I was more disappointed in this book than I expected. It followed an ambitious Jewish boy from high school through adulthood, and it went through disappointments and dreams.
My own problems with this book: I found few redeeming qualities in the main character; the only character with whom I felt I could relate was not covered well enough for me to actually relate with her; I wasn't sure what the overall goal of the book was. I liked the girlfriend, but it wasn't a book about her, it was a book about Duddy. I realize that a lot of the things that I disliked about him early on were sort of excusable by his being a teenager. Actually, he was a teenager all the way through, albeit 19 in the end – JUST still a teenager. Consequently, the character couldn't be expected to act totally as a mature, completely mentally developed adult. But in that respect, the book kind of left us hanging! I know there was a movie be from it, and I intended to watch said movie (and contribute in a book club discussion), but for various logistic reasons, that was not to be, and I'm sorry that I missed out on others' viewpoints and reactions; I suppose they could have convinced me that overall, it was a worthwhile trip, but currently, I remain unconvinced.