Mordecai Richler

[...] how much more bland would our literary landscape be without the endearing curmudgeon who is Barney Panofsky, the fierce independence and chutzpah of Ephraim Gursky, or the set pieces that tempted Richler- the-writer towards the dessert table of extravagant description and away from the main course of plot? (Think of the Bar Mitzvah extravaganza in Duddy Kravitz). A consideration of Mordecai Richler's publishing history is exemplary: his career began in London with his first books; it was based in Toronto throughout his major creative period, with links to New York, through his work for the Book of the Month Club and his friendship with Robert Gottlieb, his editor at Simon & Schuster, and The New Yorker.