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Books
short-listed for the 2008 Stephen
Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour are The
Gum Thief (Douglas Coupland); The
Best Laid Plans (Terry Fallis); Spanish
Fly (Will Ferguson); King
John of Canada (by Scott Gardiner); And
God Created Manyberries (Ron Wood).
The
winner of the 2008 award will be announced during a luncheon at Orillia’s
Stephen Leacock Museum April 30. In addition, a gala dinner will be held to honour this
year’s recipient on June 7.
Synopses
of Texts:
The
Gum Thief by
Douglas
Coupland
For
the second year in a row, Vancouver ’s Douglas Coupland has landed a novel on the list of books
short-listed for the Stephen Leacock Medal. The author of JPod,
Microserfs and Generation X
has written The Gum Thief, a
finely crafted account of two co-workers with nothing in common who
ultimately have very much in common. Roger, a middle-aged divorcee and
Bethany , a young Goth share the same occupation and little else. But there are
secret lives and a secret correspondence ensues when Roger writes a mock
diary of Bethany ’s life which is dead-on. Coupland manages to write a story which is
wise, witty and unforgettable about love, death and friendships that can
occur when least expected.
WEB
LINK Douglas
Coupland - The Gum Thief, Random House,
The
Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
Terry
Fallis’s The Best Laid Plans
centres around a cranky and reluctant political candidate who consents
to run in a federal election based on the fact that he is
“certain-to-lose.” Daniel, a jaded and burned out former speech
writer is eager to leave politics for the relative calm of academia. His
final political assignment is to find a candidate – any candidate he
can uncover – to run in a futile race against a wildly popular cabinet
minister in the Ottawa area. Daniel finds a candidate in crusty Angus McLintock, who in
mourning for his wife, reluctantly accepts the task with the proviso
that he won’t campaign, give interviews, canvass door-to-door, attend
all-candidate meetings, use lawn signs, contact with campaign workers or
even be in the country during the election campaign! As the reader can
well imagine, things do not turn out as anticipated – always a great
source of humour.
WEB
LINK
Terry
Fallis - The Best Laid Plans
Spanish
Fly by Will Ferguson
The
winner of the Leacock medal in 2002 and again in 2005, Will Ferguson’s
latest novel has put him once again on the short list for this
prestigious award. Spanish Fly
takes us back to the 1930s and the dusty Depression towns of the
American dustbowl. Jack, a self-taught con artist who’s learned to
survive on wits alone, joins Virgil and Miss Rose, two eccentric and
relatively successful swindlers as they go on a crime spree that takes
them through Texas and the Southwest using whatever ruse they can to make money. Devious,
predatory but highly likeable, the trio seem like Bonnie and Clyde
without bullets until they run into a scheme which makes them – and
the reader – wonder if someone is being “set up.” Told with wit,
style and subtle humour, Ferguson has managed to tell a story that grabs the reader from page one.
WEB
LINK Will
Ferguson - Spanish Fly, Penguin Canada,
King
John of Canada
by Scott Gardiner
Toronto author Scott Gardiner has brilliantly imagined a
Canada of the near future where, through a “series of accidents” our
country ends up with a king chosen by lottery. With the house of Windsor
imploding and the Governor General having resigned in disgrace, John, an
“ordinary” guy from Toronto
suddenly becomes King John of Canada . He proves to be a genius at understanding exactly what Canadians want
– from Toronto
’s separatism to Quebec referenda to our role as
peacekeepers. The novel is witty and insightful and worthy of being
nominated for the Leacock medal. Stephen would have been proud of the
premise!
WEB
LINK Scott
Gardiner - King John of Canada, McLelland and Stewart,
And
God Created Manyberries by Ron Wood
With
sharp wit, bold characterization and a keen eye for observing what is
important - and funny - to Canadians, Ron Wood has written a book which
skews the political leadership and the small town foibles of this
country. Sounds rather Leacock-ian doesn’t it? As a former political
backroom communications advisor, Wood knows of which he speaks. It is
easy for the reader to imagine the characters in this book with their
concerns, their plots and their humorous approaches to life in a small Alberta
town. Carrying on the great tradition of Haliburton and Leacock, Ron
Wood has portrayed a western small town that seems as real as it is
funny.
WEB
LINK Ron
Wood - And God Created Manyberries, Frontenac House,
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