The great Ian Ferguson “blurbs” The High Road
Posted March 5, 2010 by Terry Fallis
Ian Ferguson is wonderful writer and a very funny guy. I read his Leacock-winning book, Village of the Small Houses, some years ago, so I was thrilled to meet Ian at last year’s Leacock Luncheon. What a great guy. We’ve maintained contact via email and Facebook ever since. In a cool twist, Ian’s book and TBLP later shared 10th place on the CBC Book Club’s top Ten Books to Make You Laugh list last April.
When it came time to invite prominent Canadians to read the manuscript of The High Road and provide what they call in the publishing biz, “blurbs,” I thought of approaching Ian. He could not have been more gracious and readily agreed.
I was a little nervous when I knew the manuscript was in his hands. But he knocked me for a loop earlier this week when his official “blurb” arrived. Here’s what he wrote:
- “In a perfect world, the federal government would establish a Ministry of Humour and put Terry Fallis in charge of that department. THE HIGH ROAD is brilliantly written and hysterically funny. You are cautioned not to attempt to read it in a public setting, since you will laugh – audibly - to a disturbing degree and many people will find this annoying. Trust me on this. And if you, like myself, enjoy reading in bed, be prepared for spousal banishment. Apparently loud bursts of laughter make it difficult for your bed partner to fall asleep. Who knew, eh? Worth it, though. Terry Fallis manages to top his first novel THE BEST LAID PLANS with this relentlessly enjoyable follow-up. No small feat, since the original won the Stephen Leacock Medal . Do yourself a favour and pick up this book, find a quiet place to read it, and enjoy…you will laugh out loud on almost every single page.”
- “In a perfect world, the federal government would establish a Ministry of Humour and put Terry Fallis in charge of that department. THE HIGH ROAD is brilliantly written and hysterically funny. You will laugh out loud on almost every single page.”
Ian Ferguson author of VILLAGE OF THE SMALL HOUSES
I had to sit down after reading Ian’s kind words. I’m humbled and honoured that he would be so supportive. Here’s a shot of Ian and me at last year’s Leacock Luncheon in Orillia.
If I was as talented a writer as Ian Ferguson I would have used the same words to describe TBLP.
I did laugh out loud in public places reading TBLP and I did get comments from my wife about laughing too loud while reading in bed.
Really looking forward to the next installment.
Guy
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[…] very fortunate. First, the great and hilarious writer Ian Ferguson blurbed The High Road. Now, my ball hockey teammate, the amazing, Juno-winning, Blue Rodeo-founding, singer/songwriter […]
[…] Bill Conall. It’s time for me to get reading! Incidentally, Will Ferguson is the brother Ian Ferguson, another Lecock winner and kind “blurber” for The High Road. Regrettably, I’ll not be able to be in Orillia for the luncheon at the end of April when the […]
[…] at last year’s Leacock Luncheon and have kept up an email coresspondence ever since. As well, Ian has provided a wonderful quotation that will appear on the back cover of The High Road (stay tuned to see the back cover design). I […]
This is great! I’m writing a comparative piece on the topic of humour in Canadian literature, using The Best Laid Plans and How To Be A Canadian. My English teacher is going to eat this up, who thought anyone even cared about Canadian authors? (Kidding, sort of)