Local News
Méira Cook’s latest novel is arguably her most “Jewish” one yet
Review by BERNIE BELLAN I’ve been following the career of poet and novelist Méira Cook ever since her name was first mentioned in this paper in an article written by my niece, Suzy Waldman, in 1995. At that time Méira (who is named for her late grandfather, Meir) noted that she had been sticking with poetry to that point, but was now considering switching to prose.
Well, what a transition it’s been. With the release of her first novel, “The House on Sugarbush Road,” in 2012, Méira has climbed near the top of the list of Manitoba’s most successful novelists. (That book won the McNally Robinson Prize for Book of the Year, by the way.)
In my review of “Sugarbush,” I noted that I was astonished by Méira’s facility with language, and I referenced her own description of having grown up in South Africa, having been exposed to the “snap and crackle of language”, whether it was spoken by whites or blacks.
That ear for language carried forward into Méira’s next novel, “Nightwatching,” which was released in 2015, and which was also set in South Africa. That book won the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction.
Then, in 2017, Méira released her first novel set in her newly adopted home of Winnipeg, “Once More With Feeling.” I noted in my review of that book though that, if you haven’t read either of Méira’s prior novels, be forewarned:
“None of them unfold in a methodical, easy-to-understand pattern. As a matter of fact, the various chapters in ‘Once More With Feeling’ are largely disconnected. Characters are introduced, only to disappear for long stretches, sometimes appearing later in the book, at other times simply vanishing.”
Now though, Méira has, at long last, written a novel titled “The Full Catastrophe,” that might perhaps be the most accessible of all her novels to readers, in that it follows a more linear path in which characters remain throughout the novel without disappearing for long stretches. Like her three previous novels, however, “The Full Catastrophe” builds to a crescendo – and in this case, it revolves around a bar mitzvah.
Having said that, it must be apparent that this novel is the most clearly “Jewish” of any of Méira’s now four novels. The principal character, Charlie Minkoff, is a 13-year-old boy, who is born with “intersex” traits. Although Charlie clearly identifies as a boy, he is hampered by the ambiguity that his chromosomes have rendered.
Charlie though has a loving relationship with his zaida Oscar, who adores the boy and offers him the kind of emotional support that he so desperately needs.
Charlie’s mother, Jules Minkoff, on the other hand, is so completely involved in her own artistic pursuits that she leaves Charlie to fend for himself in the tenement building in which they live. (Jules, by the way, has lost the ability to speak – and she communicates with Charlie largely by leaving messages for him on a whiteboard.)
There are other characters who offer support to Charlie throughout the novel, particularly Weeza, a rough hewn female truck driver who strives to protect Charlie in the absence of Jules.
As I’ve already noted, Méira Cook is a master of fashioning dialogue. In “The Full Catastrophe” she demonstrates her facility with Yiddish idioms, as expressed by Oscar Minkoff. (Years ago Méira told me that she grew up in a household in South Africa where her grandparents spoke Yiddish. As a matter of fact, Méira speaks several languages, including Afrikaans and a few different black South African dialects. She was also a reporter early on, so being able to craft authentic sounding dialogue is something she honed while she was still quite young.)
Like her other novels, “The Full Catastrophe” is rich in description. Here’s a sample of how the author describes an ice warming hut on a Winnipeg river that Jules Minkoff has designed: “The ice was different from any he’d seen before. He’d been expecting kitchen cubes, the kind that turned opaque when wrenched from their trays. This ice was clear, so transparent he could make out fragile etchings of river scum in its depths – here a haze of silt, there a suspension of foam. The closer he looked the more he could see: a scrim of fish bones, a trail of bubbles, the current folding in on itself.”
In the ten years since Méira released “The House on Sugarbush Road” to today, it seems that she has also developed a keener sense of humour within her writing. Her first two novels, set as they were in South Africa, had as a backdrop the tensions between blacks and whites which pervade that country, and there was always a threat of impending violence within both those books.
“Once More With Feeling” took a decidedly less solemn path and it had several chapters within it that were predominantly humourous, although the book as a whole was quite serious.
In “The Full Catastrophe” Méira often injects entire scenes of dialogue that I told her in an email reminded me of Mordecai Richler in their tone. A good part of the book consists of emails sent back and forth between different characters, including a well-meaning teacher of Charlie’s by the name of Maude Kambaja, who wants Charlie to write an autobiographical essay for class, but who is dissatisfied with how Charlie avoids revealing much about himself.
Ms. Kambaja emails Jules Minkoff regularly to attempt to persuade Jules to exert her influence over Charlie to open up, but Jules consistently retorts in a most amusing and sarcastic manner.
Other characters in the novel, including two of Charlie and Jules’ neighbours in their building, which is known as the “GNC Building” (and from which all the remaining tenants will soon be forced to move as it’s about to be redeveloped), also carry on a hilarious exchange of notes for which Charlie serves as the messenger because they have such a strong dislike for one another.
Yet, through it all – including a crush that Charlie develops on a girl who herself is deeply scarred emotionally, the relationship between Charlie and his zaida is the overriding unifying theme of “The Full Catastrophe.”
Oscar Minkoff is himself a Holocaust survivor and after what he’s endured, he has nothing but compassion for his deeply troubled grandson (whose father abandoned him and his mother shortly after Charlie’s birth to join a Hasidic sect in New York).
Oscar decides that he wants to have a bar mitzvah – something he was never able to have in war-torn Europe, and he wants Charlie to participate with him in the event as well. As part of their preparation, Oscar and Charlie meet with a rabbi, during which they often engage in discussion of Talmudic passages.
(I was deeply impressed by the amount of research Méira put into developing those scenes. See adjoining sidebar for a more detailed examination of her writing process.)
No doubt, based on the past success of Méira’s other novels, “The Full Catastrophe” is going to enjoy a similar reception among her many fans. But, considering the more overtly Jewish storyline of this book, I would rather expect it to do particularly well with a Jewish audience. And, considering that Méira has been quite consistent in producing a new novel every three years for the past 10 years, I can hardly wait for her next one – which should be out in 2025, according to schedule.
“The Full Catastrophe”
Published by House of Anansi Press
376 pages
“The Full Catastrophe” will be publicly launched at McNally Robinson Booksellers on June 16 at 7:30 pm, when Méira Cook will be joined by Alison Gillmor in what Méira describes as “an evening of brilliant repartee, reading, and the joy of seeing each other once again!”
Méira Cook talks about her writing process
By BERNIE BELLAN Once I had finished reading Méira Cook’s latest novel, “The Full Catastrophe” I sent her a series of questions about this particular novel and about her writing process in general.
JP&N: Where did the idea for this particular novel come from? Was it something you had been mulling about for some time? I’m curious how someone with such a fabulous imagination comes up with their ideas?
Méira: My novel is a cross-over story for adults and teenagers about the different ways that masculinity is expressed in our contemporary world — whether religiously, socially, medically and familiarly — as well as the troubling ways that history intersects (collides might be a better word) with the present time. And I wanted to write about the relationship between two unlikely best friends, Oscar and Charlie, grandfather and grandson who, despite their differences in age and experience, love each other dearly.
JP&N: Was Charlie’s zaida based on one of your own grandparents in any way?
Méira: Charlie’s zeide is a product of imagination just as all my characters are. For me the imagination is a more hospitable narrative place than memory is because it owes no debt of accuracy to the dead. What has really delighted me is that some advance readers, including the journalists interviewing me, have shared very positive memories of their own grandparents that were sparked by reading Oscar. That ability for my imagination to connect with others’ memories is always tremendously rewarding.
JP&N: How much research did you have to do about intersex children? It was quite fascinating learning as much as I did from your book.
Méira: I did a great deal of research on intersexuality although I used relatively little of it as I didn’t want to bog down the story with too much exposition. My reading included scholarly texts, history, and memoir. It’s such an important and nuanced subject, and my research taught me so much about the history of intolerance and abuse relating to reassignment surgery, medical interventions, and the sometimes violent societal imposition of gender roles. This reading informed my writing in a fundamental way, but readers won’t come across it directly. My main concern in writing Charlie’s character is that he not be defined by his sexual characteristics. This, in my opinion, would repeat the violent impositions that I was reading about. Charlie’s got so many other interests, concerns, and qualities that have nothing to do with his sex chromosomes.
