Barney's Version is one of my favorite books ever, so when I started seeing references to a film of the same name being shot I hardly dared hope . . . And then I saw that Paul Giamatti was starring in said film, and I realized that it was, in fact, the same book -- because Paul Giamatti is the Best. Casting. Choice. Ever. For. This. Film.
Barney's Version is a Canadian novel -- more specifically, it's a Montreal-e-an (how would one say that?) novel, or a Montreal-e-an Jewish novel, really. It's wry. It's dark. It's hilarious. I discovered it when researching Montreal for our honeymoon and came across a series of Slate articles on Montreal written by Gary Shteyngart, otherwise known as my secret boyfriend. I knew that if Gary liked Barney's Version, I would too -- and, in fact, I ended up liking it even more than either Russian Debutante's Handjob -- I mean, Handbook -- or Absurdistan. Shteyngart, while not the writer Richler is (although I like Shteyngart a lot), shares a certain sensibility with Richler, as well as a dark humor and love of Montreal.
I can't wait for this film!
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