ELEVEN READER'S CLUB discussion

What compelled me to read the book Barney's Version by Morcdecai Rochler, is contradictions. Uniqueness and cliché in one book, written by an author known to be daring enough, to tell uncomfortable truths. The book is unique, because it has autobiographical elements in fiction, especially first-person fiction. It is an extra surprise when Mordecai Rochler writes a book like this unusual for his style. It’s cliché as, it’s the plot of a an old man in the verge of death looking back at his life and reflecting.
The protagonist, Barney, like Richler (died after 4 years) himself, is nearing the end of his life. His health is failing; he has a love of Montecristo cigars and Macallan Scotch, and internally struggles with what it means to be a post-Holocaust Jew. Barney, the titular protagonist, is trying to prove his innocence, both of the crimes of murdering his friend Boogie and of the more social charge of being a scoundrel and a sycophant. But you suspect this will ever happen as, throughout the book he seems so uncharitable and granting yet humorous and satirical.
I love reading novels with a witty language and extra comments between the texts. This book follows this format. For genres, my favorite is when humor, philosophy and crime are mixed together. This book coincidently has exactly this. From history class, Holocausts have been an interest of mine. The Diary of Anne Frank.
was my favorite autobiography and novel, read until now. The book Barney’s Version seems to fit my reading style and have been able to entertain me until now. The author weaves a million different stories (life events) into this one book, which can be confusing, but ultimately the stories are the book, and they are Barney Panofsky. Troubled. Amusing and Questionable.
I am confident that this would become one of my most memorable and entertaining books of all :)