Description

pp. 275, “Noted naturalist and science writer Wayne Grady set out a few years ago to compile a dictionary of Canadianisms. It would dispel notions held elsewhere in the world about “how we tack the tag-word ?h·onto the ends of all our sentences” and would explain why “we bullheadedly continue to spell ?olour·and ?torey·like the British rather than like the letter-thrifty Americans.” As he dug into the project, however, Grady realized that many such books existed. In Chasing the Chinook, he takes a more personal, essayistic approach to all the things that distinguish Canadians from their American neighbours. Grady touches on shibboleths of cuisine and drink, such as the Bloody Caesar (“a drink involving vodka, beef bouillon, Clamato juice and assorted spices”) and the mashed-potato-and-extras concoction called colcannon, brought from Ireland but modified by nearly all of Canada’s cultures. He writes authoritatively on matters of natural history, explaining why the gopher is so called and why gallinules rightly command the affections of birdwatchers. And he explores the many contributions of Canada to the daily life, language and folklore of the rest of the world, from the discovery of bacteriophages that kill dangerous micro-organisms to the mysterious Sasquatch, from cabooses to polygraphs. Throughout, Grady peppers his prose with tidbits of Canadian literature and history, about many of which–such as the origin of the name “Canada” and of the disappearing game of crokinole–there is considerable disagreement. A fearless explorer and entertaining storyteller, Grady serves up another winning book, one that will be of interest far beyond Canada’s borders.”