Features
First-time novelist authors best-selling book that has placed it on several “Jewish” book lists – but be prepared to be shocked
By BERNIE BELLAN A while back I was looking for a book that had somewhat of a Jewish theme but wasn’t what you might typically expect to fall into any sort of a “Jewish” oeuvre.
One title grabbed my attention as I scanned various lists of titles that had made their way on to compilations of recently recommended “Jewish” books – not only because it had excellent reviews, but because various descriptions of it that I read made it seem more like a nightmarish version of modern-day Los Angeles life than anything.
The book is “All Night Pharmacy,” written by someone by the name of Ruth Madievsky who, in her day job, is actually a pharmacist (working primarily with HIV patients at UCLA Health).
The pharmacist connection proves to be of immense importance since there are descriptions of so many illicit substances in this book that it’s hard to imagine anyone who doesn’t have a detailed acquaintance with so many of them ever being able to write so knowingly about them.
The novel’s protagonist – and narrator, whose name is never given, is 18 years old at the beginning of the story and it’s not quite clear how much time elapses by the end. She comes from a family of former Soviet Union refugees. Her mother is totally paranoid, constantly thinking that she is being pursued by the KGB, while her grandmother has been traumatized having seen her own father shot back in the Soviet Union.
Yet, aside from those passing mentions of the narrator’s quite tenuous connections to her Jewish heritage there is really nothing that would lead one to suggest “All Night Pharmacy” would be recommended reading for a “Jewish” book club per se.
But don’t let that dissuade you from taking a stab at reading this novel. Ruth Madievsky, aside from being a pharmacist, is also a poet – apparently of some renown. Her prose is incendiary in how much it crackles with descriptions of a really seedy LA.
Much of the early part of the novel takes place in a bar known as Salvation, where the narrator and her sister Debbie spend most evenings (when Debbie isn’t busy working as a stripper), fraternizing with a drug-ridden group of individuals who seem to come and go, but don’t have much in the way of storylines themselves.
Along the way of her own descent into a life of debauchery the narrator does end up with a guy by the name of Ronnie, who seems half way normal, but of whom the narrator eventually tires. As her life disintegrates around her she commits one very violent act that leads to her sister Debbie’s disappearing.
By the time she has just about reached the very abyss of despair, the narrator manages to rescue herself – at least somewhat, by taking a job as a receptionist in the emergency ward of an LA hospital. Although she doesn’t really empathize with the various unfortunate individuals who find their way into the hospital, it does seem to provide her with at least enough of a solid grounding that she can begin to free herself of the many drugs that she had been ingesting on a regular basis to that point.
Into the emergency ward one night enters a beautiful, mysterious – also Jewish, young woman by the name of Sasha, who is from Moldova. Sasha claims to be a psychic and she does exhibit an extraordinary intuitiveness about many things that leaves the narrator spellbound.
One day – and by this point the two women are living together and enjoying a physical relationship, although it’s not intrinsic to what is still quite an odd coupling, Sasha invites the narrator to come with her to Moldova.
The novel takes quite a turn at that point as we are taken to Moldova and the two women settle into a strange sort of co-existence in a former Soviet republic that has fallen into quite a state of disrepair.
Eventually the narrator returns to LA and the final part of the novel is taken up with her quest to find her long-lost sister.
There are so many twists and turns throughout “All Night Pharmacy” and the narrator ingests so many illegal substances for such a long period that it’s impossible to believe that someone so young could find her way out of a life that had spiralled out of control so badly without actually entering rehab.
Still, if you can put aside your disbelief that what you are reading is at all plausible, you will be taken on an enthralling ride.
And, why would I suggest that this book might be recommended reading for a “Jewish” book club? It would be because it touches upon many aspects of life in the 21st century that would not be uncommon for many people who, even though they might have only the slightest connection to a Jewish heritage, we could still consider Jewish.
How many young people – or older people for that matter, whose Jewish identity is almost totally forgotten, struggle with drug addiction – or other addictions? And how many others among us may have a Jewish parent or grandparent but nothing else that would distinguish us from the non-Jewish public?
In that sense “All Night Pharmacy” speaks to the reality of life in the 21st century when so many aspects of our identities are not related to anything that we might describe as “Jewish,” yet we still cling to the notion that we are Jewish – if only tenuously.
I doubt that anyone reading this book would suggest that it would have made more sense for the protagonist to find her way back to a fuller life had she attempted to put herself in touch with her Jewish roots. That wouldn’t have been authentic.
Further, it probably wouldn’t have made much difference had the author decided not to have any mention of anything Jewish in the novel at all. Yet, reading “All Night Pharmacy” says so much about Ruth Madieveky’s own background that it certainly opens one’s eyes to how someone Jewish who has experienced life in the former Soviet Union and who has a strong background in pharmaceuticals is able to integrate all those elements into a very compelling story.
