Wolfy and the Strudelbakers

by Zvi Jagendorf

An enchanting blend of humour and crisp observation in a story of Jewish exiles in Britain. Set in wartime and post-war England Wolfy and the Strudelbakers is a comic take on the disaster zone of displacement and exile. Wolfy lives with the ‘strudelbakers’—his super-critical aunt and melancholy uncle—in the surrealistic world of refugees granted shelter from persecution. He is an expert at living in two cultures—the chaotic, dark world of uprooted people desperately hanging on to their Jewish religion—and the vitality, variety and temptation he finds in London’s streets.

"A most impressive novel full of narrative power and unforgettable description."—Jewish Chronicle

"The delight is in the comic detail, even when the matter is serious."—The Times

Zvi Jagendorf teaches English and Theatre Studies at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Genres: Jewish, Historical Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

Reviews

[Merilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful and poignant Booker long-lister (2001) about a young Jewish boy who escapes from Vienna to England right after Kristallnacht. The Strudelmakers are his aunt and uncle who make strudel on their square green table. I recommend this to Barbara, Maria, and Sheryll in particular - Cynthia, too.

[Siv30 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"הסיפור הוא סיפורו של וולפי הלפגוט, נער יהודי שהיגר עם הוריו לאנגליה ערב מלחמת העולם השניה. בד בבד זהו סיפורה של משפחת פליטים יהודית אחת שחלקה היגר בצורה מפתיעה ל""פלשתינה"" וחלק אחר שלה היגר לאנגליה. בעיקר סיפור התבגרותו ועיצוב דמותו של וויל הלפגו הבוגר שמחפש את דרכו הביתה ולא מוצא גם כאשר הוא מתבגר. הסיפור נכתב מ""יד ראשונה"" כאשר הדובר הוא וולפי בעצמו המספר לנו על חיי הוריו, דודיו והענף המשפחתי הרחוק. המחבר מטיב לשרטט ביד עדינה את מארג החיים של הפליטים היהודיים תוך שהוא קורץ (מבלי ללעוג) למנהגים ותבניות חיים. הוא מתאר לקורא את ההסתגלות הקשה של הפליטים היהודיים לחברה האנגלית ביחוד הפערים הדתיים שגורמים לקשיי הטמעות בסביבה. הכותב מנצל את ההזדמנות גם להאיר את חיו החברתיים והרגשיים של הנער המתבגר תוך שהוא מציב את בן דודו (ברני) כנקודת ייחוס להתפתחותו של וולפי. למרות שהמשפחה כביכול פליטי שואה, הספר לא קודר והיא רק נמצאת ברקע הדברים. הספר משעשע, עצוב, ראלי וכואב את כאבם של אלה שלא השתחררו מהגלות ומהשאיפה שלעולם לא נמחקה לחזור לרכושם וביתם מלפני הבריחה. מומלץ בחום. "

[Siobhan Markwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

After an unpromising start where I thought the book another true-to-type self-deprecating humour book of the 90s and noughties, the book started to inspire real empathy and an insight into the struggles of the reluctant European Jewish diaspora during and after the war. Jagendorf gives us a young boys acute observations on the foibles and heartaches of his parents' generation, who lost everything after Kristallnacht and had to make do and mend in North London. The streets where Hackney meets Haringey and Arsenal provide the main community-knitting entertainment are recognisable. The end though? What happened. With indecent haste, the book is gathered and swept to a conclusion that reflects on the fate that man was born for and the ache of those without a real home. Bouncing between London and Tel Aviv, I had a feeling that the writer had lost faith in or time for the original narrative arc and cobbled together a few final chapters. That said, there's plenty to enjoy.

[Anat · Rating 5 out of 5]

זהו סיפורו של וולפי, ילד פליט יהודי מוינה שהצליח להימלט עם הוריו לאנגליה ערב מלחה"ע ה-2. בשונה מספרים אחרים אין פה רצף סיפורי אלא זהו אוסף של סיפורים קצרים שמתרחשים לאורך התבגרותו של וולפי.
האווירה בספר היא מאוד יהודית, לעיתים די עצובה אך עם נגיעות של הומור, הרגשתי כאילו אני קוראת את הגרסה המודרנית של שלום עליכם. נשאבתי פנימה מהעמוד הראשון גם בגלל הסיפור עצמו וגם בגלל הכתיבה היפה. מומלץ בחום!

[Ben Pashkoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

a series of vignettes of growing during the WW II era in Vienna and London. His life is a series of tragic uprootings, and in the end it seems he is left with no family, no roots, no base. A real sad tragedy. In addition, a bit difficult to follow as to when and where Wolf/Will is and when.

[Victoria Pearson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A confusing series of short stories that jumped around all over the place making it hard to follow. It was easy to read, but did not engage my interest or sympathy. I missed the surreal and humorous elements that I was assured were in there.

[Sibyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a stunning novel, which enjoyed a brief moment in the limelight, when it got longlisted for the Booker around 8 years back. Since then it seems to have fallen - quite unjustly - into obscurity.

Structurally it's more like a linked series of short stories - which are shot through with noir humour. It brilliantly captures the insecurity and the dogged determination of a Jewishfamily (and some of their friends) who manage to escaped from Vienna in the late 30s. Some of them went to Tel Aviv but others ended up in England. The eponymous Wolfy is in the latter group. Rather than seeking to document the suffering that lies in the near past, Zvi Jagendorf's an imaginative writer who concentrates on evoking the signifcance of apparently small moments. For example, Wolfy's anguish when he leaves the fringed garment he has to wear, at the school swimming baths. Or the boy's dawning realistation that the adults around him have complicated secret lives.

It is possible that this book - which is published by a small press - mayb out of print. If that's the case, there are second-hand copies which can be ordered online. Anyone interested in short fiction, and/or in writing which examines growing up as an 'outsider' in England, should do their best to get hold of this book.

[atwiglikeme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knjižicu sam odabrala zbog teme odrastanja koja me uvijek nekako privuče, a ova za glavnog junaka ima dječaka, izbjeglicu, austrijskog Židova koji odrasta u Engleskoj za vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata.
Kroz poglavlja postavljena gotovo kao zasebne pripovjetke upoznajemo židovsku obitelj koja nakon napada na Židove, Kristallnachta, iz Beča bježi u Englesku gdje ih čeka novi jezik, nova kultura, i novi status – izbjeglica.
Priče kao što je ova su primarno mračne i klaustrofobične, no kroz sivilo probijaju ružičaste naočale pred-pubertetlije koji samo želi preživjeti svoje djetinstvo izgubljen u dvostrukim pravilima svijeta odraslih.
Roman mi je bio čitak, no na kraju nije nudio nikakvo rješenje. Obitelj se nikada u potpunosti ne integrira u društvo, okružuje se poznanicima iz "prošlog života", vječno kovčega spremnog za daljnji put...

[Iva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Određeni dijelovi su mi se strašno svidjeli, kao i stil pisanja, ali sam pred kraj čitala s mukom i samo čekala da završim.