I purchased this book because I had heard about it on Canada Reads 2011, and it actually won the title as "the most essential book of the decade", beating out The Birth House, which was my first choice. Now I'm considering recommending it for Book Club next year, not because it's the best book I've read this year, but because it covers a topic we've never had - politics, and Canadian politics at that. The subject is quite interesting right now since the Conservatives have a majority for the first time in years, the NDP have all these rookie MPs from Quebec, and Jack Layton wants to restore order and dignity to the house. In another year we'll see how things are doing, and it might be fun to discuss them from the vantage point of this novel, where the candidate does not want to run, but when he is elected, finds his political soul in doing what is right, not what will win him more votes next time.
The other interesting thing about this novel is that the author first offered the entire novel as a free podcast online in the hopes that someone would hear it and consider publishing it. The author's webpage has the complete podcast.
This book was my recommendation for Book Club next year, and was accepted by the group. We'll do it in October.
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