Barney's Version
Encyclopedia
Barney's Version is a novel written by Canadian
author Mordecai Richler
, published by Knopf Canada in 1997
.
, explaining his previous memory lapses and footnote corrections by his son Michael. Barney's version of events may be viewed as that of two unreliable narrators
, in that his recollections are told from varying mental states and then posthumously edited by his son. Underlying the story of Barney's three marriages is the mysterious disappearance of his friend Boogie. Though there is no body, police suspect murder, and Barney himself is tried but acquitted of murder. An explanation for the mystery is given at the novel's end.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
author Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
, published by Knopf Canada in 1997
1997 in literature
The year 1997 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Clancy signs a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. , giving him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books . A second agreement gives him another US$25 million for a...
.
Plot summary
The story is written as if it is an autobiography by Barney Panofsky recounting his life in varying detail. At the end of the book he is diagnosed with Alzheimer's DiseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, explaining his previous memory lapses and footnote corrections by his son Michael. Barney's version of events may be viewed as that of two unreliable narrators
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
, in that his recollections are told from varying mental states and then posthumously edited by his son. Underlying the story of Barney's three marriages is the mysterious disappearance of his friend Boogie. Though there is no body, police suspect murder, and Barney himself is tried but acquitted of murder. An explanation for the mystery is given at the novel's end.
Characters
- Barney Panofsky - Main character, an English-speaking Jew from MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, going from struggling friend of artists in Paris to rich TV producer back in Quebec. - Bernard "Boogie" Moscovitch - Barney's best friend, whom he was judged not guilty of murderingMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. - Terry McIver - Barney's friend turned sworn enemy. It is McIver's published memoirs that drive Barney to write his versions of events.
- Miriam Greenberg - Barney's third wife, who leaves him for Blair. Barney always hopes that she will come back to him.
- '"The Second Mrs. Panofsky" - Barney's shallow and verbose second wife, whose name we never learn, and who leaves BarneyDivorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
at the time of the disappearance of Boogie. - Clara Charnofsky - Barney's beautiful but mentally ill first wife, whom he met in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and whose poetry from their time in Paris becomes best-selling feminist literature. - Leo Bishinsky - Barney's friend from Paris, who became a famed artist.
- Cedric Richardson a.k.a. Ismail ben Yussf - Barney's rich friend from Paris.
- Morty Herscovitch- Barney's doctor in Montreal.
- Blair Hopper né Hauptman - A draft-dodging American who is taken in by the Panofskys and eventually becomes the partner of Barney's third wife, Miriam.
- Hymie Mintzbaum - A movie producer friend of Barney's.
- Sean O'Hearne - A Sûreté du QuébecSûreté du QuébecSûreté du Québec or SQ is the provincial police force for the Canadian province of Québec...
detective, certain Barney is guilty of Boogie's homicide. - Duddy Kravitz - A character who appeared originally in Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy KravitzThe Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz (book)The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is the fourth novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler. It was first published in 1959 by André Deutsch, then adapted to the screen in 1974.-Plot and setting:...
and St. Urbain's Horseman, now a wealthy man in his sixties.
Further reading
- "Mordecai Richler, le Québec et les Juifs", Victor Teboul.