He might be a grumpy old man
on the subject of Quebec
nationalism, but when Mordecai
Richler's subject is fiction, there's
no funnier Canadian.
That was the conclusion at the
1998 Stephen Leacock Award
for Humour luncheon yesterday,
when it was announced that
Richler was the winner for his
book Barney's Version (Knopf,
$32.95).
Richler was not present but
Knopf representative Dianne
Martin, who accepted the award
on his behalf, suggested that
despite his celebrated
grumpiness, the Montreal-based
writer becomes more appealing
as time goes on. "The older and
more curmudgeonly he gets, the
cuter he gets. I think this is
what's happening to Mordecai."
Humourist Dave Broadfoot said he, too, was often puzzled
by the Richler dichotomy.
"He writes very, very funny things, and then he writes
about Quebec and it's so nasty it's incredible," said
Broadfoot. "You'd think he hated the place, that it was
imposed on him, that he was forced to go and live there. I
mean, that's the way he writes about it."
Broadfoot said Richler's satire is brilliant, though, and
there's no question he deserved the Leacock honour.
Richler's weekly column appears in the Sunday Gazette's
Magazine section. He's the second Gazette columnist to win
a Leacock. Josh Freed won in 1995.
Barney's Version is about Barney Panofsky, a complicated,
wicked, thrice-married man who might be a drunk and even
a murderer. But when his sworn enemy threatens to publish
such things, Barney decides to write his own memoirs and
to conveniently reinvent the facts of his life.
The novel is set in the world of Duddy Kravitz and the
Gurskys that Richler fans recognize, albeit some three
decades later.
The other finalists were 1988 Leacock winner Paul
Quarrington (The Boy on the Back of the Turtle); Sandra
Shamus (A Trilogy of Performances); Carol Shields
(Larry's Party), and Antanas Sileika (Buying on Time).
The winner receives a $5,000 prize from the sponsor,
Laurentian Bank of Canada, and will be honoured in
Leacock's home town, Orillia, Ont., June 6, during the
Humour Award Weekend. There will also be a soiree and
book-signing events.
The five finalists were chosen from 41 entries published in
1997 and submitted by Canadian publishers and authors.
Eighteen of the candidates had entered before and three
were previous winners.
"I know that Mordecai will be absolutely delighted," Martin
told the audience. "Every year it seems to have more
profile, this award. It's a very important award now. And
he's very proud of his book. So I think he will be absolutely
tickled."
Founded by the Stephen Leacock Associates, the medal has
been given out since 1947. Past winners include Robertson
Davies, W.O. Mitchell, Pierre Berton, Richard Needham,
Farley Mowat and W.P. Kinsella.
One of Canada's most respected authors, Richler was born
in Montreal in 1931. He has written nine successful novels
and numerous screenplays and essays. He's won the
Governor General's Award for fiction twice and has been
short-listed for the Booker Prize. He also won the
Commonwealth Writers Prize.
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