Dietrich Kalteis

Kalteis, Dietrich, (The Get [pb, ECW Press, 2023]) 978-1770416840 [Set in historically Jewish areas of Toronto, such as the immigrant storefronts and alleyways near Kensington Market, Spadina Avenue, and University Avenue. The story follows Lenny Ovitz and Gabe Zoller, two street-wise Jewish “hoods” and extortionists working protection rackets in Toronto’s Ward Six neighborhood. Lenny works for a ruthless gangster running a collections racket out of a travel agency in Kensington Market. He and Gabe are drowning in debt after using “dirty money” to buy a tenement block they hope will be rezoned for high-rises. Lenny’s wife, Paulina Levine (whom he disparagingly calls “the princess”), demands a divorce and is waiting for him to provide her with the Get [Jewish writ of divorce] so she can be religiously free to move on. Lenny, fears she will take his assets in the divorce, leaving him exposed to his murderous creditors. He decides that the only way to solve both his money and marriage problems is to have Paulina killed. The plot escalates into a “chaotic bounce” of unpredictable directions and eruptions of violence involving crooked cops, trigger-happy criminals, and Paulina’s father—a crafty watchmaker whom others mistakenly underestimate. Reviewers have referred to the book as “darkly comic”, noting that Kalteis peppers the story with Jewish jokes and slang to lighten the mood of the crime-focused plot. Far from being seen as offensive, these additions have been described as providing a “deadpan humour” that complements the 1960s Toronto setting.The book is often viewed as an “ode to the hardscrabble life” of immigrant families in Canada. It accurately reflects the atmosphere of Kensington Market during that era, which was a hub for Jewish life and small businesses. [Google/AI]