JP&N: If I have one quibble with the book, it’s that you have Charlie’s zaida constantly calling him “dahlink.” Don’t you think a term like that would only add to Charlie’s insecurity as a boy?
I would have preferred “boychik” as a term of endearment.
Méira: Luckily (and sometimes unluckily) we are not in charge of the terms of endearment offered us! They are what others call us. Oscar is so naturally loving, so open hearted despite his tragic experience in the Holocaust that he is the perfect friend, confidant, and grandparent for Charlie. His words to Charlie are always so filled with love that they could never make the boy feel insecure about anything. We should all be so lucky as to have a zeide like Oscar!
JP&N: I note that in past articles in our paper (beginning with a piece written long ago by my niece, Suzy Waldman), that you’ve stuck to a fairly consistent schedule when it comes to turning out something new: approximately every three years. Do you take a break between writing or do you go at it again immediately after finishing your last project?
Méira: I know many writers take breaks from writing after a large project, and I envy them. I love writing, and I wouldn’t feel healthy or grounded if I didn’t put in my time every day. I don’t work to a schedule until my publisher sets one, but I find the act of writing so necessary that I get out of sorts if I spend time away from my office.
JP&N: It goes without saying that this book is going to receive wide acclaim here in Manitoba. By the way, there were parts of the book that reminded me of Mordecai Richler when you have the email exchanges between various characters (or written notes, as the case may be). Your ability to capture someone through how they send an email, especially Ms. Kambaja, is just so real. You have such a great ear for dialogue. Does that still come from your reporting background?
Méira: Thank you for your kind words, Bernie. I’ve always loved Mordecai Richler, so the comparison is very flattering. I think my sense of dialogue comes from listening to people talk and reading good books. You need to be realistic with dialogue, but not too realistic, as real-life conversations aren’t usually interesting to outsiders. You need to write dialogue that sounds realistic but reads like fiction.
Local News
Winnipegger featured in Apple commercial highlighting new adaptive technology
By MYRON LOVE The year just past has been a memorable one for Melissa Shapiro. In recent weeks she and her boyfriend moved into their new home in East Kildonan and – in September, the daughter of Cory and Goldelyn Shapiro – was one of the featured guests at Apple Headquarters in Las Vegas for the premiere of an advertisement – produced by the tech company – highlighting Apple’s newly developed adaptive technology.
“I was flown out to California by Apple’s PR team,” recalls the 26-year-old policy analyst with the Education and Early Childhood Learning Department. “The event was held at Apple Park. It was really exciting seeing all the newest products and features.”
Shapiro, who was born missing her left arm, came to the attention of Apple as a result of Instagram videos she made demonstrating her ability to work out as an adaptive athlete. Last May, Shapiro reviewed the Apple watch’s accessibility features in a video, and it caught Apple’s attention.
“I was contacted by a casting agency in July,” she reports. “Next thing I know, we are filming in Toronto in August. I was the only Canadian involved in filming the commercial.”
Shapiro has never let her disability define her life- thanks in part both to her parents and the War Amps of Canada Child Amputee program, which reached out to her family three weeks after she was born.
“We received a lot of support – financial, recreational and emotional – from the War Amps,” she says. “Through the program, my family was able to connect with other families with similar challenges.
As well, the War Amps helped me to integrate in school and participate in sports while I was growing up by providing me with different prosthetics paid for by donations to the program.
Over the years, Shapiro ha been able to give back to the non-profit organization by appearing in War Amps public service spots highlighting such tips as playing safe in order to avoid accidents that could result in amputations. She has also been featured n War Amps-organized seminars and media appearances promoting the work of the War Amps in helping to improve the quality of life for children like Shapiro who were born missing a limb or those who lost limbs due to an accident.
“I still enjoy doing ‘playsafe’ presentations and public events for the war Amps,” she says.
Readers who may be interested in supporting this worthwhile program can donate by phone (1800 250-3030) or go online (waramps.ca).
