Travel books tend to be formulaic. It’s a simple process: Go somewhere, observe quirky local culture, exagerate it, inject a little self-deprecating humour while lamenting the loss of the (insert local aboriginal tribe name here) culture and ship it off to the publisher. Too easy. I am going to write one one day so I read this in order to avoid crossing wires with any other famous, celebrated Canadian authors, namely Will Ferguson.
Ferguson writes funny jokes about Canada that middle-aged people love. You know the kind; donuts, Tim Hortons, more donuts, maybe a hockey quip. The guy is brilliant, eh.
While Ferguson is legitimately humourous, I found this book slightly predictable, possibly because I A) am a Canadian and B) have read way too many travel memoirs. Nevertheless, the guy does his research. Each chapter is written on a different region of our country and the details are numerous. Mr. Ferguson loves details. Whether it’s local lore or celebrated legend he doesn’t miss out on any of the hidden stories behind each region. True to travel writer form, he parallels these historic events with his own life and with Canadian identity. I especially liked the chapter on St. John’s and the story on the nation of Madawaska, a (quasi) autonomous nation of Acadians in New Brunswick. In the end, the book opened my eyes to some history of our country that I was unaware of, it made me laugh (even at the hockey jokes) and I even managed to feel the plight of the native somewhere in there. All in all, a successful travel memoir. Even for this jaded wannabe travel writer. – Mike Berard
