Barney's Version (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Vintage International)
Barney Panofsky smokes too many cigars, drinks too much  whiskey, and is obsessed with two things: the Montreal Canadiens hockey team and his ex-wife Miriam. An acquaintance from his youthful years in Paris, Terry McIver, is about to publish his autobiography. In its pages he accuses Barney of an assortment of sins, including murder. It's time, Barney decides, to present the world with his own version of events.Barney's Versionis his memoir, a rambling, digressive rant,  full of revisions and factual errors (corrected in footnotes written by his  son) and enough insults for everyone, particularly vegetarians and Quebec separatists.But Barney does get around to telling his life story, a desperately funny but sad series of bungled relationships. His first  wife, an artist and poet, commits suicide and becomes--à la Sylvia  Plath--a feminist icon, and Barney is widely reviled for goading her toward  death, if not actually murdering her. He marries the second Mrs. Panofsky,  whom he calls a "Jewish-Canadian Princess," as an antidote to the  first; it turns out to be a horrible mistake. The third, "Miriam,  my heart's desire," is quite possibly his soul mate, but Barney botches this one, too.  It's painful to watch him ruin everything, and even more painful to bear  witness to his deteriorating memory. The mystery at the heart of Barney's story--did he or did he not kill his friend Boogie?--provides enough forward momentum to propel the reader through endless digressions, all three wives, and every one of Barney's nearly heartbreaking episodes of forgetfulness.Barney's Version, winner of Canada's 1997 Giller Prize, is Richler's 10th novel, and a dense, energetic, and ultimately poignant read.--R. Ellis--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.