- Hardcover: 408 pages
- Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (Oct 6 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0771027222
- ISBN-13: 978-0771027222
- Product Dimensions: 16 x 3 x 23.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 739 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#161,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #73 in Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Canadian Detectives
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Product Details |
Product Description
Quill & Quire
The title alone is a good indicator that in this new Arthur Beauchamp novel, William Deverell’s lovably irascible lawyer protagonist will find himself in unfamiliar territory. “Ottawa was his unhappy home away from home since his beloved wife won a federal by-election thirty months ago” as the country’s lone Green Party MP. As Arthur pines for his beloved farm on Garibaldi Island and chafes in the shadow cast by his wife’s new celebrity, his unlikely rescue comes in the form of a high school teacher once suspected of terrorism in the fictional former Soviet republic of Bhashyistan, and who faces new charges after a plane full of delegates blows up. Deverell spins a wild tale full of biting satire about Canadian political machinery, the tactics, covert or otherwise, employed by CSIS, and the problem of renting out one’s West Coast home to convicted eco-terrorists. Deverell’s imagination gets high marks for postulating what happens when an obscure country declares war on Canada, and his descriptions slice with the precision of a razor. Case in point: a Bhashyistan baddie named Nikolai Globbo has the title of “assistant deputy director of political corrections” – i.e., the country’s former “head torturer.” Arthur reflects on his years in Vancouver courtrooms as being “hidden behind an impenetrable fog of gin fumes and day-long hangovers.” Imagination and clever turns of phrase, alas, do not a great crime novel make. Too often Deverell sacrifices plot cohesion in favour of imaginative tricks that provoke laughs, but leave the reader puzzled. By the time Snow Job reaches its genuinely surprising ending, it’s too late to compensate for the exhausting reading experience.
Review
"Smart, beautifully written, and really, really funny satire featuring Arthur Beauchamp, one of Canadian crime fiction's truly original characters. The best novel by Deverell ever."
— Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail
"Though the story is dead serious at its heart, Deverell has much material that is as funny as anything he's written."
— Toronto Star
"Fine writing and tongue-in-cheek delivery with acid shots at our political circus, and so close to reality that it seems even funnier. A must-read."
— Hamilton Spectator
"Deverell's imagination gets high marks for postulating what happens when an obscure country declares war on Canada."
— Quill & Quire
— Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail
"Though the story is dead serious at its heart, Deverell has much material that is as funny as anything he's written."
— Toronto Star
"Fine writing and tongue-in-cheek delivery with acid shots at our political circus, and so close to reality that it seems even funnier. A must-read."
— Hamilton Spectator
"Deverell's imagination gets high marks for postulating what happens when an obscure country declares war on Canada."
— Quill & Quire
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally - Canadian Politics as Thriller!,
By
This review is from: Snow Job (Hardcover)
William Deverell did it again. While Arthur Beauchamp experiences the snows of Ottawa the reader gets snowed as well. This is once again a "MUST READ" for anyone who likes mysteries, crime novels, politics novels or any other type of entertaining novel.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Would make a great movie,
By Ron (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Snow Job (Hardcover)
Throughly enjoying this book (not quite finished). Finding it very amusing and totally engrossing. Mr. Deverell is a new author to me, but I after hearing a review on the CBC I thought I would give it a whirl. I have not been disappointed and will certainly try some more of Mr. Deverell's books.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellant current Canadian tale,
By
This review is from: Snow Job (Mass Market Paperback)
I really enjoyed this book and even though the plot does seem a little bit 'far-fetched' I was completly taken in by it. There are just enough political references to keep it interesting. And the tales of Beauchamp's life in the BC Gulf Islands are beyond entertaining. I am not a member of the Green Party but I loved all the references to it and to 'green living'. Quite a mix of topics in this book and very well written.
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