Local News
Jewish community members among King Charles III Coronation Medal Recipients
By MYRON LOVE In stating that she was “honoured by the recognition, beyond grateful and truly humbled to receive the King Charles III coronation medal,” Carrie Shenkarow is no doubt sharing the sentiments felt by her fellow honourees. The next president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg – her term begins next year – was one of 55 recipients of the award – including several members of our Jewish community – who were presented with the medallions by Lieutenant-Governor Anita Neville on October 24 at the Legislature .
“It was an honour to be in the room with so many remarkable Manitobans,” notes Shenkarow.
She reports that, after the photo was taken, the honourees were invited back to Government House for a reception. “The Lieutenant-Governor spoke and we were encouraged to mingle with other recipients,” she recalls. “It was an incredible evening that I will never forget.”
The medal – which commemorates Charles III’s coronation on May 6, 2023, is described on the website as “a way to recognize outstanding individuals from all ages and from all walks of life who have made a difference in our community.”
The award recognizes those “who have made a significant contribution to Canada, a province, territory, region, or community in Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada”.
The other six members of our Jewish community who among the medal recipients include several individuals some who have made outsized contributions to society overall. Included among the medal recipients were Larry Vickar and Gail Asper, whose contributions both to our Jewish community and the overall community are well known.
Other recipients of the KIng Charles medal also have established records of service to the community: Harvey Secter has an impressive history of community leadership. The former businessman who – in his 40s – turned to a career in law, has served as both Dean of Law and then Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. His resumé further includes leadership roles with such diverse institutions as the United Way, St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Law Society and Manitoba Law Foundation, several hospital boards, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, the University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba.
In the blurb accompanying the King Charle III medal presentation, it was noted that Harvey Secter “has been recognized for a decades long commitment to organizations dedicated to increasing access to quality services in education, health care, social services, and recreational facilities while motivating others to engage in building an inclusive and welcoming society.”
The other three Jewish medal recipients’ contributions to society have been more narrowly focused. Michel Aziza has been most closely associated with Operation Ezra, a successful effort led by several members of our Jewish community some years back to bring members fo the persecuted Iraqi minority Yazidi community to Winnipeg and help them settle here in the aftermath of the attempted genocide of the community at the hands of the murderous ISIS terrorists in 2014.
Over the past year, Aziza and his wife, Danita, along with Einat Paz, have been organizing weekly rallies on Kenaston and Grant (by the Superstore) aimed at keeping alive the awareness of the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza.
Medal recipient Louis Trepel has focused much of his philanthropic work on the Manitoba chapter of Variety, The Children’s Charity – of which he was one of the founding members while still in his teens. Over the years, Trepel, whose family owned Ben Moss Jewellers ((Lewis’s grandfather), has – in addition to Variety – contributed to numerous other nonprofit boards and committees. Among the highlights of his philanthropic career have been co-creating the first Empty Bowls Gala for Manitoba Harvest, pioneering the first COVID-era virtual gala in Manitoba for St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, and co-chairing the 50th Anniversary Gala for Manitoba’s Rainbow Resource Centre, which garnered national attention.
According to the write-up accompanying the medal presentation, Louis Trepel’s “lasting legacy is his ongoing mentorship and inspiration of the next generation of philanthropists.”
Noam Gonick was recognized for his work as an artist and filmmaker. He has premiered and won awards at the Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Hot Docs film festivals. His features, which explore rave culture and Indigenous youth, were released theatrically in Germany, France, the US and Canada, streamed worldwide and collected by the Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Canada. He has directed for MGM, CBC and APTN. At London’s Serpentine Gallery Gonick lectured on his artwork about the semaphore of prison architecture and Queer utopias. He is currently collaborating with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet on “The Regulation of Desire” for the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.
Circling back to Carrie Shenkarow, she notes that she became involved with the Jewish Federation over 20 years ago. In recent years, she has held several positions on various committees. In 2022, she chaired the CJA campaign. She currently chairs the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Public Affairs Task Force, established after October 7, 2023, to advocate for the community and collaborate with other local organizations.
“One of the things I’m most passionate about is March of the Living,” she says. “I have been chairing the committee since 2017. I chaperoned the program in 2018. I really enjoy giving back.”
