The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
Political Satire

Daniel Addison leaves Parliament Hill after having been a speech writer for the Leader of the Opposition to pursue a career in academia. He feels a bit jaded from his time in the Canadian political system and is looking forward to a somewhat more normal existence. The only thing he needs to do before he completely transition is find a Liberal candidate for one of the biggest Tory strongholds in the country, his new home, Cumberland. The incumbent of Cumberland is the current Finance Minister and very popular. It takes Addison a very long time to find a candidate before he happens on his new landlord, Angus McLintock. Angus is a Scot who teaches Engineering at the university and despises teaching English to Engineers because they don't get it. In exchange for not teaching English to Engineers, Angus agrees to become a for-sure loser of the Liberal party in his riding. Hilarity ensues!

It's not typical that you get to read a comedic book about Canadian politics. Usually most Canadian books are sub-par. This one, however, was very enjoyable. The characters were entertaining and the story line more so. Some things didn't make a whole lot of sense, such as why the Liberals would ask Addison to find them a candidate and then do nothing but ridicule his decision when they wouldn't have been able to find better themselves. But putting aside the small issues, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

First Line: "I am Daniel Addison"

Rating:
(4.5/5)