Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The High Road
by
Terry Fallis (Goodreads Author)
A brilliant follow-up to the Stephen Leacock Award-winner The Best Laid Plans, this deeply funny satire continues the story of Honest Angus McLintock, an amateur politician who dares to do the unthinkable: tell the truth.
Just when Daniel Addison thinks he can escape his job as a political aide, Angus McLintock, the no-hope candidate he helped into Parliament, throws icy co...more
Just when Daniel Addison thinks he can escape his job as a political aide, Angus McLintock, the no-hope candidate he helped into Parliament, throws icy co...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
September 7th 2010
by Emblem Editions
(first published September 2nd 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,158)
Looking forward to CBC mini-series on #1 Best Laid Plans.
#2 High Road excerpt
"The High Road" (Angus 2) by Terry Fallis is the campaign direction whereby the Angus effect, candidate integrity, tops important voter issues, defeats muckrakers. Like Gardiner's tragedy "King John of Canada", both narrated by second-in-command, this comedy starts with a naked woman in a boathouse bedroom window. Unlike apparent ramble-cum-portent influence on which to blame his doom and betrayal for downfall of all g...more
#2 High Road excerpt
"The High Road" (Angus 2) by Terry Fallis is the campaign direction whereby the Angus effect, candidate integrity, tops important voter issues, defeats muckrakers. Like Gardiner's tragedy "King John of Canada", both narrated by second-in-command, this comedy starts with a naked woman in a boathouse bedroom window. Unlike apparent ramble-cum-portent influence on which to blame his doom and betrayal for downfall of all g...more
This book is really cute. It isn't actually all that funny, though, and although some may get more out of the supposed humour than I did, I felt that the author was being rather strident in his attempts to be funny, which just put me off all the more. What's more, according to someone at work who read the prequel, some of the same situations featured in that book are those the author thought so full of hilarity or meaning that they just had to be repeated here.
There's no doubt that Angus McKlint...more
There's no doubt that Angus McKlint...more
Fallis writing manages to find a delighful intersection between thought provoking and funny. I look forward to more. I have found The High Road encouraging, especially during this often depressing election. So much so that I keep waiting to hear political commentors mention a Fallis Effect has revolutionized the politics being played in some riding somewhere. And that the red ribbon idea actually happened in a real riding
I keep wishing that happened in ours; I hate the campaign signs everywhere....more
I keep wishing that happened in ours; I hate the campaign signs everywhere....more
Saddly panned by a lot of reviews, "The High Road" was an enjoyable read for me. It reminded me of my stint in rural-Ontario media and restored my faith in politics. (Well, almost)
-from pg 302
"We cannot make the infrastructure investment that you seek, Mr. McLintock, for two reasons. Number one, we promised we'd cut taxes. And number two, we need the tax cuts to stimlate the crashing economy, and that's what will be in tomorrow's Budget. Period, full stop, end of story."
Angus had been calm up to...more
-from pg 302
"We cannot make the infrastructure investment that you seek, Mr. McLintock, for two reasons. Number one, we promised we'd cut taxes. And number two, we need the tax cuts to stimlate the crashing economy, and that's what will be in tomorrow's Budget. Period, full stop, end of story."
Angus had been calm up to...more
4 likes · like · see review
I took a break from The Salterton Trilogy because this arrived as a time-limited ebook from the library. It was therefore slightly strange to find Leaven of Malice referenced in the first few pages of this one, having just finished it myself.
I don't think Terry Fallis is in the same league, and perhaps it is unkind to read him so soon after the delights of Davies: there probably aren't many contemporary authors who would stand up well in comparison. This is a competent enough book, but the slaps...more
I don't think Terry Fallis is in the same league, and perhaps it is unkind to read him so soon after the delights of Davies: there probably aren't many contemporary authors who would stand up well in comparison. This is a competent enough book, but the slaps...more
After just recently finishing Fallis first award winning novel The Best Laid Plans , I was excited about the prospect of immediately getting to read this sequel. It picks up the story pretty much immediately where it left off, with Angus and Daniel having just toppled the government and deciding whether to continue. Notwithstanding the likability of the main characters, this novel lacks something that the first one had. It becomes slightly more political, while arguing that common sense still r...more
Fallis brings us back to Ottawa, picking up where "The Best Laid Plans" left off. The government has toppled, and a new election is about to be underway. Our young protagonist, Daniel Addison, is looking forward to a quiet life of teaching and being in love... until out hero, Angus McLintock decides that he needs to run for election again, this time doing it right.
There are mishaps and falls, and twists, though perhaps not nearly so blindsiding as "The Best Laid Plans". "The High Road" is more o...more
There are mishaps and falls, and twists, though perhaps not nearly so blindsiding as "The Best Laid Plans". "The High Road" is more o...more
While this book was not as much a laugh-a-page read as the first book (although it made the Leacock Award for Humor 2011 short list, the award that the first book one as a self-published book), it had a lot of important things to say, much like the first. The fact that I was reading it during the last week of the current federal election campaign just made it all the more important to read.
