Daniel Addison is a former staffer for the Opposition Liberal Leader. He leaves Parliament Hill for a University position in the English department. But first,he needs to find and run a candidate in the safest Conservative riding in the country. Muriel Parkinson, the previous candidate five times over will help with the campaign, but not run for election again. Daniel finally strikes a deal with his landlord, engineering professor Angus McLintock. Angus agrees to run, on the presumption that he doesn't have to do anything for the campaign, and will definitely lose. In return, Daniel will teach the English for Engineers course. Of course all things do not run smoothly and Angus does win the election. Now we have a Member of Parliament with no axe to grind, no need to cozy up with anyone and will do what is 'right' for the country. This was a humorous story not LOL but still funny. I have survived the English for Engineers course as a student and the author had this course 'down pat'. What I did not understand was why Daniel had to do anything when he left Parliament Hill but I guess this is the main premise of the book. I loved Angus and did grin when I imagined him stripping and jumping off the dock.

A must read for all politically conscious Canadians, Social Studies teachers and anyone wanting a good laugh. A Romp through the halls of government, an old folks home, and a houseboat.

Bitingly incisive, human and very funny. Who knew Canadian politics could be so humorous? I actually sent a copy to a friend, she is currently in stitches over it :)

"After an impressive hang time, I plummeted back to the sidewalk, my fall broken by a fresh, putrid pile of excrement the size of a small ottoman... Before I quite literally found myself in deep s$%#, my day had actually been ripe with promise..." Opening lines from this poorly written book which I bought after rave reviews from friends. I am "quite literally" perplexed. The book has redeeming qualities for certain but in the end I was reading just to satisfy my curiosity and sense of incredulity. Can't recommend unfortunately.

I had never heard of this author before three days ago nor had I heard of this title but I couldn't put it down. This book is truly Canadian and as it happens I will be going to Ottawa to receive an award on Parliament Hill with plans to visit many of the site mentioned. The story line is compelling and a real page turner. I'm going to buy his follow up novel as soon as I can. Yes, it was that good. Without any hesitation this is my favourite read this year ( I read every day) and will highly reccomend it to friends and family. I'm off to buy another Terry Fallis book called "The High Road" I doubt it could be as good but he certainly deserves another go at it, thank you for making my day with a great and wonderful reading experience.

I was not looking forward to reading about Canadian politics for our September book club pick - fiction or non-fiction. So I was very pleasantly surprised to find out how much I enjoyed Mr. Fallis' writing style and the story line. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can see why he won the award. Great read!

3.75 stars Daniel has left his job working for the Liberal Leader in the House of Commons, but has promised to find someone to run in the next election for the Liberal Party in the Cumberland-Prescott riding, where the PC candidate has served for years and is loved by all. The PCs have this riding locked up. So, after a lot of searching, Daniel convinces Angus McLintock, an engineering professor, who has absolutely no desire to be a politician, to simply put his name on the ballot for the Liberals. However, things don't quite go as planned... I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I'm not a big fan of politics, or especially reading about it, but this is funny and entertaining. I couldn't quite give it a full 4 stars because in the first half of the book, there was an occasional slow patch, but the second half really picked up. Angus is a great character and I loved the "antipolitician" that he was. Not caring what people thought of him, he said and did what he thought was right. There were some great secondary characters in this book, as well.

This book was a fabulous read. I loved the characters and I loved the story. It was funny, well written with a great usage of the English language, very visual, and an all around great read. This was surprising to me because the premise of the book didn't capture my interest - but it was the November's selection for my bookclub and I was reading ahead. Wow - for once I loved the book someone chose for the club. I think this book would make a fabulous movie and wish someone would be astute enough to pick up the rights to the book. I would be first in line to see it.

The characters are people I wouldn't mind knowing myself and the story is funny and engaging. A good read even if you're not that into politics. (But if you are, it's informative and thought provoking in an amusing way. I think you'd enjoy this book even if you're not Canadian, but especially so if you are. And doubly so if you're from the Ottawa area.)

I very rarely read fiction, I tend to hide in the political science/history/reference sections of Chapters. I received this book from a family member who believed this would be THE book to get me into fiction - and they were right! Now when I visit Chapters I take a copy of this book from the Fiction section and place it on the shelves of "Canadian Political Science" in hopes that someone, like me, may read it (sorry Chapters staff!) This book is witty, humors and a "must have" for anyone of the Liberal persuasion. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to any political junkie or "ideological policy wonk" that is looking to get into fiction.