Mordecai Richler

Mordecai Richler (born Jan. 27, 1931, Montreal, Que., Can.—died July 3, 2001, Montreal) was a prominent Canadian novelist whose incisive and penetrating works explore fundamental human dilemmas and values.

Richler attended Sir George Williams University, Montreal (1950–51), and then lived in Paris (1951–52), where he was influenced and stimulated by Existentialist authors. Returning to Canada (1952), Richler published the novel The Acrobats (1954). Set in Spain, it deals with the experiences of a young Canadian painter with a group of disillusioned expatriates and revolutionaries. Shortly afterward Richler settled in England. He returned to Montreal in the 1970s. His subsequent novels, which manifest evidence of the poverty and anti-Semitism he experienced during his early years, include Son of a Smaller Hero (1955) and A Choice of Enemies (1957), both dealing with angry, confused modern heroes; The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959), a bawdy and sometimes farcical account of a Jewish boy in Montreal and his transformation into a ruthless and amoral businessman, which was made into a film from his screenplay in 1974; and The Incomparable Atuk (1963), which contains amusing descriptions of the powerful men who control the communications industries. Cocksure (1968) is concerned with an American attempt to take over a British publishing house. St. Urbain’s Horseman (1971; television miniseries 2007) concerns a Canadian director’s trial for sodomy and assault in London. Richler’s books, which were noted for their honesty and biting satire, often caused much controversy. Other works include a collection of humorous essays, Notes on an Endangered Species and Others (1974); the Jacob Two-Two series of children’s books (1975, 1987, 1995); and the novels Joshua Then and Now (1980; filmed 1985), Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989), and Barney’s Version (1998; filmed 2010). Richler was awarded the Order of Canada in 1999.