Dissecting Canadiana, Bond, And Everything Else

Mordecai Richler has a talent for shovelling trouble. His 1973 collection of essays of the same name contains a heavy shovel full of the author’s renowned criticism of his own country and close-to-the-bone commentary on the Jewish-Canadian experience, along with commentary on culture and the life of a writer.

The style is less academic and more stream of consciousness, much like Richler’s fiction. The short essay Etes-vous Canadien? is a quick unpicking of the Governor General’s Award and those who accept it.

There are few chances to accuse Richler of bias; he’s as critical of his own culture, gender and literary circle as he is of anyone else’s. Making It and Porky’s Plaint contain intricate criticism of the author and his contemporaries alongside the larger picture. The Holocaust and After is both a hard account of genocide and a critical look at post-war Jewish society.

Departing from Canadiana and the Jewish experience, my favourite essay in this collection is Bond, a deconstruction of the spy character. Richler delves into the Bond construct, then expands on what this says about male and British culture. Misogyny, racism, antisemitism are picked apart skillfully.

Bond’s women are swiftly sketched by Richler, with the same dry minimalism he uses to describe other thin plot devices. Bond girls are described in parts — breasts, bottoms — and identified by clothing. Or lack thereof.

Richler also points out that misogyny isn’t necessarily linked with nasty porn. He describes the sex as prudish and boyishly smutty. The misogynistic torture hurts, but it doesn’t offend, according to the conventions of the genre. Bond rarely uses bad language and there are few reports of bodily functions.

“Ian Fleming was frightened of women. Some, he wrote, respond to the whip, some to the kiss….’ A woman, he felt, should be an illusion, and he was deeply upset by their bodily functions. ”

In his deconstruction of Fleming’s misogyny, Richler thinks like a woman.

The striking element of this collection is the humour and steady hand with which the author addresses issues of great import. The most tragic and devastating aspects of Richler’s observations are described with a cool wit which illuminates the mess of ideology we inhabit.

I don’t always agree with Richler, but I rarely doubt his talent for getting under the skin of an idea.

Contact the author here: miriam@morningquickie.com