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
Marty Green expands his protest against extremist Jewish settlers to two more venues – and continues to be arrested – despite the Crown having dropped all charges
(Monday, November 9) In earlier posts we wrote about Marty Green having been arrested several times after continuing to protest Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians on the West Bank.
Here is an update to what has been happening to Marty:
The Rady JCC was quick to call police on the weekend to have Marty Green arrested for the third time since September. Released after his original arrest on September 23, and again, after his subsequent arrest on October 14 – even after Green’s agreeing to an undertaking not to return to the campus, police charged Green yet again – this time on November 7. The charge this time was breaching his release conditions. His placard, which proclaims the IDF to be complicit in outrages carried out by settlers in the West Bank, was confiscated by the Major Crimes unit, which is investigating him for hate crimes.
However, Green suggests the Campus ought not to celebrate prematurely. He disputes the Breach charges, saying that the Crown Prosecutor had already decided not to proceed with the earlier charges that were filed last month and, as a result, the restraining order that had been imposed upon him was, therefore, null and void at the time he was arrested on November 7.
Green says that the police eventually realized that was a problem, which is why they decided to add a new charge of “Disturbing the Peace.” Green describes this new charge – based as it was on conduct identical to the earlier conduct which the Crown investigated and decided not to prosecute – as a “shallow pretext for once again interfering with (his) hard-fought right to Freedom of Expression.” He further claims the confiscation of his placard prevents him from communicating its message “even in places where (he) still has every legal right to protest.”
The final word, according to Green? The campus may not have seen the last of him, his placard, his accordion… and his little dog, too.
(Tuesday, October 27) We received the following press release about Marty Green being arrested again, both at the University of Manitoba and at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue:
Both sides came to blows on Saturday, October 24, at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue as security personnel sought to prevent Marty Green from interfering with synagogue traffic as he protested just outside synagogue grounds against the actions of religious settlers in Israel’s occupied West Bank territory. Synagogue Executive Director Rena Secter Elbaze quickly intervened to prevent further escalation. Police arrived shorty thereafter and detained Green for 45 minutes before driving him home and releasing him. It is not clear whether their decision not to lay charges was the result of their own onsite investigation or whether it was at the request of the synagogue executive.
Green has now been arrested four times in the last month and faces multiple charges for disturbing the peace, including two episodes at the Asper Campus and one more this past Friday (Oct. 23) at the University of Manitoba. While Green says initially he was merely handing out leaflets (at the Asper Campus), since his first arrest on September 23, he has returned to the campus with a large placard and an acccordion, accompanying himself while singing songs with lyrics that include such phrases as “The Jews Are Bananas….B-A-N-A-N-A-S”. In addition to listing actions of the religious settlers as including arson, vandalism, and theft, he pointedly alleges that the IDF has been backing up the settlers in their actions.
Green had earlier notified the Shaarey Zedek that he was contemplating bringing his protest to the synagogue. He was told that if he attempted to enter the grounds he would be prevented from doing so. At that time, Secter Elbaze told Green that his intentions were inappropriate, declaring the synagogue to be “a house of worship dedicated to prayer, learning, community, and spiritual engagement.” Green responded that if the synagogue were willing to contact the Crown and inform them that “that there was never any legal basis for their claims that I was conducting myself inappropriately at the Asper Campus” (with regard to his earlier arrests) that he would “voluntarily refrain from carrying his informational campaign to the synagogue(s).”
Green further argues that the recent “psak” (religious ruling) by leading Israeli rabbi Rov Dov Lior, in which Lior declares that it is not merely permissible but praiseworthy for Jews to steal olives from Arab orchards….that this ruling brings his protest within the proper realm of religious discourse. He says further that if the local rabbis were willing to speak out to their congregations against the aforesaid psak, that he might have refrained from taking his campaign to their grounds.
Although Green was released on Saturday without charges, police confiscated his placard. They explained that it was being held as evidence pending an investigation by Major Crimes as to whether it constituted hate literature.
