Cultural Messages in Solomon Gursky Was Here Solomon Gursky Was Here is an epic novel that spans nearly a century and a half, from the mid-1800s to the 1980s. It is the story of the obsession of Moses Berger, a Rhodes scholar turned alcoholic, with Solomon Gursky, the charismatic son of a poor immigrant. Solomon, with his brother Bernard and Morrie, built the enormous McTavish Industries liquor empire. Moses is attempting to write a biography of Solomon, which becomes his life's work. Through his investigations, the complex story of five generations of Gurskys is revealed. The eldest is Ephraim, Solomon's criminal and perpetually scheming grandfather. Ephraim, constantly associated with the Crow, escaped from captivity in England in the mid-1800s by forging documents, even allowing him to join a crew searching for the Northwest Passage, called the Franklin Expedition. The expedition turned into a total disaster, Ephraim, the only survivor. The youngest Gursky who appears in this story is Isaac, Solomon's nephew. This complex story reveals, as Moses remembers, all the events of his life that concern him. Ever present in this Canadian cultural satire is the theme of filial relationships and the exploration of Solomon and his reincarnation as Sir Hyman Kaplansky, along with his family and their exploits. Every character in this novel is corrupt or failed in some way. Moses is an alcoholic who hasn't lived up to his potential; Bernard is a greedy, self-centered bastard; Solomon is a hustler, when it comes to gambling, women, and anything else you can think of. Richler, through this exaggeration of corruption, a family... of half a newspaper... an Ursky family and their different interests, lifestyles and businesses, allows Richler's readers to capture many parts of Canada in many different time periods . This in turn allows him to satirize stereotypes of Canada, its people and its culture. Added to the idea of ​​corruption, which enhances this satire, are the filial relationships that occur in this novel. The fact that all these relationships are unsuccessful and less than cordial reinforces the idea that all Canadian roots are somehow corrupt or failed. Richler, shows how these traits are passed down from generation to generation. There is no doubt that Solomon, one of the most corrupt characters in the book, becomes Sir Hyman after his staged death. Richler tied his complex story of Solomon Gursky, his family, and their exploits to his cultural messages