The Age of Improv: A Political Novel of the Future

by Rick Salutin

"...an important voice that ought to become more important still". -- The Globe and Mail"May our dark age never get so dark that there is no piece in it for voices such as his" -- Books in Canada

It is the beginning of the 21st century and an election has been called, but the traditional political parties no longer exist. With only a video camera and his gifted ability to improvise, actor Matthew Deans begins his own campaign. What transpires makes Rick Salutin's The Age of Improv a provocative and fascinating novel about the relationship between politics and theater.

248 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 1996

About the author

Rick Salutin is a playwright, novelist, and journalist who has received awards in all these areas. He wrote a weekly column for the Globe and Mail for 20 years and now provides weekly columns and videos for the Toronto Star.

Reviews

[Michael]

Although there were times I was really enjoying this book, I found that in the end it left me feeling flat. The premise of this novel is that a Canadian celebrity actor and activist enters politics and becomes prime minister... The novel explores the line between acting and being and dwells on a nostalgia for the activism and idealism of the past. The main character Matthew is uncomfortable in the spotlight, is irritatingly self effacing despite great talent and is plagued by doubt regarding his motives and lacks of a clear sense of identity. Sadly he embodies many uncomfortable realities that plague the leftward leaning aspects of the political spectrum today. He is a tragic and pathetic figure and his aimless political career ends disquietingly with his sudden abdication after he submits the nation to a bizarre referendum about ideals. The novel certainly captures the emotional turmoil that certain idealistic perspectives on socialism face in the post-modern age and provides some insightful critiques on the less self doubting simple mindedness of the right, but it does little to guide us to the new clearer and more confident vision on the left that we so desperately need. If you enjoy tragic figures and an intelligent and fanciful philosophical romp with hearty helpings of existential self doubt and uncertainty... this book might be for you.