Friday, October 22, 2010

Mordecai and I... again

My review of Mordecai: The Life and Times is online at The Toronto Star.

A wee taste:
In his preface, Foran states that Richler “was a novelist who, though he debuted at 22 . . . may not have produced his finest works of fiction for another three decades.” This means that much of this biography is concerned with what can only be termed — inevitably, inescapably — a very lengthy apprenticeship. Indeed, Mordecai is not so much the story of an author slowly building toward late-career literary triumphs and vindication as an account of one who expended enormous amounts of effort chasing a stated goal — the creation of a great novel that will last — that may have eluded him right to the end.

Whole thing here.

This is my fourth kick at the Richler bio can - two previous kicks here and here (can't find the other one). I am reluctant to check, but I am fairly sure I have not repeated myself much. And if I have, oh well...

    A very subtle and funny writer - one I've become obsessed with over the past year - in a decidedly Muriel Spark mood. Imagine The Pr...