Mordecai Richler

Mordecai Richler (1931-2001), Canadian novelist, born in Montreal. He lived in Paris for a year where he was influenced by Existentialist writers. His first novel, The Acrobats (1954), concerns a Canadian painter living among Spanish revolutionaries. Richler lived in England for several years, but his subsequent books deal realistically with the urban environment in which he grew up. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959), a satirical look at the transformation of a Canadian Jewish boy into a calculating businessman, was made into a successful film. Other novels include St Urbain's Horsemen (1971), Joshua, Then and Now (1980), which was also made into a film, and Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989). Generations of children have enjoyed his tall tales about a small boy, Jacob Two-Two, who automatically repeats everything he says. The first book in the series, Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1975), has been filmed twice.

Richler was an essayist of note. Among his collections are Hunting Tigers Under Glass (1969) and Home Sweet Home: My Canadian Album (1984), a mix of autobiography and journalistic essays. He was also the author of the controversial critique Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! (1992).

After a break of a few years from writing fiction, Richler published his tenth novel in 1997. Barney's Version follows the exploits of the cantankerous misogynist Barney Panofsky in Montreal, London, and Paris. It was a runaway success worldwide, but particularly so in Italy.

At the time of his death in July 2001, Richler was at work on a new book, On Snooker, which was to be his take on the game.