Book Description

When his parents return from Kenya with a cute little green lizard on his eighth birthday (he’s two times two times two), Jacob Two-Two is thrilled. But it isn’t long before Jacob realizes that his new pet Dippy isn’t a lizard after all. And as months pass, it is apparent Dippy isn’t so little either. Soon Dippy is attracting all sorts of unwanted attention and before he knows it, Jacob is on the run from the Canadian government with a full-grown dinosaur to hide. ... Read more

Book Description

Things turn sour at Privilege House, Jacob Two-Two’s private school, when the headmaster, Mr. Goodbody, is replaced by the despicable I.M. Greedyguts. Now everything is unbearable, from geography class to the ghastly lunches made by Perfectly Loathsome Leo Louse. Worse yet, nobody’s parents believe how bad it really is. Fortunately, Jacob has a new friend he can turn to for help: X. Barnaby Dinglebat, Master Spy. ... Read more

Book Description

Poor Jacob Two-Two. Not only must he say everything twice just to be heard over his four brothers and sisters, but he finds himself the prisoner of the dreaded Hooded Fang. What had he done to deserve such a punishment? The worst crime of all – insulting a grown-up! Although he’s small, Jacob is not helpless, especially when The Infamous Two come to his aid. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Perry & Bonasera review The Hooded Fang
This book is about a young boy ( 2+2+2 years old) who is sentto a children's prison in the foggiest part of England. This prison isrun by a Former wrestler called The Hooded Fang. The Hooded Fang considers himself vile, vicious, and mean, but nobody agrees. The Intrepid Shapiro and the Fearless O'Toole plot to rescue Jacob and all the other children in the Children's Prison but there are a few kinks. A worker at the Children's prison called Mr. Fox leads them to the Children's Prison. After a great battle... I won't tell you the rest. S. Perry

Jacob Two-Two
Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang is an interesting book,about a boy and the adventures of the fearless O'Toole and intrepidShapiro. Slimers Isle is the place where bad children go and live in a horrid castle. They make terrible things like rain for picnics. They also tell the worst bedtime stories ever! This is an enjoyable book for ages 10 and up. I hope you will read this book.

Movie?
I've never read Mordecai Richler's book Jacob Two-Two, but I have seen the movie. Not the one made in the late '90s but the one from the '80s. It really freaked me out as a kid and now I can't find anywhere to buy it online. If anyone else remembers this movie or know where to find it please email me.

Thanks

You'll Go Crackers You'll Go Crackers
We liked this story because Jacob thought the Hooded Fang was funny even though he was scariest person that you have ever seen. Jacob knew he was really childish. The funniest part was when the Hooded Fang said "I want my mommy." We liked how Jacob said everything twice. We could relate to how he couldn't do the things his brothers and sisters could. One of us is still terrible at cutting bread so she feels like him when one side comes out really thick and the other is like a sheet of paper. Another kid feels like him because her sister goes to 2 hours of gymnastics and she only goes to one. Written by a club of good readers who like to read.

An Exciting Read-Aloud
As an elementary teacher, I have found this fun and hilarious book to be a younger "Harry Potter". "Jacob Two-Two" is straightforward, human, and vivid. It highlights the themes of empathy, independence, and power--a strong message about the value of every individual. I would highly recommend it for any child from grades 1-4. Excellent! ... Read more

Book Description

From Mordecai Richler, one of our greatest satirists, comes one of literature's most delightful characters, Duddy Kravitz -- in a novel that belongs in the pantheon of seminal twentieth century books.

Duddy -- the third generation of a Jewish immigrant family in Montreal -- is combative, amoral, scheming, a liar, and totally hilarious. From his street days tormenting teachers at the Jewish academy to his time hustling four jobs at once in a grand plan to "be somebody," Duddy learns about living -- and the lesson is an outrageous roller-coaster ride through the human comedy. As Richler turns his blistering commentary on love, money, and politics, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz becomes a lesson for us all...in laughter and in life. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

duddy-the little nietzsche boy!
richler's work is, though spiced with ample dose of humour, is a painful portrayal of the ruthlessnature of human ambitions. the young jewish,motherless urchin, duddy has only one goal before him, to emulate 'jerry dingleman'-the boywonder of st.urbain, montreal.duddy takes a materialist interpretation of his zeyda's profound words of wisdom, "a man without land is nobody.' this fires duddy, to embark on scheme after scheme, to pursue his goal of possessing a lake and the land surrounding it. for that he is shameless enoughto forge the signature of epileptic friend and to crush the love of yvette, the all-giving french-canadian girl friend.duddy doesn't believe in gew-gentile relationship either, after seeing how his doctor-brother was harrassed and hounded by the gentile circle. he is the jewish-avtar of nietzschen neo-man , one who is devoid of feelings like love and shame. duddy hardly bothers about the fate of ladders which he use to climb. unfortunately,for him, the end is important ; not human relationships, outside his family.

