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Ottawa in the seventies is a field of dreams: a developing city, ripe for the taking. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities: Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, who has inherited wealth and position, all the trappings of success, but is a cipher of a man, with nothing inside him but longing. As their careers and successes run in parallel - Jerry with his new wife, Kathleen, who likes a drink even more than she likes him, and Simon with his endless affairs and intrigues - we begin to see how love is suffocated by work, how individuals are slowly crushed by progress. When both men finally understand what they are losing, and go in search of it, their lives start to intersect, and the story spirals to its astonishing conclusion. This is a thrillingly original novel about ambition and desire, power and corruption. "Some Great Thing" has the same epic emotional grandeeur as "The Great Gatsby". With great skill, and with huge compassion for his broken characters and their thwarted dreams, Colin McAdam has created one of the finest first novels of recent years.
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Review:
Canadian writer Colin McAdam's Some Great Thing demonstrates much promise but shows a bit of the raggedness to be expected from an ambitious debut effort. McAdam spends nearly a quarter of the book slowly introducing his interpretation of Ottawa, experimenting with first- and third-person narration, and framing the lives of his two protagonists, Simon Struthers and Jerry McGuinty. McGuinty is an ambitious developer with a passion for plaster and for the lunch truck cook, Kathleen Herlihy. Struthers, a man crippled by the reputation of his famous father, is a civil servant in the National Capital Division. Only at the end of Part Two (of Six) do Struthers and McGuinty meet, and Part Three begins the real unfolding of the story. Some readers will have abandoned McAdam long before, during his explorations of the corrupt process for getting small business loans or in his fragmented presentation of Struthers's sexual appetites. They may also stumble over McAdam's occasional lapses into pseudo-poetry, placed in the mouths of working-class characters ("...I will tell you about a line like 'S' and the taste of the milk of lost hope.")
About the Author:
Yet, as McAdam moves forward, the work he has done early on establishing relationships and experimenting with form builds momentum. The ageing Struthers's sexual dalliances and his struggle to live up to the promise of the visionary Dreambook (a list of grand ideas prepared by one of the early city mandarins) lead him to seek distraction, inevitably, in a tragic passion for Kweyt Schutz, the daughter of one of his co-workers. Meanwhile, McGuinty's pursuit of "some great thing to do" manifests in sprawling suburbs, shopping malls, conflicts with Struthers over development plans, and a quest to build a relationship with his lost son.
McAdam's affinity for development and city planning makes perfect sense when considering the complexity of Some Great Thing. While it is far from perfect, there is great talent on display in the book, and McAdam's craftsman-like approach suggests he will only improve with each new construction. --Patrick O'Kelley
Colin McAdam is a Canadian who grew up in Hong Kong, Denmark, England and Canada. After completing a doctorate in England, he moved to Sydney, Australia, where he now lives. His second novel, Fall, was published in 2009 to critical acclaim.
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- PublisherVintage Books USA
- Publication date2005
- ISBN 10 0099458942
- ISBN 13 9780099458944
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages384
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Some Great Thing (Paperback)
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 'McAdam's impressive novel sets these two men on a collision course in a battle that is not only over the public spaces of the city, but also about the landscapes of their private worlds' - Ian Critchley, The Sunday TimesOttawa in the seventies is colourless, cold, and aching for character, ripe for the taking. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities- Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, with inherited wealth and position, but nothing inside him but longing.As their careers and successes run in parallel - Jerry with his new wife, Kathleen, who likes a drink even more than she likes him, and Simon with his endless affairs and intrigues - we begin to see how a landscape can be shaped by desire. When both men realise that something is missing, and go in search of it, their lives start to intersect, and the story spirals to its astonishing conclusion. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities: Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, who has inherited wealth and position. As their careers and successes run in parallel, we begin to see how love is suffocated by work, how individuals are slowly crushed by progress. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780099458944
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 368 pages. 7.76x5.08x0.94 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0099458942
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Book Description Condition: New. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities: Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, who has inherited wealth and position. As their careers and successes run in parallel, we begin to see how love is suffocated by work, how individuals are slowly crushed by progress. Num Pages: 368 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 143 x 24. Weight in Grams: 250. . 2005. New Ed. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780099458944
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Some Great Thing
Published by
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ISBN 13: 9780099458944
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Book Description Condition: New. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities: Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, who has inherited wealth and position. As their careers and successes run in parallel, we begin to see how love is suffocated by work, how individuals are slowly crushed by progress. Num Pages: 368 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 143 x 24. Weight in Grams: 250. . 2005. New Ed. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780099458944
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Some Great Thing (Paperback)
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0099458942
ISBN 13: 9780099458944
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 'McAdam's impressive novel sets these two men on a collision course in a battle that is not only over the public spaces of the city, but also about the landscapes of their private worlds' - Ian Critchley, The Sunday TimesOttawa in the seventies is colourless, cold, and aching for character, ripe for the taking. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities- Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, with inherited wealth and position, but nothing inside him but longing.As their careers and successes run in parallel - Jerry with his new wife, Kathleen, who likes a drink even more than she likes him, and Simon with his endless affairs and intrigues - we begin to see how a landscape can be shaped by desire. When both men realise that something is missing, and go in search of it, their lives start to intersect, and the story spirals to its astonishing conclusion. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities: Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, who has inherited wealth and position. As their careers and successes run in parallel, we begin to see how love is suffocated by work, how individuals are slowly crushed by progress. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780099458944
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Some Great Thing (Paperback)
Published by
Vintage Publishing, London
(2005)
ISBN 10: 0099458942
ISBN 13: 9780099458944
New
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Quantity: 1
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 'McAdam's impressive novel sets these two men on a collision course in a battle that is not only over the public spaces of the city, but also about the landscapes of their private worlds' - Ian Critchley, The Sunday TimesOttawa in the seventies is colourless, cold, and aching for character, ripe for the taking. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities- Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, with inherited wealth and position, but nothing inside him but longing.As their careers and successes run in parallel - Jerry with his new wife, Kathleen, who likes a drink even more than she likes him, and Simon with his endless affairs and intrigues - we begin to see how a landscape can be shaped by desire. When both men realise that something is missing, and go in search of it, their lives start to intersect, and the story spirals to its astonishing conclusion. Two men, from different ends of society, see the opportunities: Jerry McGuinty, plasterer-turned-builder, a simple, self-made man, and Simon Struthers, who has inherited wealth and position. As their careers and successes run in parallel, we begin to see how love is suffocated by work, how individuals are slowly crushed by progress. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780099458944
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