Mordecai Richler's legacy

On July 3, 2011, Mordecai Richler will have passed away 10 years ago. Many people recognizing his talent are pushing for a way to commemorate his legacy. Two Montréal city councilors have started an online petition calling for a street to be named after the celebrated author.

Others see in Mr. Richler's work, a skewed vision of Québec's French-speaking society. The president of Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Mario Beaulieu, has said that Montréal should never extend an honor to Mr. Richler such as naming a street after him. "For us, he's an anti-Québec racist because he denigrated French Quebeckers."

For his book Sacré Blues – An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec, Taras Grescoe met with Mr. Richler to confront him with his views on the Québécois. Here's an excerpt of what Mr. Grescoe had to say about the author's legacy:
Thanks to Richler, the few Americans who can tell you anything about Québec tend to tell you what a small-minded, anti-Semitic culture it is. The Columbia Journalism Review, surveying major articles on Québec in American magazines between 1977 and 1994, pointed out that half had been written by Richler.Click here for more.