The Hindmost

By writing The Hindmost, Barry Kennedy has shown himself to be the antichrist of Peter Mayle. For those of you who don't know, Peter Mayle writes about colourful, deviant, wealthy people who skip about in exotic locales whilst planning mischievous plots of intrigue and adventure. Barry writes about people who are colourful, deviant and poor who drudge alongside the wrong side of the tracks during a grey, miserable Toronto winter. They too are planning mischievous plots of intrigue and adventure, only the locales are greasy spoons, taverns, rooming houses, a basement apartment and a second rate comedy club. Nonetheless, the story is a delight. The reader will find themselves laughing out loud at some Barry's wonderfully crafted scenes - shaking their head at the cast of losers who juggle their daily misfortunes and victories that permeate the pages of this book. But behind the wit and sarcasm are true struggles that we can all identify with.

An excellent mix of characters set in an overlooked area of Toronto. Barry combines the right elements of an interesting story that you live through. This level of our society has stories to be told, and Mr. Kennedy has woven a nice one!