The Incomparable Atuk

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The Incomparable Atuk is a satirical novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler. It was first published in 1963, by McClelland and Stewart. The novel was published as Stick Your Neck Out in the United States. The Incomparable Atuk tells the story of a Canadian Inuk, who is transplanted to Toronto and quickly adopts the greed and pretensions of the big city. The novel satirized the Canadian cultural elites of Richler's day, who fetishize Atuk: first as a noble savage and then, when his corruption becomes apparent, as a symbol of Canadian nationalism and anti-American sentiment. Many of the characters are parodies of real Canadian celebrities, including Hugh Garner, Nathan Cohen, Pierre Berton, and Nathan Phillips. A film adaptation was in the works from the mid-1980s to the beginning of the 1990s, but never materialized. The film, which would have been simply called Atuk, has been called cursed, as several actors associated with the film's development died, including John Belushi, Sam Kinison...

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