THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ

This is a Canadian What Makes Sammy Run, set in Montreal-covering the years from 1947 to 1951. At 15, Duddy, through petty persecution, manages to bring about the death of one of his teachers, but it is as a natural born go-getter and money-maker that he really hits his stride in pushing people around and using them. He sets himself up as an independent movie producer, filming bar-mitzvahs and weddings for the Jewish community of the city. His driving motive is to make enough money to buy up the land around an untouched lake (""A man without land is nothing "" his grandfather has told him) and build a children's camp, a hotel, a synagogue, a movie house, etc. There is a faithful French- Canadian girl who loves him and whom he uses; there is the big time racketeer he beats out; there is Duddy's father, a taxi driver; his brother who is the hope of the family- studying to be a doctor; his rich uncle, his old immigrant grandfather, and so on. The material in fact is familiar. But even if there are no surprises, Mr. Richler has such a way with his writing, particularly his dialogue, and such an intimate sense of his characters, that he carries the reader to the end- in spite of the plot cliches along the way.