Barney’s Version

Mordecai Richler

1997

Once Clara asked me, “How come your family emigrated to Canada, of all places? I thought the Jews went to New York.”

I was born Canadian, I explained, because my grandfather, a ritual slaughterer, was short two sawbucks and a fin. It was 1902 when Moishe and Malka Panofsky, newly wed, went to be interviewed by Simcha Debrofsky of the Jewish…

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Creator Bio

Mordecai Richler

1931–2001

Mordecai Richler, a Montreal-born writer who captured the essence of that city’s Jewish community, was the author of novels, screenplays, children’s books, and numerous essays. His often-satirical fictional works featured Jewish Canadian protagonists, and his journalistic essays frequently criticized Canada. Richler received many honors, including a 1974 Academy Award nomination, the Giller Prize, the Stephen Leacock Award, and the title Companion of the Order of Canada.

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