Richler’s Version on Canadiannessness: Small country and no cultural capital

by Joyce Lin

In other words, we were no United States of America back in 1961. I would like to hear what Richler (author of our novel, Barney’s Version) has to say about Canada in 2011, but unfortunately he is no longer with us.

I just realized that it seems to be whenever I am about to begin a new literary adventure, it is the author’s background which excites me more than the reviews I hear about the story. I am soon turning 19 and I read earlier today that Richler fled Canada for Paris and Spain at the age of 19… (What the heck have I done thus far in life?!)

“Young people are leaving Canada. One, because they feel there’s no opportunity for them at home. Two, because they’re bored. Canada is too bland for their taste.”

This line from Richler’s 1961 interview on Canada (and Canada vs. USA, Canadian literature, Canadian identity and more) completely caught my attention because the relevance of this 50 year old statement to the lives of Canadian youth today can be easily identified. It’s almost funny because being an outsider or tourist, you always hear about how great Canada is (which it is in more ways than one). It isn’t until you become an insider or resident that you begin to hear about the lack of opportunities, difficulty of employment and impossibility of making a name for yourself in Canada. How many of these young people Richler was talking about do I know personally? Too many to count. I, myself, here writing a reflection about this statement because I am completing an education so that I can be prepared for such “opportunities”, is also unsure if I will stay in Canada or leave in a few year’s time…

Richler also goes on to say: “Nobody is quite sure what our culture is, or if we have any culture at all.”

He sounds almost as clueless about “his Canada” as I was writing about “My Canada” a month ago. Ha! Anyway, if you haven’t already clicked on that link to Richler’s interview at this point, you should. He is one who is not afraid to speak his mind and he has some pretty interesting things in that mind of his.
If I can answer for Richler though, to the question of whether Canada has made any progress in creating “Canadianness” since 1961, I would like to say yes. For one, I don’t think we are a “small country” anymore. The West and the East is more connected and cities-structurally and demographically-have grown since then.

A high school girl cut my hair last summer when I was visiting in Asia and I told her I had just come back from Canada. She asked me, “Canada”? I was shocked, but then she was relatively young and may have stopped her schooling already (she was working full time and looked around 15 years old). I told her it’s a country to the north of America. Then she knew what I was talking about, and then said “Really? There’s something to the north of America?!”

What I’m saying is… Why are we so concerned about identifying Canadianness? Is it because we need to distinguish ourselves from our neighbours to the south? I think to some extent, there is that pressure. And yet, if you stop and think, the forces of globalization has already began to work its magic in creating a homogenized “global” culture–which is arguably “Western” or “American”. We often note how multiculturalism is part of Canada, but as the wheels of global scale migration continue to turn in the future…how many other countries will be able to say that about themselves too?

Will the battle ever end?

Barney’s Version – a survival of scarlet fever, mumps, two muggings, crabs, the extraction of all his teeth, a hip socket replacement, a murder charge, and three wives

Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler

Barney’s Version is meant to appear as through it is the autobiography Barney Panofsky, a Jewish English-speaking Canadian who lives in Montreal.When Barney reaches the age of 67 he begins to write an autobiography of his life after showing some signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s.  The novel itself contains purposeful footnotes which Barney’s son adds into the novel to keep everything factual. He separates his life into three sections depending on which woman he is married to. His first wife, Clara commits suicide, his second wife who is only referred to as Mrs. Panofsky sleeps with his best friend, a friend who Barney is later accused of murdering, and  his third ex-wife, Miriam, Barney hopes to one day win back.  The novel begins in 1950 and ends in about 1996.   In a short description of his life, Barney states “I’ve survived scarlet fever, mumps, two muggings, crabs, the extraction of all my teeth, a hip socket replacement, a murder charge, and three wives”(13).

In one line of the book Barney says that “we are defining Canada to Canadians… we are this county’s memory, its soul, its hypostasis, the last defense against our being being overwhelmed by the egregious cultural imperialists to the south of us” (5).

Barney as a character is believed to be a reflection of Richler himself, and is described to be “a hard-drinking, hard-smoking, foul-mouthed, hedonistic writer and producer”.  Throughout the novel, a unique Canadian feeling which Barney hints at is the subtle criticism against sovereign feelings from Quebecers, referring to a major Canadian issue of the 1995 Quebec Referendum.

Barney’s Version has won multiple awards including the 1997 Giller Prize and the 1998 Stephen Leacock Award for Humour. In 2010 Barney’s Version was made into a film adaption starring Paul Giamatti. The movie also won multiple awards including a  Golden Globe award for best actor in a comedy film for Giamatti.

Barney’s Version