There was no further information given as to what happened at the University of Manitoba.
Local News
Former Winnipegger Adam Druxman living the Hollywood dream
By MYRON LOVE A dwindling number of Post readers may still remember the song “You Ought to be in Pictures.” Adam Druxman may not be in “pictures,” but his life’ s work is the next best thing. For almost 40 years, the former Winnipegger has had the privilege of being behind the camera helping to make magic happen.
“I always loved the movies,” says the son of the late George Druxman and the recently deceased Joan Druxman. But, growing up in Winnipeg (Old Tuxedo largely),” he recalls, “the prospect of actually having a career in movies in the ‘80s was quite a reach.”
As a young adult, the closest Druxman came to the movie business was working for Adi’s Video Shoppe (which most of us of an older generation will no doubt remember). Ultimately, it was a chance exposure to the Winnipeg Film Group that turned out to be his entry into film production.
The young, aspiring filmmaker signed up in 1988 to take a course in filmmaking – through the WFG – with acclaimed Winnpeg-based filmmaker John Paisz.
“From John, I learned to write, shoot and edit a film,” Druxman recalls. “At that moment, I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
With a grant from the National Film Board of Canada and the WFG, the young filmmaker created a five-minute film called “The Guinea Pig Age,” a satirical look at how humans have become test subjects for products and the environment.
The next evolution in Druxman’s pursuit came in 1989 with a move to Toronto where he hoped to enrol in Ryerson’s film program. “I decided in August that I wanted to go to film school, but it was way too late for enrolment,” he recounts. “I wasn’t able to get into the program until the following year, but I decided to move to Toronto anyway. That was my first time living away from home. I enrolled in some night courses and and also began looking for a job.”
He was, he says, encouraged to seek work in the industry as a production assistant – essentially a “gofer”, he points out. “I didn’t know that was a thing I could do. So I send out 1,000 resumés –with nothing on them because I didn’t have any experience.”
His break came when he got a call at 2:00 A.M. from a production company looking for a production assistant. “My roommate, Shanno Zaslov, answered the phone,” he recounts. “She was so excited that I had received a call that she told them not to contact anyone else while she tried to find me at a surprise birthday party. After that first job, I never looked back.”
Over the past nearly 40 years, Druxman has never been out of work for long.
His first credited role – as third assistant director – was in a 1992 production called “Stay Tuned, shot” in Vancouver. It starred Pam Dawber (of “Mork and Mindy” fame) and the late John Ritter. Druxman’s responsibilities included organizing the extras, maintaining quiet on the set, blocking out pedestrians and outside traffic during a take, helping to ferry actors between their trailers and the set, and alerting the performers.
After that movie, Druxman moved to Los Angeles. He was soon promoted to second assistant director and – four years later – was promoted to first assistant director – a role he has performed with distinction ever since.
“ As first assistant director,” he continues, “in prep, you manage scheduling, logistics, day-to-day operations and locations. During the shoot, you run the set, give cast and crew their call times, deal with issues such as weather delays, safety on the set, and manage the time of the shooting day.”
Among the better known movies that Druxman has been involved with have been: Adam Sandler’s “The Waterboy,” “50 First Dates,” “Boogie Nights,” “Transformers,” “Magnolia,” and two of the “Super Trooper” films.
Some of the TV series that he has worked on have included: “Weeds,” “Prison Break,” “Fargo,, Dark Matters,” “Las Vegas,” and “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” – a remake of the popular series first created by Carl Sagan 45 years ago.
“The crazy thing about living in LA,” Druxman observes, “is that I could drop in at any random Starbucks for a cup of coffee and run into a writer or director who might ask if I am available for a movie or TV show.”
It was a tough decision for Druxman to leave LA behind and move his family to Seattle about 14 years ago. “”We moved to Seattle to be closer to my wife’s family while our son was in his formative years,” he says.
