As you may know, the fine folk at CBC have foolishly opened the doors to an avalanche of self-promotion by allowing people to nominate their own choice of book for the competition. On the Canada Reads website, they state that this year, Canada Reads is looking for the essential Canadian novels of the decade.
It would be wonderful if you, dear reader, could help get Marvellous Hairy on the long list (’cause we need to be realistic about this, and that in itself would be a coup). So that you can feel confident in helping achieve this, here are the reasons why Marvellous Hairy is an essential Canadian novel:
- after finishing Marvellous Hairy, most readers find it impossible not to end each sentence with the phrase, “beauty, eh?” (This includes non-Canadian readers, and they are warned of this issue in the Preface, Disclaimers and Warning of Side Effects which precedes chapter one.)
- what is more Canadian than hockey? A sense of humour. As the Midwest Book Review recently stated, MH “is a top pick for any humorous fiction collection, highly recommended.”
- (looking for approval from our American friends is also a very Canadian attribute.)
- published by Canadian indie presses, written by a Canadian indie writer (and silly hat wearer) and cover design by the only Canadian fictional character to lose his medical license for peyote-milkshake drinking.
- the first edition was printed on snow.
- the second edition is “hand” crafted by a cadre of literate beavers.
- each copy sold contributes to Canada’s GDP.
- Canadians who read the novel are guaranteed to develop prodigious mental powers, such as telepathy, telekinesis, and the ability to form orderly queues.
- in the novel a surrealistic novelist is turned into a monkey by an unscrupulous biotech giant, and saved by a group of friends fascinated with Freudian mythology. This classic Canadian tale was first popularized by Gordon Lightfoot in his epic song, Canadian Railroad Trilogy.
Now, please go to the CBC website and fill out the recommendation form. It is your patriotic duty. Or, if you’re not Canadian, I promise to send you the instructions on how to stop saying, “beauty, eh?”
More about Marvellous Hairy here, including links to reviews, the podcast, and an excerpt.
From my witty and insightful Chesleyan colleague, 
TORONTO (The Skwib) — They may wear toques instead of berets and scarf down high-octane Tim Horton’s coffee instead of smoking Turkish cigarettes, but a new poll shows 79 percent of Canadians are in as serious an existential crisis as most French novelists about to write a bleak philosophical roman ennui.