The Lieutenant Governor was not the only official allowed to nominate deserving recipients for the King Charles Medal. Members of Parliament were also encouraged to put forth nominees. A further four member of our Jewish community were thus nominated by Marty Morantz, Conservative MP for Charleswood-St. James: Einat Paz, Jessica Cogan, and brothers Robert and Sandy Shindleman from Shindico.
The medal was presented to the two commercial real estate professionals in their office in December. “We were honoured to have received the medals,” says Robert, who reports that the brothers are major supporters of the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and Alzheimers research – a condition that afflicted their mother for many years.
Morantz presented King Charles III medals to Cogan and Paz in his office on November 14. “I am proud to present Einat Paz and Jessica Cogan with the King Charles III Coronation Medal today,” he wrote n his Facebook page. “Their dedication and contributions have truly enriched our community, and it’s a privilege to congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.”
For Paz, it was her second major honour in two months. At our community’s annual Kavod evening – on September 26 – the Israeli-born social worker who is currently the Jewish Child and Family Service’s Manager of Volunteer Services became the inaugural recipient of the Federation’s new Magen David Award. She was recognized in particular for her leadership in helping – along with Michel and Danita Aziza – to organize and co-ordinate the weekly vigils – now in their 11th month – on Kenaston by the Superstore – in support of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. She has also been prominent in fostering ties between Israelis in Winnipeg and the local community.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the King Charles Medal for my community work advocating for the release of hostages and raising awareness that the rape of women is never resistance,” Paz said. “There is no justification.
“This recognition also highlights the vital importance of food security for the Jewish community, a cause close to my heart.
“I remain committed to these efforts, striving to bring justice, dignity, and support to those in need.”
Local News
Karina Gould – vying to be next leader of the Federal Liberals, has a Jewish father – and her parents met on a kibbutz!
By BERNIE BELLAN In January 2018 I conducted an interview with the late Jim Carr who, at the time, was Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. I asked Carr whether there were any other Jewish members of the Cabinet?
Carr said that Karina Gould, who was the Minister of Democratic Institutions in 2018, had a Jewish father. I didn’t know much about Gould back then, beyond recognizing her name, but the recent announcement that she has decided to enter the Liberal leadership race might be of particular interest to Jewish readers.
Gould has held a number of portfolios within the Trudeau government, most recently as House leader.
Now 35, while Gould’s entry into the Liberal leadership race would be considered something of a long shot, her relative youth – along with her experience (she has been a Member of Parliament since 2015), might make her a plausible alternative to the two more prominent candidates in the race: Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney.
With Gould’s decision to enter the race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, I thought it might be interesting to explore her Jewish roots.
In a 2021 article on the CJN website, the following was written about Karina Gould:
Gould, the member for Burlington, was first elected in 2015. She has previously served as Minister of International Development and Minister of Democratic Institutions.
Jewish on her father’s side, Gould told The CJN in 2015 that while she’s not “an active practitioner of Judaism,” she maintains her heritage through celebrating Hanukkah, Purim, and Yom Kippur.
Her paternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia. Her grandfather was deported to Theresienstadt, then to Dachau and Auschwitz. Separated during the war, her paternal grandparents were reunited afterward.
Her father met her mother, who is from Germany, while both were in Israel volunteering on Kibbutz Naot, where the sandals are made.
Gould visited Israel on a Birthright trip and stayed longer for a personal visit. “Israel is a beautiful country,” she said. “It’s unique in the world. It has difficult challenges.”
She said she believes her family heritage plays a big role in shaping her political values.
“My family was accepted and welcomed into Canada after a difficult experience,” she said. “Canadian values of tolerance and diversity were not just important for my family, but for others. Canada provided the opportunity to grow and to thrive.”
Gould was front and centre during the 2019 visit to Canada of then Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
She noted to Rivlin that since the free trade agreement between Canada and Israel was signed in 1997, the value of two-way trade had tripled, to $1.9 billion.
And under the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation, the two countries have funded close to 60 projects over the last dozen years, she added.
Ties between Canada and Israel “are long, deep and mutually beneficial,” she said.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login