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14 Charles Foran
There are those who think of Mordecai Richler simply as the embodiment of the hard drinking, chain smoking,
typewriter-pounding writers of the 40s and 50s. But the lion of Canadian literature, as Charles Foran makes
clear in his essential biography, Mordecai: The Life & Times, was far too complex to be so narrowly defined. Although he spent considerable
time living in Paris and London and was arguably Canada’s first writer to attain international stature, Richler’s work was intrinsically influenced by
the place of his birth and youth: Montreal’s Jewish ghetto of the 1930s and 40s. Well before Toronto and Vancouver had branded themselves, Montreal
was the closest thing Canada had to a “world class” city. Its pull on Richler was irresistible and he returned with his family for good in 1972.
Charles Foran is the author of eight previous books including the novels Carolan’s Farewell and House On Fire and the award-winning
work The Last House of Ulster. He was awarded the 2010 Charles Taylor Prize for Non-Fiction.
Photo: James Lahey
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