Barney's Version

A 1997 novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version turned out to be his final work of fiction before his death in 2001. It was later made into a 2010 film directed by Richard Lewis.

The novel is the life story of one Barney Panofsky, a rather grumpy Montreal Jew (just like the protagonist of every other Mordecai Richler novel) who is famous for having three wives (and three divorces) and for having been accused of murdering his close friend Boogie circa 1960, for which he was acquitted at trial but judged guilty in the court of public opinion. A lifelong producer of crappy TV shows that have made him rich, Barney sets out writing his memoirs to refute what he sees as scurrilous charges made by Terry McIver, a so-called great Canadian novelist (whose work Barney finds humourless and cardboard) who he knew in Paris in the early 1950s. Thus we learn the story of Barney's life, including his relationships with Clara (wife #1), The Second Mrs. Panofsky, and Miriam (wife #3), his three children, and his friend Boogie.

The novel won the Giller Prize in 1997.


 * Canon Welding: In the same universe as several of Richler's previous novels, including The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (Duddy puts in a few cameo appearances).
 * Daddy's Girl: Barney's daughter Kate is the most supportive of his three children. He himself professes to be confused by this, since he wasn't really that involved in her childhood compared to Miriam.
 * Dirty Old Man: Barney grows up to be one.
 * Footnote Fever: Barney's manuscript is littered with mistaken allusions to film, literature, and then-current events, which his son Michael notes and corrects with footnotes.
 * Hypocritical Humor
 * Jerkass: Many people, including Barney himself.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Jewish Mother: Averted. Barney notes that unlike this stereotype, his Jewish mother was generally uninterested in how he was doing at school and spent most of her time listening to the radio. This is Richler's Take That at his own mother, who he hated.
 * Literary Agent Hypothesis: The novel is Barney Panofsky's autobiography, edited and footnoted by his son Michael.
 * Mrs. Robinson: Barney's teacher.
 * N-Word Privileges: As with many of Richler's other novels, his portrayal of some Jewish characters would probably have raised some objections had Richler not been Jewish himself.
 * No Name Given: Barney's second wife.
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: Terry McIver.
 * Soap Within a Show: Barney is the producer of a sleazy, cliched, and long-running soap opera named "O'Malley of the North".
 * Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Barney explicitly notes that this caused the downfall of his marriage to Miriam, as Barney was so dazzled by the idea that someone as beautiful and intelligent as her could love him that he became obsessed with warding off any possible threat, alienating her in the process. (The film stars Paul Giamatti as Barney, with his three wives played by Rachelle LeFevre, Minnie Driver, and Rosamund Pike; there's a noticeable attractiveness gap.)
 * Unreliable Narrator: Barney openly acknowledges taking potshots at various people he doesn't like, but does try to remember things as best he can. The footnotes and his son call to attention whether he was remembering incorrectly in places.
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Barney, in more than a few episodes of his life.
 * Women Are Wiser: Miriam (wife #3) is this; however, Clara (wife #1) is a decided aversion.