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Coney, by Amram Ducovny
reviewed by Karina Kacala
At the age of 72, Amram Ducovny (yes, father of David of X-Files fame) published his first novel, Coney. The result is a book both beleaguered and blessed by the author's obvious love for the setting and his excitement at finally fulfilling his dream of becoming a novelist. Truth be told, when revisiting the novel for this review, I was disturbed to find myself encountering many more problems with the story than I remembered. Dialogue felt forced, even cliche; plot lines needlessly complicated or simply needless. Ducovny seems so excited to be finally sharing this story that he tries to fit in every possible character, plot development, and personal memory that he ever conceived. Where was this new opinion coming from? Is it because I am now four years older and wiser, less quickly won over by a pretty turn of phrase or unexpected plot twist? Have I been spoiled by similar, more sophisticated novels, like Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay? Quite possibly, and yet there must be a reason for why this was one of the first books that came to mind when thinking through my list of favorites. My persistent admiration for the book is the product of Duconvy's vivid recounting of the exciting depravity of Coney Island, circa 1930. This was Ducovny's stomping grounds as a child, and he lovingly recreates a world that is as full of hope, magic and imagination, as it is corruption, racism, and crime. It is this landscape that remains with you, months, even years after the reading and differentiates this book as one of my favorites.The plot centers around Harry Catzker, a Jewish adolescent circulating through three Coney Island sub-cultures: his own Polish-Jewish family, gangsters, and his adopted "family" of sideshow freaks. Harry's home life consists of his Yiddish author father, beautiful but miserable mother, and two cantankerous grandparents, both of whom wield questionable medical defenses in the faces of age and illness, such as a daily dose of raw onions and an obsession with frequent and measured bowel movements. Aba, a Yiddish poet and close family friend residing in the Catzker home, is Harry's beloved source of stability, guidance, and wisdom.
Upon befriending a gangster dwarf named Woody, Harry trades in the innocence of dinners at Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs and imaginary races with the German Captain Ziegenbaum for a world of petty crime and sexual awakening. Woody sends Harry off to collect betting slips, leading Harry into the world of the Coney Island carnival freaks: Fifi, the Fat Lady; Olga, the Ugliest Woman Alive; the Dog Boy; the Blue Man; Albert-Alberta, Strong Man Otto; and the Siamese Twins, Lohu and Mohu. Naturally, Harry comes to befriend the cast of displaced characters, developing an especially close connection with "Queen Fifi."
What may otherwise come across as cliche portraits of humanity are undermined by the sense of foreboding present on practically every page. While Harry seeks out adulthood and adventure, his family unwittingly becomes involved with Victor Menter, the anti-Semitic, crippled, crime lord of Coney Island. Menter's most recent undertaking threatens Harry and his entire family, as Menter seeks to set arson to a string of homes and businesses along a prominent stretch of the island.
Joining the threat of Menter at home is the threat of Hitler abroad. From the very start of the novel till the last pages, World War II is the backdrop for the story; the relevance of the war to Jews in the U.S., as well as their powerlessness in the face of it, cannot be escaped. Hitler's menace creeps daily into the lives of the Catzkers as they encounter the demons of anti-Semitism, both from their pasts and in the present.
Despite these threats, the island remains a place of hope in the imaginations of Harry and other Coney inhabitants. Coney represents both liberation and captivity; it is a place where freedom and acceptance are possible, but not without a price. And yet, even as the novel nears its tragic conclusion, leaving this claustrophobic community is an option for neither Harry nor his family. It is a dangerous world of sex, showmanship, and the bizarre; it is a world with which any fifteen year old boy would be entranced. Just as Harry is entranced, so was Amram Ducovny. And so am I; even as I read the novel, frustrated by problems with dialogue and plot, I too am reluctant to abandon this crazy and seductive world. -Posted to The Great Hoboes of New York on February 12, 2006