The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a novel by the Canadian writer Mordecai Richler. The story begins in the late 40s of the last century in Montreal (Richler 3). The characters are mostly representatives of the local Jewish community. The main one, Duddy Kravitz, is the youngest son of taxi driver Max Kravitz and a future financial genius.
At the beginning of the novel, Duddy is just a high school student, a joking kid, not distinguished by good grades and behavior. What is happening during this period is shown mainly from the point of view of the history teacher, Mr. John Alexander MacPherson, a liberal by convictions who, however, does not have much love for young Kravitz. However, an ordinary Jewish boy eventually becomes a great financier. The way Duddy has made his fortune is truly memorable. This is a story of the ambition and greed of the young man who has managed to push away the girl who loves him, lost all his friends, and drove his grandfather to despair (Richler 45). Yet the readers love this character with some annoyance since it is possible to understand the hunger that drives him.
This is a purely realistic novel: an explosive mixture of dramatic, funny, and touching episodes. This is a chain of events and character conflicts that make this work and the main character unforgettable. Paying special attention to tense, abruptly involved collisions, the author has declared himself as an aspiring writer. When reading, it immediately attracts the author’s ability to tell a story and show characters, their opposition, interaction, and collision. It can be said that The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a novel that somehow managed to be insane and oddly touching at the same time.
Work Cited
Richler, Mordecai. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. Simon and Schuster, 1999.