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Fiction Cultural Heritage

Son of a Smaller Hero

Penguin Modern Classics Edition

by (author) Mordecai Richler

Publisher
McClelland & Stewart
Initial publish date
May 2017
Category
Cultural Heritage, Literary, Coming of Age
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780771073373
    Publish Date
    May 2017
    List Price
    $19.95

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Where to buy it

Description

Young Noah Adler, passionate, ruthlessly idealistic, is the prodigal son of Montreal’ s Jewish ghetto. Finding tradition in league with self-delusion, he attempts to shatter the ghetto’s illusory walls by entering the foreign territory of the goyim. But here, freedom and self-determination continue to elude him. Eventually, Noah comes to recognize “justice and safety and a kind of felicity” in a world he cannot—entirely—leave behind. Richler’s superb account of Noah’s struggle to scale the walls of the ghetto overflows with rich comic satire. Son of a Smaller Hero is a compassionate, penetrating account of the nature of belonging, told with the savage realism for which Mordecai Richler’s fiction is celebrated.

About the author

Mordecai Richler (1931-2001) wrote ten novels; numerous screenplays, essays, children's books; and several works of non-fiction. He gained international acclaim with The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which was later made into a movie. During his career, he was the recipient of dozens of literary awards, including two Governor General's Awards, The Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. Mordecai Richler was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2001.

Mordecai Richler's profile page

Editorial Reviews

“Mordecai Richler has proven beyond all doubt that he ranks with
this century’s best novelists.”
—Edmonton Journal

“Richler possesses a powerful and fecund imagination.”
—Hamilton Spectator

“He is a gifted stylist, with a great ear for parody and comic dialogue.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Richler is a comic writer who sprays his personality on his fiction like a tomcat.”
—The Times (U.K.)

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