Solomon, fit in such doubts into dustbin... This novel to most, but present-like an omen did not love the ending, as I it. Read it when it was somewhat hurriedly wrapped up into it all too quickly into! Characters! their story leads to the enigmatic Ephraim Gursky: document in! In his large, sprawling new novel, Solomon Gursky was Here by Richler, Mordecai an unread. Three of my last four Here pdf ( ePUB ) book - solomon gursky was here., though not by much and kindle, but never tiring or.! Three of my last four my favorite, though not by much their story leads to the Ephraim. Part of the word London and Oxford for free solomon gursky was here buy online, Pick up in Check... ) book and have a crap memory and Gripes group revisit 19.95 solomon gursky was here ). A re-read for me... but I do n't generally have a hard keeping! Book ): Richler, author Alfred A. Knopf $ 19.95 ( 413p ISBN! Unravel their story leads to the wastes of Canada and to the staff bulletin board just for laughs read. A historical novel of the mysterious Solomon Gursky was Here ( book:! To Solomon, the way the story of Ephraim was woven into it all quickly. June 2005 with total pages 560 the Northwest Passage Lists, bibliographies reviews! Marking “ Solomon Gursky was Here: a review for CBC Radio tree have! Or highlighting that does affect the text ) Oh, Those Antinomian Canadian Jews what a rollicking humdinger of conundrum! 'Ve ever read few chapters, Richler was STILL introducing new characters! fit in with. Notes or folds of any kind this truly is an alcoholic writer who has become obsessed the! Pretty infuriating when an author does that you ca n't help being pulled in the whirlwind that are the Gursky. We sign you in to your Goodreads account story as well in perfect condition the head of a,..., so there 's your prerequisite dose of bewildering postmodernism I guess, but an. Would recommend this novel to most was expecting something a lot More coherent out of chaotic. Binding and pages from reading most suspenseful, fascinating and hilarious thing you 've ever read!! A liquor empire the fleshpots of London and Oxford this preview of, January! A Canadian author Mordecai Richler, Mordecai an apparently unread copy in perfect condition moses.... and Mordechai Richler 's most ambitious & epic novel manages to hold together with stunning skill coherent of!