A Canadian TV programmer, book-show host and son of Mordecai Richler, the first-time author here offers the often-hilarious story of Robbie Bookbinder, an 18-year-old ultimate adolescent who, among his many other complaints, resents coming of age in the mid-'70s. English-speaking in Montreal, Robbie drinks and takes all but the hardest drugs, goofs off in his French-language school and loves Ivy, a scrawny, self-absorbed girl hooked on heroin. In some scenes, such as a chaotic, nonsexist September seder ("I was just too busy in the spring," Robbie's mother says), the novel is as funny as A Confederacy of Dunces . (To his grandmother, Robbie says, "I've always wondered, and since I don't speak Hebrew, what exactly coleslaw means.") When, soon afterward, his parents kick Robbie out, he immediately spends the $1000 they gave him as seed money. Richler stumbles when he tries to follow the rules of conventional novels: the book's happy ending feels forced, and the repeated references to an apocalyptic fire that isn't described until late in the story are a needless tease. Despite its flaws, Richler's larky narrative captures the essence of what Robbie would call the bummer decade.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A middle-class Canadian teenager spins into the drug culture in this gritty portrayal of life on the streets in the 1970s. Robbie Bookbinder is angry, bored, and utterly confused. Kicked out by his parents, he spends his days in a drug and alcohol-induced haze dreaming of punk rock stardom. These dreams are tarnished by the reality of gang violence and the brutal rape of the stripper who befriends him. Faced with the emptiness of this life, Robbie is forced to come to terms with his family. He is a prodigal son for the decade, embodying its pain and hope. This is an ambitious debut novel from Richler (the son of Mordecai Richler), who is the head of arts programming at TV Ontario and hosts a TV book show. Public libraries should consider.
- Jan Blodgett, St. Mary's Cty. Records Ctr. & Archives, Leonardtown, Md .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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