And I did my duty, going to vote in the advanced polls last friday. Unfortunately, there was no Angus McLin...more
And I did my duty, going to vote in the advanced polls last friday. Unfortunately, there was no Angus McLin...more
A continuation of the saga, first written in The Best Laid Plans. Daniel, a ex speech writer for the Canadian govt has left his position to teach English at the University of Ottawa. When he left his position suddenly, he was obliged to find a Liberal candidate for a Conservative stronghold riding. He performed the unexpected and not only did the candidate, Angus McLintick, run, he won. Angus found he actually enjoyed his role as a MP. He believed any decisions he made were first for the better...more
The High Road is a follow-up to one of my favourite reads in recent memory, The Best Laid Plans. I hesitate to call it a sequel, because it's basically a direct continuation of its predecessor. It picks up almost exactly where The Best Laid Plans left off, and apart a few bits of exposition designed to bring new readers up to speed, one could probably simply staple the two manuscripts together and they would flow seamlessly. That said, I can't say I enjoyed Road quite as much as Plans. I think c...more
1 like · like · see review
I really do enjoy Terry Fallis' writing. He produces novels that are so light and funny and enjoyable. Although I found The Best Laid Plans to be a little more chuckle-inducing, I still found myself smiling while I turned the pages of Fallis' follow-up novel.
I loved reading more about Angus and Daniel and it is great that although The High Road wraps up nicely, there is still room to continue the story. I just popped on over to Terry Fallis' website to see if there was a third book in the works....more
I loved reading more about Angus and Daniel and it is great that although The High Road wraps up nicely, there is still room to continue the story. I just popped on over to Terry Fallis' website to see if there was a third book in the works....more
Enjoyed the first book (Best Laid Plans) but found this very repetitive with the same recycled descriptions of Angus and Daniel, as well as Muriel and Bradley Stanton. What's the point of Lindsay? She lurks in the background and there is no character development of her at all. The odd twee description from Daniel about how wonderful life is with her sounds really odd and contrived. You get more of a feel for Marin than you do for Lindsay and Marin was dead before the book even starts. The slapst...more
I wasn't so sure that a follow-up book on Angus was a good idea - the first book was so good that I thought it would be a hard act to follow and I didn't want to end up disappointed. I can't say my fears were totally unfounded. It may be that I read it too soon after the first, because I found the amount of recapping from the original story slowed things down and I kept catching myself skimming (which I never do!). I otherwise like Terry Fallis's writing style, his characters are enjoyable, and...more
I was very pleased to win this in a CBC and Goodreads giveaway, and doubly pleased to read it on the tail-end of an election.
It is hard to describe my attitude going in to reading this book. I am a journalism graduate as of last week. I just published a horror novel, and am a resident of Ottawa who cleaned houses in the Cumberland area. All in all, I wanted to like this book. Hell, I wanted to love it for so many reasons.
I didn't love it. Saying I liked it makes me worry I will give the wrong i...more
It is hard to describe my attitude going in to reading this book. I am a journalism graduate as of last week. I just published a horror novel, and am a resident of Ottawa who cleaned houses in the Cumberland area. All in all, I wanted to like this book. Hell, I wanted to love it for so many reasons.
I didn't love it. Saying I liked it makes me worry I will give the wrong i...more
2 likes · like · see review
This continues the saga of Angus McLintock and Daniel Addison as they try to survive their first session of Parliament together, creating havoc with both Liberals and Conservatives as Angus, an honest politician with no aspirations to re-election, tries to see how much good he can do for the country. Again it’s a fall-off-your-chair-laughing lesson in political activism. Terry Fallis’ characters are so believable and the situations in which he places them are so absurdly possible that the humour...more
This book is a follow-up to The Best Laid Plans, and picks up with the same characters from the first book. The reader is taken through another election, this time with the formerly reluctant incumbent MP actually fighting to keep his post. Fallis is witty, and manages to keep all of the dullness out of politics while still exploring life on the hill.
I found it best to think of this book as a love letter to Canadian politics, and a wish for the kind of utopia the author wishes politics could be....more
I found it best to think of this book as a love letter to Canadian politics, and a wish for the kind of utopia the author wishes politics could be....more
The second book in the trilogy (The Best Laid Plans is the first), continues the tale of Angus McLintock and Daniel Addison (the narrator), as the government falls in a non-confidence vote and an election is on the horizon. Biting and as witty as the first in the series, the reader is taken through daily life on Parliament Hill and in the constituency. Angus, the accidental politician, does not disappoint with his quips, barbs and an incredible knack for finding grammatical errors in anyone's sp...more
I find it ironic that as I write this pieces of concrete are falling off the Gardiner Expressway, and almost killing people, and I narrowly missed the falling concrete of the tunnel in Montreal last summer...seeing as how the collapsing bridge is a the second "Angus rushes to the the rescue" plot from Fallis. I love Angus, and if they could clone him and make all politicians like Angus I would be very happy. The characters repeat their roles in this sequel, although there wasn't enough of the tw...more
A brilliant, irreverent and often hysterical tale that makes Canadian politics a compelling read and contains underlying truths beneath the humour. Like our own Rick Mercer, Terry Fallis makes politics engaging for those of us not so inclined. Angus McLintock is a wonderful character -- the smart, honest (if not photogenic) politician we would all love to vote for. His klutzy EA, Daniel provides much of the comic relief in this fast-paced funny story that makes use of senior citizens, cookies, r...more
Loved this and the chatty political stuff, the thrill of having a real representative. Wild and crazy and laugh out loud funny. Read it. PS: If you are a Conservative, just read it as if all the Liberals were Conservatives. It'll be just as funny. The NDP gets a few mentions but as usual, is left out of the discussion. Most annoying!