Features
At 104, Besse Gurevich last original resident of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence
By MYRON LOVE At 104, Besse Gurevich is the last of the original residents of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence. She may also be the oldest member of our Jewish community.
Although her vision and her hearing have diminished considerably, her mind and memory are still intact. A few weeks back, this writer sat down with her in her suite as she recalled a life filled with highs and lows and her many contributions to her community, both in Winnipeg and Fort William before that.
The daughter of Jack and Rebecca Avit, her life’s journey began in 1921 in a home on Carlton Street near Ellice Avenue, near her father’s furniture store. He later operated a cap factory.
When she was ten, the family – she had two brothers and a sister – moved to Manitoba Avenue in the old North End. “My father had put a deposit down on a house on Scotia,” she recalls. “But my parents didn’t feel that the neighbourhood was Jewish enough.”
Her schooling included Peretz School and, like so many of her generation, St. John’s Tech (as it was known back then.) “I was actually supposed to be going to Isaac Newton for high school,” she says. We were living on the wrong side of the tracks for St. John’s. After one day at Isaac Newton, I found a way to transfer to St. John’s.”
In 1940, 19-year-old Bessie Avit married Jack Gurevich, a young man from Fort William. The wedding was marred though, by the sudden, untimely passing of her father.
Following the wedding, Besse moved with her new husband to Fort William where Jack Gurevich worked in retail clothing sales. “We lived in Fort William for 20 years,” she says. “Our three children (Judy, Richard and Howard) were born there.”
She recalls that there were about 200 Jewish families – including her sister and one of her brothers for some years – in town, during the time she lived there. “We were very well known in the community,” she recalls. “I was involved in everything.”
Her community activism continued after the family’s return to her home town. While Jack went to work as a salesman for Western Glove Works, Besse became an indefatigable community volunteer. At one time or another, she served as vice-president of ORT, Hadassah and National Council of Jewish Women in Winnipeg. She was also a long time B’nai Brith member.
In the business world, the highlight of her career was the building of Linden Woods. “I became involved in real estate development for a time,” she recalls. “I was hired by Genstar to develop Linden Woods. The company estimated that it would take about 20 years to complete. I got it done in two.”
She also taught hair dressing for a while. “I worked with many young Jewish brides,” she says.
Recent years have not been kind to Besse Gurevich. Her beloved husband, Jack, died in 2016 – after almost 65 years of marriage. Older son, Richard, passed away in Vancouver in 2018 and, most recently –six months ago – younger son, Howard, followed. She notes that there were 200 mourners at Howard’s funeral.
(Howard Gurevich was in marketing for many years before turning his talents to the art world. In recent years, he was best known for Gurevich Fine Art in the Exchange District and his support of local artists.)
Besse Gurevich celebrated her 100th birthday – which took place at the height of the Covid shutdown – quietly.
While she used to enjoy reading. she is unable to do so any more. She can still listen to television.
And while she has few family members to visit her any more, she does have a group of friends interesting enough from the local theatre scene. For many years, she was a close friend of the late Doreen Brownstone, one of the leading figures in theatre in Winnipeg for more than half a century. Besse became part of the group that would visit Doreen every week and, since Doreen passed on three years ago, the members of the group have continued to visit Besse on a weekly basis.
Features
Winnipeg author’s first novel gripping tale of romance, action and intrigue, set in 15th century Spain and Morocco
By MYRON LOVE “The Chronos of Andalucia”, a novel just released by first-time author Merom Toledano, is a historical romance set in late 15th century Spain and Morocco, filled with passion, action, intrigue, unexpected twists and turns – and, of course, with the requirement of any medieval story – a quest.
The easy-to-read, 190 page book follows the adventures of Catalina, a young woman living by her wits on the streets of Granada in the year 1487, (just after the Christian armies of Ferdinand and Isabella had recaptured all of Spain from the Moors) – while trying to evade the agents of the Inquisition, who had murdered her Jewish mother and Christian father 10 years earlier. She was left with an insatiable desire to learn about astronomy, along with a mysterious map and an astrolabe (an instrument formerly used to make astronomical measurements) – the importance of which will only be unveiled if she can get to the city of Tangier in Morocco.
Early on, there is a reference to Abraham Zacuto, a prominent Spanish rabbi famed for his knowledge of astronomy and astrology.
The action begins when she has a casual interaction with a former Spanish soldier, Diego. When the forces of the Inquisition approach, she flees with the soldier – who is also her love interest – and who helps her to escape. They turn for help to a childhood friend of Catalina’s – Roberta, a nun, who helps them on their perilous journey to Tangier – a journey that includes being captured by pirates, surviving a shipwreck, being separated for a long period of time and, of course, finding each other again and realizing the success of their joint quest.
