Jewish boycumchampion Boxer Embodies Destructive Force of Racism



May 20, 2005 -- Karen X. Tulchinsky captures the destructive legacy of racial violence embodied by one, Sonny Lapinksy, in The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky. She has successfully marshaled her research of boxing from the 1930s to 50s, the race riot at Christie Pits (the largest riot in Canadian history), and the battlefields of the Second World War to create this historical novel.

Historian Moses Lapinsky is transported back to the pivotal events in his father's life as he writes a biography intended to clear the ex-boxer's reputation. One such event was a sweltering night in August 1933 during a softball game at Christie Pits field. Jewish youths charged at Swastika-wielding opponents, setting off a four-hour race riot that would change the Lapinsky family forever.

The title is a playful take on a biblical reference: The Five Books of Moses are the first five books of the Bible known as the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers) describing the creation of a family and a race of people, and the salvation and growth of that people in new land. As the modern-day biographer revisits Sonny's destitute childhood during the Great Depression, the family's losses in the fight against Hitler and Nazi Germany, and the mixed blessing of boxing fame, Moses seeks salvation for his father and family.

While the terror of Russian pogroms, battlefield disasters, and violent race riots haunt this story, it is also filled with humor and humanity. The National Post writes, "Karen X. Tulchinsky's latest novel might be considered old fashioned in the very best sense: it's got lots of heart."

Karen X. Tulchinsky is the author of two books from Polestar: Love Ruins Everything and its popular sequel, Love and Other Ruins. She is the editor of nine anthologies of contemporary fiction and has written for numerous magazines and newspapers. Karen has also written several screenplays and was recently a resident in the writers' lab of the prestigious Canadian Film Centre in Toronto, founded by Norman Jewison. Karen grew up in Toronto and now lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Karen X. Tulchinsky and Lisa Moore (author of Open) will be on tour May 22 through May 31:

Event Schedule
Reading with Tulchinsky and Moore   
May 22, 2005   
Sunday   
4:00 p.m.   
   
Barnes & Noble, Rockville   
12089 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852   
301-881-2361   

Reading with Tulchinsky and Moore   
May 23, 2005   
Monday   
7:00 p.m.   
   
McNally Robinson Booksellers   
50 Prince Street, New York, NY    
212-274-1160   

Reading with Tulchinsky and Moore
May 25, 2005   
Wednesday   
7:30 p.m.   
   
Modern Times Bookstore   
888 Valencia Street   
415-431-0891   

Reading with Tulchinsky and Moore   
May 26, 2005   
Thursday   
7:30 p.m.
   
Powells on Hawthorne   
3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR   
503-228-4651   

Reading with Tulchinsky and Moore   
May 27, 2005   
Friday   
6:30 p.m.   
   
Third Place Books   
17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155   
206-366-3333   

Reading with Tulchinsky and Moore   
May 28, 2005   
Saturday   
206-624-6600   
   
Elliott Bay Books   
Seattle   
7:30 p.m.   

Reading with Tulchinsky and Moore   
May 31, 2005   
Tuesday   
7:30 p.m.   
   
Village Books   
1200 11th, Bellingham, WA 98225   
360-734-1599





Jewish boycumchampion Boxer Embodies Destructive Force of Racism