Status
Call number
Genres
Publication
Description
“No, for wasn’t this the chance he had always wanted? Wasn’t he at long last an adventurer, a man who had gambled all on one horse, a horse coloured Canada, which now by hook or by crook would carry him to fame and fortune?” Meet Ginger Coffey, the irrepressible fortune-hunter of Brian Moore’s award-winning novel. The Luck of Ginger Coffey is the robust, funny, sometimes tragic tale of one unforgettable Irish immigrant to Montreal. Buoyed by unfailing optimism, Ginger confronts the ugly realities of life in the New World. Jobs are scarce, people often inhuman. And dreams of glory do not offer any lasting escape from the hard pinch of poverty. In spite of the battering he receives in his struggle for survival, Ginger Coffey emerges a true hero – the “little” man who can be defeated by anything, except life itself. The Luck of Ginger Coffey was awarded the Governor General’s Award for Fiction in 1960 and was made into a critically acclaimed motion picture.… (more)
User reviews
Ginger really is a loser – the ne’er-do-well who got by on his charm and connections at “home” but who isn’t willing to take a step down and make his way by working hard here.
Read this if: you’ve read some Richler and want to compare and contrast the Irish and the Jewish immigrant experiences; or you’re interested in the twentieth century Irish experience in Canada. 4 stars