A new novel by author-comedian Charles Demers, one of Canada’s great young stand-up comedians and the author of four previous books, including the essay collections The Horrors (Douglas & McIntyre) and The Dad Dialogues (Arsenal). Charles is also the editor of the Arsenal imprint Robin’s Egg Books, which publishes its second title, The Great NDN Paradox by Ryan McMahon, in fall 2018.
The novel is both a send-up of, and a paean to, the traditional crime novel, as well as a satire on overpriced housing markets and gang violence prevalent in large urban centers. The premise is simple yet ingenious: a man who is faced with losing his home if he doesn’t buy out his father-in-law concocts a scheme where he fakes a drive-by gang shooting on his property, thereby driving down its value. It would work perfectly if only organized crime members didn’t get wind of his scheme; it goes downhill from there.
Charles has always wanted to write a crime novel; in his own words: “I’m the world’s greatest devotee of The Sopranos in history; I’ve been obsessed with stories of organized crime since I was a kid. I’ve been reading a lot of Elmore Leonard and Don Winslow lately, and loving the sense of irony and playfulness in those books, though I think my attempt is more straightforwardly comic. The presence of Prizzi’s Honor, both the film and the book, can be found in my book too.”
