Kalooki Nights (1999)

by Howard Jacobson

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
408	8	62,098	(3.38)	45
Life should have been sunny for Max Glickman, growing up in peacetime, with his mother's glamorous card evenings to look forward to, and photographs of his father's favorite boxers on the walls. But other voices whisper to him of Buchenwald, extermination, and the impossibility of forgetting. Fixated on the crimes which have been committed against his people, but unable to live among them, Max moves away, marries out, and draws cartoon histories of Jewish suffering in which no one, least of all the Jews, is much interested. But it's a life. Or it seems a life until Max's childhood friend, Manny is released from prison.… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)

This is a sharp and clever exploration of identity, love and family. The humour fades as the book goes on, but books that are funny throughout are very rare, so that can be forgiven.

The vibrant, crisp prose and the hilarious characterisation are the two best features of the book. It's not as good as The Finkler Question, but it's a great read in a similar vein. (

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robfwalter | Jul 31, 2023 |

IMPERDIBILE! (

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cloentrelibros | Aug 23, 2016 |

Do I give up on Jacobson? I loved all his earlier works then I got to the Henry one, which I just managed to finish. I gave up on An Act of Love and took 2 years to read this one. Will the original Howard please come back all is forgiven (

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bergs47 | Apr 7, 2015 |

This novel just wasn't for me, despite being mostly set in north Manchester and so familiar places, I found the style of the novel very difficult. It seemed too verbose and meandering for my taste and although I continued to about page 250, I couldn't face the thought of another 200 pages of reading.
Kalooki is a card game Max's mother plays and the novel is set in the years after the war. Max is friends with Manny and the novel seems to be about their relationship.
There are funny moments, but these got a bit lost in the tedium. (

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CarolKub | Nov 30, 2012 |

When Jewish novelists resort to writing about the Holocaust in the 21st century it seems so very obvious. This book is unashamedly obsessed, not just with not just Nazism but the chosen people it sought to extinguish - but just because it is knowingly obsessed doesn't make it any less trying. A weak plot and florid writing, combined with one of my least favourite topics; if this is Jacobson's masterpiece, I suppose he's not for me. (

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alexrichman | Jan 25, 2011 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Howard Jacobson	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Bragg, Bill	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction (Shortlist – 2007)

Booker Prize (Longlist – 2006)

Wingate Literary Prize (Winner – 2007)

Distinctions

San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Fiction – 2007)

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Canonical title

Kalooki Nights

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1999

People/Characters

Max Glickman

Manny Washinsky

Important places

Manchester, England, UK

Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England, UK

Cheshire, England, UK

Lancashire, England, UK

Crumpsall Park, Manchester, England, UK

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

I knew a fellow named Otto Kahn, who was a very rich man, and he gave a lot of money to the Metropolitan Opera House at one time. His close friend was Marshall P. Wilder, who was a hunchback. And they were walking down Fifth Avenue, and they came to a synagogue, and Kahn turned to Wilder and said, "You know I used to be a Jew". "Really?" said Wilder. "I used to be a hunchback."

Groucho Marx

Dedication

To Ian MacKillop

1939 - 2009

Incomparable Teacher and Friend

First words

Once when no one was buying my cartoons I took a job ripping off the Tom of Finland books for an unscrupulous pirate publisher of gay eroticism.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

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Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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▾Book descriptions

Life should have been sunny for Max Glickman, growing up in peacetime, with his mother's glamorous card evenings to look forward to, and photographs of his father's favorite boxers on the walls. But other voices whisper to him of Buchenwald, extermination, and the impossibility of forgetting. Fixated on the crimes which have been committed against his people, but unable to live among them, Max moves away, marries out, and draws cartoon histories of Jewish suffering in which no one, least of all the Jews, is much interested. But it's a life. Or it seems a life until Max's childhood friend, Manny is released from prison.

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