2023
“In The Best Laid Plans, the former Liberal Party strategist introduces us to a new brand of political satire — the most irreverent, sophisticated, and engaging CanLit has seen since Stephen Leacock.”
— Winnipeg Free Press
“This is a funny book that could only have been written by someone with firsthand knowledge of politics in Canada, including its occasionally absurd side. This is a great read for anyone thinking of running for office, and especially reassuring for those who have decided not to.”
— The Hon. Allan Rock, former Justice Minister and Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations
“Bravo! This is a wonderful book with a clever and funny storyline. Humour and heart run through these pages. The parliamentary setting and the backroom shenanigans reel you in. Readers will never look at a finance minister the same way again!”
— The Hon. Paddy Torsney, veteran MP and Parliamentary Secretary
“Terry Fallis's novel has two things that kept me hooked: characters who I cared about and a story that made me want to find out what would happen next. And often, very often, there was a line that made me laugh aloud or think twice, sometimes at the same time.”
— Mike Tanner, author of Acting the Giddy Goat
“Terry Fallis has found the cure for Canada’s political malaise: a stubborn, old, irreverent Scotsman with nothing to lose. Until Angus McLintock walks out of fiction and into public office, where he would surely save the nation, the only place to find him is right here among The Best Laid Plans.”
— Tom Allen, CBC Radio host and author of The Gift of the Game
“The Best Laid Plans is amusing, enlightening, and Canadian, and it deftly explores the Machiavellian machinations of Ottawa’s political culture. Wicked political satire.”
— The Globe and Mail
“Brisk and humourous.”
— The Ottawa Citizen
“Terry Fallis weaves a funny yet tender tale that gives us all hope for the future of democracy. Hilarious and thought-provoking, I literally could not put this book down. I finished it in one sitting, with a full heart and sore sides. With an insider’s knowledge of politics, beautifully developed characters, and a page-turning plot, Terry Fallis has written a winner. Get it, read it, now!”
— The Hon. Elinor Caplan, former Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Here’s the set up: A burnt-out politcal aide quits just before an election—but is forced to run a hopeless campaign on the way out. He makes a deal with a crusty old Scot, Angus McLintock—an engineering professor who will do anything, anything, to avoid teaching English to engineers—to let his name stand in the election. No need to campaign, certain to lose, and so on.
Then a great scandal blows away his opponent, and to their horror, Angus is elected. He decides to see what good an honest M.P. who doesn’t care about being re-elected can do in Parliament. The results are hilarious—and with chess, a hovercraft, and the love of a good woman thrown in, this very funny book has something for everyone.
Apple Podcasts
Prologue: January 14, 2007
Chapter 1: January 20, 2007
Chapter 2: January 28, 2007
Chapter 3: February 4, 2007
Chapter 4: February 11, 2007
Chapter 5: February 17, 2007
Chapter 6: February 24, 2007
Chapter 7: March 1, 2007
Chapter 8: March 9, 2007
Chapter 9: March 16, 2007
Chapter 10: March 23, 2007
Chapter 11: March 30, 2007
Chapter 12: April 6, 2007
Chapter 13: April 13, 2007
Chapter 14: April 20, 2007
Chapter 15: April 27, 2007
Chapter 16: May 1, 2007
Chapter 17: May 4, 2007
Chapter 18: May 9, 2007
Chapter 19: May 11, 2007
TBLP featured on CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter
After an impressive hang time, I plummeted back to the sidewalk, my fall broken by a fresh, putrid pile of excrement the size of a small ottoman. I quickly scanned the area for a hippo on the lam. Before I quite literally found myself in deep shit, my day had actually been ripe with promise. I’m a big believer in signs. After six straight days of rain, I believed the sun burning a hole in the cloudless, cobalt sky was a sign – a good one. It somehow lightened the load I’d been lugging around in my mind for the previous six weeks. I lifted my face to the warmth and squinted as I walked along the edge of Riverfront Park. Even though it was a Monday morning, I hummed a happy little tune. Maybe, just maybe, things were looking up. Unfortunately, so was I. My foot made a soft landing on the sidewalk and shot forward all on its own, leaving a brown, viscous streak in its wake. Congenitally clumsy, I was well into the splits before I managed to drag my trailing leg forward and slip the surly bonds of earth. Airborne, I surveyed the terrain below and, with all the athletic prowess of a quadriplegic walrus, returned safely to earth, touching down on the aforementioned crap cushion.
About Terry Fallis
A two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis is the award-winning author of nine national bestsellers, including his most recent, A New Season (2023), all published by McClelland & Stewart (M&S).
Terry has written for many publications including Maclean’s, Canadian Geographic, Reader’s Digest, Toronto Life, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the Toronto Star.
Terry lives in Toronto and can be reached at tfallis@gmail.com.
