Week before last, I watched a movie via On Demand called Barneys’ Version. The movie stars Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, and Minnie Driver. I loved the film so much that I found a copy of the novel to read in hardcover, which cost me a little extra, but it was so worth it. I’d rather read a novel in hardcover than in any other format, although I’ve read many books in paperback and on the Kindle.
Mordecai Richler, a Canadian author I’m not familiar with, wrote Barney’s Version, which was published in 1997. Much of the novel concerns some political goings-on in Canada that I’m not familiar with. It had something to do with a conflict between some of the French-speaking people there and the English-speaking people there, but I’m not a history buff, and I’m especially not a Canadian history buff, so I think I missed out on a lot of what the novel has to offer a reader.
The plot revolves around the main character’s failing memory and his relationships with his three wives. The story covers his life from the time he’s in his twenties, which he spent in Paris, to his seventies. At some point in his life, he was accused of murdering his best friend, Boogie, and another of his friends has written a book about that. The narrator (Barney, the novel is written in the first person), is telling HIS version of his life story, hence the title of the novel.
Barney is a classic example of an unreliable narrator, and his memory lapses are obvious from the first chapter of the novel. The main character’s son has included footnotes to correct his father’s errors, but not only is it clear that Barney has trouble remembering things, it’s also clear that he has no qualms about lying when it suits him.
I enjoyed this novel very much. The only complaint I had with Barney’s Version is that a lot of sentences are written in foreign languages, mostly French, and so I was unable to understand some of it. (I don’t have the patience to Google Translate every sentence I didn’t understand, and I don’t have a French-English dictionary handy.) Since the book was aimed at a Canadian audience (presumably), I’m sure they have no problem following the French in the book.
That’s a minor criticism of a rare and wonderful novel though. This character study of Barney is unflinchingly honest and sympathetic at the same time. The movie stayed in my thoughts for several days after I watched it, and the novel has done the same thing. I recommend Barney’s Version to anyone who enjoys detailed character studies and biographical novels that cover several decades. The novel is sad, funny, and infuriating at the same time, as is the main character and narrator. It’s a well-written novel.