MONTREAL – One of Canada’s foremost novelists, Mordecai Richler, died of cancer Tuesday at age 70. A statement issued by his family said his death was due to complications from cancer.
Richler was born on January 27, 1931, in Montreal, where his grandfather settled after venturing to Canada in 1904 to escape the Eastern European pogroms.
Richler securely established himself as an accomplished novelist with the publication of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959). A scintillating portrait of a young Montréal-Jewish entrepreneur, the novel is characterized by an energizing authorial ambivalence and a contrast between the comic and the pathetic. “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” was made into a film with Richard Dreyfuss in the lead role.
In his work Richler examined the culture and characters of his upbringing. In 1992, a Quebec politician tried to ban his book “Oh Canada! Oh Quebec!,” which criticized the province’s French language policies.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien said in a statement. “He was quite simply one of the most brilliant, original and celebrated artists in Canadian history whose works will continue to stand the test of time for generations to come.”
Richler was named to the Order of Canada and won the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humor. Richler’s latest book, “On Snooker,” is coming out this summer.
Mordecai Richler was survived by his wife Florence, and five children. A private funeral would be held later in the week.
- born in Montreal, Quebec
- grew up in the working class area near St. Urbain Street
- left Sir George Williams University in Montreal before finishing a degree
- went to Paris, then England (1959-72)
- in London he worked as a freelance journalist and wrote scripts for radio and television, as well as for films like Life at the Top (1965)
- during his years in England he wrote: “No matter how long I live abroad, I do feel forever rooted in St. Urbain Street. That was my time, my place, and I have elected myself to get it right.”
- returned to Montreal in 1972
- he now splits his time between London and the eastern townships of Quebec
- books have been translated into French, German, Hebrew, Italian, and Japanese
- The Acrobats (1954)
- Son of a Smaller Hero (1955)
- A Choice of Enemies (1957)
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959) made into a movie (1974)
- The Incomparable Atuk (1963)
- Cocksure (1968), won the Governor General’s award
- St. Urbain’s Horseman (1971), won the Governor General’s award
- Joshua Then and Now (1980) made into a movie (1985)
- Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989)
- Barney’s Version (1997)
Children’s books:
- Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1975) made into a movie (1977)
- Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur (1987)
autobiographical:
- Home Sweet Home (1985)
- A year in Jerusalem (1996)
Novels:
