Easy to Like
by Edward Riche
- Long-listed, IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- Long-listed, ReLit Awards
- Short-listed, BMO Winterset Award
Nominated for the BMO Winterset Award and the ReLit Award
From award-winning author Edward Riche comes an immensely readable and sharp novel about "C"-list screenwriter and wannabe vintner Elliot Johnson. With his life growing more ruinous by the day -- his writing career is on the rocks, his struggling vineyard is being investigated by the feds, and his son, a former child star, is in prison -- Elliot decides to do what any self-respecting wine lover would do: escape to France.
Alas, fate has other things in store. Stranded in Canada by an expired passport, he is strongly encouraged to remain there due to his bit part in a growing Hollywood scandal. Deciding that Toronto may just be the perfectly engineered city in which to lay low, Elliot kills time by bluffing his way to the top of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
A brilliant work of searing satire, Easy to Like showcases one of our most original authors at his comic best.
close this panelEdward Riche is an award-winning author, screenwriter, and playwright. His previous novels include Rare Birds, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring William Hurt and Molly Parker, and his second novel, The Nine Planets, won the Thomas Head Raddall Award. His writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and the Telegram. Edward lives in St. John's, Newfoundland.
close this panelEasy to Like lives up to the promise of its title...Riche [has a] gift for withering turns of phrase...
It's easy to like.
... rich and textured ... [Easy to Like] will leave readers savouring its questions about artistic creation in a world that is preoccupied with superficial labels.
[Edward Riche's] new satire wasn't just easy to like, it was finish-the-bottle-and-order-another delicious.
Riche's prose is astute and bitingly comic ... the real pleasure comes from his richness of characters, ridiculous situations, and surprisingly believable comedic timing.
Riche is a breezy writer who creates fast-paced satires ... enjoy [his] acid wit [and] have a good laugh.
. . . a fast-paced, sure-footed read . . . sparkling [with] wit and spice.
. . . hilarious . . . laugh-out-loud funny . . .
