A Choice of Enemies (New Canadian Library) [Mass Market Paperback]

Mordecai Richler (Author), Neil Besner (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 1993 | Series: New Canadian Library

A colony of Canadian and American writers and filmmakers, exiled by McCarthyist witch-hunts at home, find themselves in London, England, where they evolve a society every bit as merciless, destructive, and close-minded as that from which they have fled. The bonds of the group are strained when Norman Price, an academic turned hack writer, befriends an enigmatic German refugee. Ostracized by his colleagues, Norman soon perceives how easily conviction devolves into tyranny. Believing that “all alliances are discredited,” he enters a moral nightmare in which his choice of enemies is no longer clear. With relentless irony and biting accuracy, Mordecai Richler maps out a surreal territory of doubt, describing not only one man’s personal dilemma but the moral condition of modern society.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The most versatile and prolific Canadian writer of his time.”
–Robert Fulford

“[Richler’s] words land on the pages like manna, he is patriarch of the cutting line and everything he touches turns into a good read.”
–London Free Press

“He is a ringmaster, making his performers do dazzling backflips without missing a beat.”
–Time

“Richler has a style which can drip irony, and is unique and memorable.”
–Edmonton Journal

“There is no other writer…who can so deftly deploy pure dialogue to create such rich atmosphere of period and place.…He is such a terrific storyteller.…”
–Montreal Gazette

From the Inside Flap

A colony of Canadian and American writers and filmmakers, exiled by McCarthyist witch-hunts at home, find themselves in London, England, where they evolve a society every bit as merciless, destructive, and close-minded as that from which they have fled. The bonds of the group are strained when Norman Price, an academic turned hack writer, befriends an enigmatic German refugee. Ostracized by his colleagues, Norman soon perceives how easily conviction devolves into tyranny. Believing that ?all alliances are discredited,? he enters a moral nightmare in which his choice of enemies is no longer clear. With relentless irony and biting accuracy, Mordecai Richler maps out a surreal territory of doubt, describing not only one man?s personal dilemma but the moral condition of modern society.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: New Canadian Library (April 10, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0771099711
• ISBN-13: 978-0771099717
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,199,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not a masterpiece, August 24, 2001

By 

"catcherintherye" (Kingston, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Choice of Enemies (New Canadian Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

0 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, February 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Choice of Enemies (New Canadian Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

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