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The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky (Polestar $34.95)
Middle-weight boxing champ Sonny Lapinsky was no angel-and his apartment had the marks to prove it. "There were holes in every wall,"; recalls his son, Moses, "the exact size of my father's fist.";
When an unauthorized biography of Sonny 'The Charger' Lapinsky goes too far, Moses decides to set the record straight. "The book, which is entitled Below the Belt,"; Moses says, "characterizes my father as a womanizing wife beater, who neglected his children, brought disgrace to his community and won the middleweight championship on questionable terms.";
In Karen X. Tulchinsky's The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky (Polestar $34.95), Moses delves into Toronto's Jewish past. "My father was a poor Jewish kid from an immigrant family, from the ghetto at College and Spadina, a neighbourhood in which you were more likely to grow up and become a thief, a bookie, a gambler or dead, than a world renowned Boxing Champion.";
Set against the backdrop of World War II, The Five Books is a sober account of Jewish Canadians in the Depression, struggling to find their place amid growing anti-Semitism. At the story's centre is the Christie Pits riot of 1933, a clash between British Canadian 'Swazis' and Jewish Canadian immigrants. Sonny and his brothers are part of the crowd watching the baseball game:
"From the South Side, Eddie spots it first. It is quiet and almost strangely beautiful for a moment. A small group of boys on the Camel's Hump slowly, carefully unroll a large white sheet. It spreads out like a grand statement on the brown grass, the white of the sheet reflecting bright in the light of a fading orange and pink sunset. It takes a moment for folks to recognize the huge black Swastika hand-painted onto the middle of the sheet. Heads turn. Bodies stiffen. People begin to shout...'Hail Hitler!'... It is hard to say where the fighting begins."; The riot leaves the youngest brother, Izzy, with brain damage. At the hospital, Sonny is overcome with guilt. "...Nausea rose from his belly to his throat and he had to run down the hall, barely making it to the men's room in time to vomit into a toilet.";
One night after his shift at the bowling alley, Sonny meets the infamous cigar-smoking 'Checkie' Seigelman. "That's how Checkie got his nickname,"; says Sonny, "on account of he's a genius with cheques. Everyone knows about Checkie Seigelman. He's a local legend. Grew up right in Sonny's neighbourhood. But now he's so rich everyone goes to him for loans instead of the bank."; Sonny starts delivering unmarked white envelopes for Checkie, and eventually quits the bowling alley.
His fate changes the first day he steps inside a gym. He announces he wants to be a fighter. Checkie laughs, but arranges a sparring match with a local boxer named Tony. Sonny's given a pair of boxing gloves, and steps into the ring. The coach signals to start. "Using his rapid fire style, he charges at Tony, catching him on the chin on his second punch, hard enough to knock the older boy back a few inches. Checkie removes the cigar from his mouth and stares... They get back into position and Sonny does it again. Bam bam bam bam bam. He strikes out so fast Tony doesn't have a chance to dodge and again Sonny connects hard, a direct hit on Tony's chin... Dollar signs ring in Checkie's head. A goddamned gold mine.";
Boxing becomes a blissful escape from oppressive poverty. Sonny finds relief from the guilt of Izzy's brain damage, and sets his sights on a life without second-hand clothes and boiled cabbage.
According to Tulchinsky, Sonny Lapinsky decided on his own to be a boxer. "I knew nothing about boxing,"; she says, "but no matter how hard I tried to convince the character to do something else with his life, he was determined to be a boxer. So I had to educate myself on the sport... I wouldn't exactly say I am now an expert, but I do know a right uppercut from a left hook.";
A Vancouver novelist and playwright, Karen X. Tulchinsky is currently writing an episode for the CTV drama series Keys Cut Here. 1-55192-556-7
[Jeremy Twigg/BCBW Winter 2003]
When an unauthorized biography of Sonny 'The Charger' Lapinsky goes too far, Moses decides to set the record straight. "The book, which is entitled Below the Belt,"; Moses says, "characterizes my father as a womanizing wife beater, who neglected his children, brought disgrace to his community and won the middleweight championship on questionable terms.";
In Karen X. Tulchinsky's The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky (Polestar $34.95), Moses delves into Toronto's Jewish past. "My father was a poor Jewish kid from an immigrant family, from the ghetto at College and Spadina, a neighbourhood in which you were more likely to grow up and become a thief, a bookie, a gambler or dead, than a world renowned Boxing Champion.";
Set against the backdrop of World War II, The Five Books is a sober account of Jewish Canadians in the Depression, struggling to find their place amid growing anti-Semitism. At the story's centre is the Christie Pits riot of 1933, a clash between British Canadian 'Swazis' and Jewish Canadian immigrants. Sonny and his brothers are part of the crowd watching the baseball game:
"From the South Side, Eddie spots it first. It is quiet and almost strangely beautiful for a moment. A small group of boys on the Camel's Hump slowly, carefully unroll a large white sheet. It spreads out like a grand statement on the brown grass, the white of the sheet reflecting bright in the light of a fading orange and pink sunset. It takes a moment for folks to recognize the huge black Swastika hand-painted onto the middle of the sheet. Heads turn. Bodies stiffen. People begin to shout...'Hail Hitler!'... It is hard to say where the fighting begins."; The riot leaves the youngest brother, Izzy, with brain damage. At the hospital, Sonny is overcome with guilt. "...Nausea rose from his belly to his throat and he had to run down the hall, barely making it to the men's room in time to vomit into a toilet.";
One night after his shift at the bowling alley, Sonny meets the infamous cigar-smoking 'Checkie' Seigelman. "That's how Checkie got his nickname,"; says Sonny, "on account of he's a genius with cheques. Everyone knows about Checkie Seigelman. He's a local legend. Grew up right in Sonny's neighbourhood. But now he's so rich everyone goes to him for loans instead of the bank."; Sonny starts delivering unmarked white envelopes for Checkie, and eventually quits the bowling alley.
His fate changes the first day he steps inside a gym. He announces he wants to be a fighter. Checkie laughs, but arranges a sparring match with a local boxer named Tony. Sonny's given a pair of boxing gloves, and steps into the ring. The coach signals to start. "Using his rapid fire style, he charges at Tony, catching him on the chin on his second punch, hard enough to knock the older boy back a few inches. Checkie removes the cigar from his mouth and stares... They get back into position and Sonny does it again. Bam bam bam bam bam. He strikes out so fast Tony doesn't have a chance to dodge and again Sonny connects hard, a direct hit on Tony's chin... Dollar signs ring in Checkie's head. A goddamned gold mine.";
Boxing becomes a blissful escape from oppressive poverty. Sonny finds relief from the guilt of Izzy's brain damage, and sets his sights on a life without second-hand clothes and boiled cabbage.
According to Tulchinsky, Sonny Lapinsky decided on his own to be a boxer. "I knew nothing about boxing,"; she says, "but no matter how hard I tried to convince the character to do something else with his life, he was determined to be a boxer. So I had to educate myself on the sport... I wouldn't exactly say I am now an expert, but I do know a right uppercut from a left hook.";
A Vancouver novelist and playwright, Karen X. Tulchinsky is currently writing an episode for the CTV drama series Keys Cut Here. 1-55192-556-7
[Jeremy Twigg/BCBW Winter 2003]
Submitted on November 20, 2003 in By David.
