Duddy, it's not easy to earn a living. If you went out in the trade and asked about me there are lots of men who would tell you Cohen is a lousy son of a bitch. You think I've never had troubles? You think you run a scrap yard for twenty-five years next September without accidents or lawsuits or under the table pay-offs or lies? There's not one successful businessman I know, Duddy, who hasn't got something locked in the closet. A fire, maybe. A quick bankruptcy, the swindling of a widow...funny business with a mortgage...a diddle with an insurance agent. It's either that or you go under, so decide right now. You're going to drive a taxi all your life or build a house like this and spend the winters in Miami.

More from Mordecai Richler

View all quotes →