“Charles Foran’s biography, Mordecai: The Life & Times, is an epic work of scholarship and energy, capturing the career and life of the Montreal writer, Mordecai Richler, with a majesty that doesn’t betray the wit and sincerity of Canada’s most famous literary contrarian. Mordecai delivers an authentic portrait of a writer who could be both tragic and gut-busting funny, a loving family man and defender of human rights, who could also snap off barbed quips infuriating both Quebec and anglo nationalists, as well as his fellow writers, and even his own Jewish community in Montreal. To portray this multi-faced life with such amazing ease signals the quality of Mordecai. It’s a big book, inclusive, intelligent, and sometimes sad. Charles Foran never wears his research on his sleeve, easing it near-invisibly into the web of this great life. Mordecai is well written, exciting to read, even-handed, and magisterial.” – 2011 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Jury (Brian Brett, Devyani Saltzman, and Russell Wangersky)