Still loved the book. Not quite as good as the Best Laid Plans, and I almost gave up in the middle, but forced my way through and had many good chuckles at the end....more
Still loved the book. Not quite as good as the Best Laid Plans, and I almost gave up in the middle, but forced my way through and had many good chuckles at the end....more
A charming follow-up to The Best Laid Plans that incorporates all of the finest parts of its predecessor. We meet again with our favourite heroes and villains, and are treated to new characters that enrich the political setting. Angus has brought me aboard his hovercraft, completely swooned by his humour, his heart, his honesty, and his hope. It is not often that fiction can instill such hope in me, but I truly feel moved by the change that Angus has convinced me is possible in our broken system...more
I won this novel"The High Road", by Terry Fallis, through Goodreads giveaway, and I was very impressed.I enjoyed the political humour this book had to offer.This novel is a follow-up to The Best Laid Plans. We meet again with our favourite heroes and villains, and are treated to new characters that enrich the political setting. Angus has brought me aboard,completely taken by his humour, his heart, his honesty, and his hope. It is not often that fiction can instill such hope in me, but I truly fe...more
Wow. I no sooner finished Terry's first book before I was curled up on my sofa ravenously devouring his second. I would tell you to mark these two book as "to definitely read" but that would be a split infinitive so I won't do that. ;) Engineering meets a grammarian that has bred with a Canadian politico. These are fun reading and a great way to transform a soggy weekend into a time of mirth, coffee and smiles.
P.S. He's also my boss. And I've already asked him to not put any more sex scenes in h...more
P.S. He's also my boss. And I've already asked him to not put any more sex scenes in h...more
I quite liked this.
1 like · like · see review
Terry Fallis' The High Road ridicules the ridiculous: the way in which partisan politics undermines democratic and sensible actions. Many readers apparently find it amusing, perhaps because the prose is clever and the reality of Canadian lawmaking is for the most part absurd. I found it impossible to laugh at situations which are in fact tragic and ironic portrayed by Fallis in fiction as comic and romantic. The cover of the book states the author works in public relations and indeed this novel...more
It has only been four months since Angus McClintock became the MP for the Liberal party in a longtime Conservative riding, but due to spoilery things that happened at the end of The Best Laid Plans, there is another election already. Surprisingly, Angus has decided to run again. Angus is a rare honest “politician” (but really an engineering professor) who doesn't make decisions based on what's best for him politically, but makes those decisions based on what's best for Canada. This election will...more
The High Road picks up right where The Best Laid Plans left us. Good thing, too, since I was hardly ready to leave these characters quite yet. This book find our beloved Angus back on the campaign trail...but this time he actually WANTS it! While I found the first book quite amusing. The sequel is laugh out loud hilarious! Not one I could easily read in public unless I wanted people looking at me funny.
Warning - the next couple of paragraphs contain details of the book that some readers might wi...more
Warning - the next couple of paragraphs contain details of the book that some readers might wi...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Cute - a nice sequel to The Best Laid Plans, which I enjoyed VERY much, The High Road is the next adventure of Angus McLintock, the principled MP from the first book. Like 'Plans", the plot requires that you allow yourself to believe the impossible can happen, but it is worth it. Terry Fallis writes with great humour which makes his stories very entertaining, and while the political slant is one that could possibly affect your enjoyment of his books (Conservatives - BAD, Liberals - GOOD!), that...more
Wow! Terry Fallis is a terrific writer. I love his use of similes, his sense of the comical and absurd, his colourful style.
The book is a satire but the characters and settings feel very real, right out of the front page of the newspaper. Canadian writing is often so reserved that it is boring. Terry Fallis breaks that mould.
You don't have to be Canadian to understand and enjoy this book; but first read The Best Laid Plans, the first in the series.
The book is a satire but the characters and settings feel very real, right out of the front page of the newspaper. Canadian writing is often so reserved that it is boring. Terry Fallis breaks that mould.
You don't have to be Canadian to understand and enjoy this book; but first read The Best Laid Plans, the first in the series.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Terry Fallis is the bestselling author of the comic novels The Best Laid Plans, and The High Road, and Up and Down. His debut novel (TBLP) was originally self-published in 2007 and won the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. Then McClelland & Stewart published TBLP in September 2008. He also won the Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Regional Fiction - Canada East ca...more
More about Terry Fallis...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“A life without challenge, a life without hardship, a life without purpose, seems pale and pointless. With challenge come perseverance and gumption. With hardship come resilience and resolve. With purpose come strength and understanding.”
—
6 people liked it
More quotes…
Oct 31, 2011 04:18pm