''Son of a Smaller Hero'' is a novel by Canadian author

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

, first published in 1955 by

André Deutsch André Deutsch (15 November 1917 – 11 April 2000) was a Hungarian-born British publisher who founded an eponymous publishing company in 1951. Biography Deutsch was born on 15 November 1917 in Budapest, Hungary, the son of a Jewish dentis ...

. One of Richler's earliest works, it displays an earnest and gritty realism in comparison to his somewhat more satirical later novels. It is sometimes assigned reading for high school English classes in Canada.

Plot and setting

The novel is set in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada. The story centres on the working-class Jewish neighborhood on Saint Dominique Street, which stands in for

Saint Urbain Street Saint Urbain Street (french: rue Saint-Urbain) is a major one-way street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The original, southernmost section of the street was built by Urbain Tessier (c. 1624–1689), a farmer and carpenter who settled in t ...

, the historical locale Richler would visit by name in subsequent writings. The protagonist is Noah Adler, a young and driven idealist who rebels against the entrenched cultural and social divides in the city. New Canadian Library 1955 Canadian novels Novels by Mordecai Richler Novels set in Montreal Novels set in Quebec André Deutsch books