By Lynn Willoughby
The High Road ~ Terry Fallis
“The Best Laid Plans” was my introduction to this author. Now he has become a favourite, and in fact, did a reading at the Sheep River library on October 17th. His writing is funny and timely and makes a very dry subject come alive. This novel is the sequel to “The Best Laid Plans”.
A federal election is coming up and once again Angus McLintock is running as a Liberal. This time he actually wants to run, even though his riding has consistently voted Conservative for many elections. Angus is definitely the underdog. And as he vows to never resort to a mudslinging campaign, that indeed he will always take the high road, he is often pushed to his limit.
Politics is a dirty game, and there is rarely anything to laugh about. I have learned an incredible amount about Canadian politics from these two books. And Fallis has the gift of making me laugh out loud, snort and guffaw at the antics candidates will stoop to in their bid to win the seat.
Angus is an engineer and is charged with reporting on the collapse of the Alexandra Bridge. This event, while not overtly funny, is the basis of the story. And when the research into the collapse involves a hovercraft, the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), the FBI, helicopters and a lot of snow on the Ottawa river, there is bound to be laughter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
- The Best Laid Plans
- Albatross
Who Knew?
“Each and every Canadian engineer wears an iron ring on the pinky of his or her working hand. The ring symbolizes the iron from a beam in a bridge near Quebec City that collapsed in 1907, killing seventy five workers. It fell because the engineers who designed and built the bridge were incompetent. Each engineer in Canada wears the ring as a constant reminder of our commitment, of our duty, to serve and protect the public.” Angus McLintock