The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky

Britta Santowski is a freelance writer in Victoria.

Set during the Depression, when anti-Semitism was heightening, this
outstanding novel begins with the 1933 riots at Christie Pits Park
during which British-Canadian “Swazis” and Jewish-Canadian
immigrants clashed in the streets of Toronto.

Tulchinsky skilfully navigates through time to tell the story of the
Lapinsky family. At the heart of the family is patriarch Yacov, a
traditionalist with the weight of the past resting heavily on his
shoulders. Yacov and his dutiful wife, Sophie, have four sons:
businessman Sid, scholarly Lenny, boxer Sonny (“The Charger”)
Lapinsky, and brain-damaged Izzy. Grandchild Moses, the namesake of the
novel and the son of Sonny, narrates his family’s story.

In this male-centric novel, the two main women, Sophie and Loretta
(Sonny’s wife), are generally two-dimensional, existing in the shadows
of their husbands. Sophie has one fit of rage that puts Yacov in his
place, but that moment comes and goes without any lasting effects. And
when Loretta leaves Sonny, the story lingers on Sonny’s pain and not
Loretta’s strengths.

There is some repetition when the story returns to the clash at
Christie Pits. Tulchinsky spends a lot of time retelling the story she
introduced at the beginning, only to eventually add a slight twist to
the first telling. That said, she is a talented storyteller. The time
shifts are crafted so that each phase generally moves the story forward,
and the reader hungers for more.