Terry Fallis

I confess that I had not heard of this book until Mr. Fallis came to speak at the Sisters in Crime Toronto Chapter meeting. From the bits that he read I was hooked. Once I picked up my own copy, I read it in one sitting. It is a fantastic, well-written, fun read. The wry humour coupled with the insights into federal political machinations was just delicious.

A former politico, Fallis self-published The Best Laid Plans, his first novel. Once it won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour things took off. In 2011, it was the winner of CBC’s Canada Reads competition.

Told from the point-of-view of Daniel Addison, head speech writer for the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, we begin the story on his last days at work. The circumstances of his leaving are mundane and yet depressingly true. We immediately like this engaging character. The fact that he’s a speech writer allows for the many bon mots and caustic observations he makes throughout the book.

We are soon introduced to Muriel Parkinson, a sharp and warm Liberal loyalist living in a nursing home and Angus McLintock, a reclusive professor at Carlton University. Angus talks to his recently deceased wife of 40 years through letters he writes in his journal. While these letters give us a deeper insight into his character, we don’t get the full impact of this plot device until nearly the end of the book. And it is a very satisfying pay-off.

The main plot revolves around the “price” Daniel has to pay in order to leave his parliamentary job: find a Liberal candidate to run in the upcoming election for the staunchly Conservative riding of Cumberland-Prescott. Needless to say, the shenanigans and deal-making that ensue are the heart of the book, and where all the fun is.

Curl up when you have a few hours free and treat yourself to this fun little gem.
… (altro)

David used to work in Ottawa, but moved to Toronto to be closer to his dying mother, who has been mostly taken care of by his sister. His new job is with a PR firm and he is thrown into the fire immediately to help with a NASA campaign. Some love, some don’t, his idea of a “citizen astronaut” campaign. People can enter to randomly be selected to go up to space, as long as they can pass the training requirements. But the people at NASA who matter love the idea and it’s on. There will be one winner from the US and one from Canada. But someone (in the DC office of the PR firm) have specific ideas about who they think should win the “random” draw. And the random person in Canada? Definitely not what anyone expected!

This was fun! Fallis’ books are humourous and this was definitely that. And I loved L Percival, Canada’s winner. There were interesting “side” stories for both David and L Percival. The PR guy in DC was horrible! But, I suppose, for the humourous slant of the novel, it makes sense to have some over-the-top characters. I really should read more of Fallis’ books (I’ve already read the political ones with Angus, but no others -- yet.)… (altro)