a sad/funny look at an over-achieving flim-flam man (boy)
Mordecai Richler is certainly one of Canada's best novelists.His caustic sense of humour, his self-deprecating look at life, and his sometimes thinly disguised autobiographical stories are always memorable.Imagine Joseph (Catch-22) Heller being from Montreal and you have Mordecai Richler.

Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is one of Richler's earlier and better known (..thanks to the 1970s film adaptation) works.The story centers around a young Jewish teenager (Duddy), a very abrasive and aggressive boy, striving to make money in order to buy land (thinking, like his grandpa, that if you don't own land you ain't nuttin').So Duddy gets into a strange, and hilarious, film-making business.His pushy and obnoxious behaviour both appalls and endears everyone he meets; I too was appalled and endeared.By the end of the book I felt I knew (but didn't like) Duddy.

While I did enjoy 'Duddy Kravitz' I have to say it certainly isn't Richler's best effort.I suggest Barney's Version, written some 30 years later, which demonstrates the author's abilities at his peak.

Bottom line: an endearing story of a lost youth in Montreal circa 1950.Fondly memorable.

Too real or too fake?
Some people never learn, this is a story of one of them. Some may find this books a masterpiece, a child of a genious, but in my personal opinion its "rawness", its fake reality that is represented by the main character only gives you this grim feeling, this grayness of the life that he's living, which not all of us would appreciate. I do not recommend this book to those that like to relate to the main characters in the book because the protagonist of the story is in fact an anti-hero that is not only being sadistic and cruel to those that are close to him, but also does not realize it ad even ignores the facts.
This book, though written in an original style and is easy to read, does not deserve anything but 3 stars for a the reason of being too depressing, this is the same reason why I would never give anything but 4 stars even to such hits as Brave New World. Authors could just put it in better colors...it's possible, you know.

By one of our great Canadian writers
It was my New Years Resolution to read more "literature" especially by Canadian authors.I am ashamed to say that I have managed to get this far through life without reading anything by this someone who is widely regarded as one of Canada's greatest man of letters.

This is Richler's cautionary tale about the evils of greed and unrestrained ambition.This topic has been explored by a countless other writers but seldom with as much skill as that displayed by Mr. Richler.

The main character is both repugnant and fascinating to watch. I can't recommend this enough.

hilarious... but not funny!
In a (1970) television interview Richler said that his best writing was the stuff that flowed out from him and did not require too much revision or re-writing. I think that a lot of that sort of "one-take" inspiration must have found its way into this fourth novel of his. As I read it, there was one word that kept recurring in my thoughts... "raw"! I don't think Richler is the type who had much use for a thesaurus in his study, and I say that in praise of his ability as a writer. Everything is just right up front and center with him, nothing embellished or re-written for the sake of eloquence. The result is sometimes brash, often vulgar... but all the while, it is very REAL and necessary to explain the impetuous character of Duddy. Very well written. Great bantering dialogue. Count how many times Richler puts the word "but" at the END of a sentence. It's bizarre.

This is a story of ambition run amok! A precocious upstart trying to satiate his obsessive perception of success. Duddy's particular obsession is this phrase that "a man without land is nobody!" Richler creates a fascinating (realistic, albeit despicable) character here in Duddy. There were a few redeeming moments, but most of the time I just wanted to strangle Duddy... in fact, my feelings for Duddy alternated between wanting to strangle him and then (next page) laugh at him. He's such a shyster! Often this story is hilarious, but it's really not funny. I see Duddy as a tragic figure. He consistently abuses the two people (Yvette and Virgil) who are trying the hardest to help him realize his dreams. Ultimately, Duddy has to face the fact that perhaps the only thing legendary about him are the stories that his father Max is already inventing down at Lou's Bagel and Lox Bar. There can only be one thing more miserable than someone who reaches his goals by trampling on others, and that is to find out after all the trampling... that you are no success story after all. In the end, Duddy can't even afford bus fare. He becomes a nobody... with land! ... Read more