The World Beaters

Esther M. Price, a former educational librarian and high-school English
literature teacher, currently teaches conversational English to Russian
immigrants in Israel.

The residents of North Winnipeg, many of them Jewish immigrant families,
deal with the challenges of a difficult New World by creating an entity
unlike the easily recognizable communities of New York or Jerusalem. At
their best, these characters become resilient and uniquely
individualistic survivors who create their own (sometimes questionable)
standards. Among those characters rendered permanently invisible by
appalling, racist government policies is the hero of the heartbreaking
“ Memorial for Johnny,” who struggles hopefully all his life without
anyone ever even recording his real name.

The characters are not consistently likable, but all are interesting.
Kleiman presents them with gentle irony and a nonjudgmental shrug. His
insightful and technically polished stories inform as well as delight.