What we read
This novel received rave reviews when it came out in 1997. To me, it is a welcome addition to the canon of Canadiana, overly populated with the dryly morose (e.g., Atwood), or the cheesy (e.g, Anne of Green Gables, Who Has Seen the Wind). While none of the fine members of CLJ could readily identify with the whiskey-swilling, cigar-puffing Barney Panofsky, everyone certainly enjoyed following his trials and tribulations in this last and funniest novel by literary icon Richler.
What we Did
The group discussed the novel over delicious pizza followed by attending the move adaptation, aptly named, well, “Barney’s Version.” To win the prize of the CLJ trophy and a mickey of pretend-Macallan whiskey, Barney’s booze of choice, people were asked to present their own “version” – some sort of autobiographical account of an event or incident in their life around for which there were conflicting interpretations, emulating Barney’s own account of the murder/accident by the lake. The stories were generally hilarious, ridiculous and improvisational. Kurt delivered a schizo tirade with an impressive southern twang, but John stole the show with his telling of a Lennoxville adventure during his Bishops days, scoring particularly high in the curmudgeon and geographically relevant (Go Quebec!) categories.
Pizza was followed by the movie at 5th Ave cinema and its delicious frozen yoghurt (!). Amazing. The fun didn’t stop there with a splinter group heading to a 4th Ave. Hell’s Kitchen for a post mortum on the movie/book. All very good times.
What we Thought
Both the book and the movie were a big hit with the kids. There was no denying that Richler’s humour kept us engaged over 300+ pages, while Dustin Hoffman (Barney’s Dad) and Paul Giamatti (Barney) were, as usual, brilliant. No one particularly liked Barney as a character, but most agreed that this was hardly Richler’s concern when conjuring up a foul-mouthed grump who produces second rate miniseries for a living. I think I was in the minority in complaining that the movie “Hollywoodized” / overly sanitized the book a bit. Lastly, I’m not sure this book lent itself so well to a book club only that it was thin on themes and issues, reading more like a stream of consciousness in which it was hard to get much of a foothold for discussion.