In his writing, the author paints vivid word pictures of the different characters and beautifully invokes the colour, sights, sounds and scents of the time and the places.
What I found truly remarkable about the writing of “The Chronos of Andalucia” is that English is not Merom Toledano’s first language. The Israeli-born author – he grew up near Haifa – came to Winnipeg with his young family just eight years ago.
“I have had this book in mind for several years now,” says the satellite engineer whose working career takes him to many different parts of the world.
He notes that he has always felt a connection to Spain, Spanish music and literature – a reflection of his family’s modern origins in that country. His great-grandparents, he relates, lived in Toledo – hence the family name, Toledano. His parents lived in Meknes in Morocco while his father attended university in Tangier before making aliyah.
Toledano just published “The Chronos of Andalucia” in April on Amazon. He reports that the book – which is available here at McNally Robinson – has been selling well –close to 100 copies – with orders coming from a bookstore chain in England, a bookstore in Denmark, and one in Italy.
“I have had between 30 and 40 positive reviews so far,” he reports.
Toledano adds that he envisages “The Chronos of Andalucia” to be the first in a series – a la the writer Danielle Steele. He is already working on a sequel – which is hinted at the end of “The Chronos” and, he reports, he is establishing his own independent publishing operation.
Features
Did the Jewish Federation’s stepping in to force the firing of BB Camp co-executive director Jacob Brodovsky lead to the further alienating of many young Jews from the community?
(June 8, 2024) Introduction: We received the following email from a young Jewish Winnipegger re the BB Camp controversy, which we’ve reported on extensively on this website. We thought it important to post the email as a separate piece rather than as an add-on to an article in which we printed other emails from readers expressing their disappointment at what happened to Jacob Brodovsky, the former co-executive director of BB Camp:
Dear Mr. Bellan,
Thank you for once again cutting through the noise with your April 23rd column, “What the sordid BB Camp affair says about our community.” Your clarity and courage in calling out our rush to judgment and our narrowing definition of “Jewish identity” are deeply appreciated, especially by those of us who feel increasingly alienated in Winnipeg.
I also want to share a troubling observation about one of the loudest voices attacking Jacob Brodovsky: theJ.ca. Their articles—bylines like “Ron East” or “TheJ.ca Staff”—are, in fact, almost entirely generated by artificial intelligence. They contain no verifiable sourcing, frequently hallucinate details, and appear to be little more than a far-right newsletter running smear campaigns under the guise of “journalism.” The entire BB Camp series reads like an AI trained on extremist talking points, regurgitated daily to bully our community into silence.
As a young Jew in Winnipeg, I—and many of my peers—are horrified by the transformation we’re witnessing. What was once a warm, progressive community is now dominated by:
Bigots and Bullies: Parents threatening to pull their kids unless the camp bows to extremist demands.
Florida-style Republican Judaism: A narrow, intolerant ideology portrayed as the only “true” Jewishness.
Collapsing Leadership: Our Jewish Federation leaders, including Jeff Lieberman, have shown they lack the vision or backbone to navigate this crisis.
We stand at a dangerous inflection point. Our community is on the verge of a total and irreversible fascist takeover—an outcome no amount of regret or retrospective apologies can undo.
Please consider reading firsthand accounts from community members who have bravely spoken out:
I know this letter is anonymous and won’t be published, but I hope you see it as proof that many of us are desperate for ethical, forward-looking leadership. Thank you again for using your platform to remind us what Jewish community should mean: diversity of thought, compassion for all people, and the moral courage to call out extremism—no matter where it comes from.
This was NEVER a community of far-right Israelis. This is a shame beyond words.
With gratitude and urgency,
A Concerned Young Jew in Winnipeg
Post script: We had heard from many different sources (who all asked to remain anonymous) that the Jewish Federation’s decision to force the BB Camp board to fire Jacob Brodovsky came as a result of pressure from one or more big donors to the Combined Jewish Appeal. We sent an email to Jeff Lieberman, asking Jeff whether the Jewish Federation’s decision to force the resignation of Jacob Brodovsky as co-executive director of BB Camp came as a result of a donor (or donors) to the Combined Jewish Appeal threatening to withdraw their donation(s) this year unless Jacob were fired. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to learn that Jeff did not bother responding to my request for information.
The Jewish Federation used to advertise elections to its board in The Jewish Post & News for many years, but no longer does so (in the Jewish Post). Instead, it submits a slate of new appointees to its board to members of the current board to be rubber stamped. Is it any surprise that the donors who contribute the most money call the shots for the Federation (which is as its always been. The only difference is the Jewish Federation and the Winnipeg Jewish Community Council before it used to operate with a patina of democracy. Sadly, that is no longer the case.)
We would urge anyone on the Federation board who could give information about what led the board to force the resignation of Jacob Brodovsky to contact us. We would give full anonymity, as we have to the writer of the above letter.
-Bernie Bellan