Review of 'How to be a Canadian'

How to be a Canadian by Will Ferguson, and Ian Ferguson

how_to_be_a_canadian.jpg “How to be a Canadian” is light hearted look at what it is to be a Canadian taking in all aspects of life from language, beer, sex, history, government and sports. At times it is extremely trite (the chapter on “How the Canadian Government Works” is two words long: “It doesn't”) but at others it is seriously attempts to explain aspects of Canadian life though most of the time it picks on a particular aspect and simply rolls with it, milking it for whatever humour it can extract. Right from the beginning of the book the authors proport to have done very little research but this is belied by many sections that demonstrate they have done much more than this such as the witty look at each of the provinces (and territories).

As a Canadian reading this book I can relate to many of the comments made about Canadians but I found that often the book rambles into seemingly random directions and leaving out huge aspects of Canadian life that could do with more than a passing mention as sources of much more humorous material. I do believe they could have skipped the easy jokes and taken a bit more time to go into areas of Canadian life that are quite funny and go a long way to explaining what Canadians are actually like.

Though not quite as funny as you might expect, “How to be a Canadian” is a loving but humorous look at what it is to be a Canadian. Though, for goodness sake, don't take a word of it seriously.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2022-03-20


Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre

Publication Date: 2007

ISBN: 9781553653110