Druxman admits that it was scary leaving LA. “At first, I was didn’t tell anyone I had left LA,” he recalls. “I was afraid that some producers wouldn’t consider using me because I wasn’t in LA anymore.”
Nonetheless, he felt confident that he was well-established in the industry and that – with movie and TV production largely moving out of what used to be described as “the movie capital,” -he would still be in demand. His assumption turned out to be correct.
Seven years ago he and his family moved again – this time to Chicago – after working on the movie “Candyman.”
“Housing was far more affordable in Chicago as compared to Seattle,” he says. “I had shot in Chicago four times before. I love Chicago. It’s a beautiful city. And I love the people here. It’s like a giant Winnipeg.”
“I’ve been lucky to have had a good career and met a lot of great people over the years,” Druxman says.
Currently, Druxman notes, he is in between projects. It is always a concern, he concedes – either feast or famine – especially since the industry is going through a lot of changes between the Covid lockdowns, multiple union strikes, the streaming services reducing their content, and more production going overseas. But, he remains confident that something will turn up sooner or later.
“This business is cyclical,” he observes. “There is always a ying to the yang.”
Local News
Young entrepreneur Jonah Shapiro balances business pursuits with university studies
By MYRON LOVE While most of us may not know what we wanted to do for a living when we “grew up,” Jonah Shapiro is an exception. The son of Sean and Kera Shapiro has been in business for himself since he was 14. Currently, he is balancing the responsibilities of running two businesses while taking commerce courses at Huron University in London, Ontario.
The entrepreneur’s business career began six years ago while in Grade 9 at St. John’s-Ravenscourt – evolving out of a business class he was taking at the school. “My project,” he recounts, “was marketing a golf shirt brand. After six months, the business was so successful that I expanded my product line to include team and club apparel.”
His first customers, Shapiro recalls, were students in his class. He then took over providing BBYO apparel. (He served as BBYO treasurer for two years.) He was soon providing apparel for local high school teams, businesses and specific events.
“It was rather challenging at first getting my foot in the door, he concedes. “Here I was, 14 years old, showing up and having had to have my father drive me to the appointments.”
Nonetheless, he made enough of an impression that he was soon receiving a lot of referrals.
Last September (in 2025), Shapiro began classes at Huron University with Advanced Entry to the Ivey School of Business at Western University in London, Ontario.
At the same time, he officially incorporated “Student Merch”- and expanded his reach nationally. The online Student Merch provides custom apparel and other merchandise for Canadian university groups.
Shapiro reports that he currently has contracts with student groups at Western, Queens, UBC, McMaster, McGill and York. “There are more than 300 universities across Canada,” he says. “We will soon have ambassadors at all of them.”
This past summer, the enterprising young man started a second business venture in his home town. “Benny’s Home Services” cleans windows. Shapiro reports that Benny’s provided its services over the summer to 325 customers in and around Winnipeg. This past summer, he says, the Benny’s team also provided its service to BB Camp – where Shapiro was a camper for many years as well as a counselor – free of charge.
He notes that the Winnipeg company has a crew of 14. With Student Merch, Shapiro handles all the managerial work by himself.
This fall, the young entrepreneur received some prestigious recognition. He was one of 12 students to participate in the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship’ s Founders Program, which recognizes Western’s top student entrepreneurs and community builders and pairs them with alumni mentors, along with an opportunity for leadership roles within the Morrissette Institute. The inclusion in the program comes with a $20,000 scholarship.
The newest feather in Shapiro’s cap is his being invited to be a part of Tangerine Bank’s brand new Tangerine Business – a mobile-first digital banking platform for Canadian entrepreneurs and small businesses. Tangerine is Canada’s original digital bank.
“Tangerine asked entrepreneurs across Canada to help develop its new banking program,” he says. “I was invited to provide a young entrepreneur’s perspective.”
No doubt about it, to use an old phrase: “The world is currently Jonah Shapiro’s oyster,” and his potential would seem to be unlimited. I am sure readers will be interested to follow his career achievements over the coming years.
