The Candidate: Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail

(Paperback)

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A comical and revealing account of what it's like to run for office with no political experience, little money and only a faint hope of winning, told first-hand by celebrated writer Noah Richler. During the 2015 federal election, approximately 1200 political campaigns were held across Canada. One of those campaigns belonged to author, journalist and political neophyte Noah Richler. Recruited by the NDP to run in the bellwether riding of Toronto-St Paul's, he was handed $350 and told he would lose. But as veteran NDP activists and social-media-savvy newbies joined his campaign, Richler found himself increasingly insulated from the stark reality that his campaign was flailing, imagining instead that he was headed to Parliament Hill. In The Candidate, Richler recounts his time on the trail in sizzling detail and hilarious frankness, from door knocking in Little Jamaica to being internet-shamed by experienced opponents. The Candidate lays bare what goes on behind the slogans, canvassing and talking points, told from the perspective of a political outsider. With his signature wit and probing eye, Noah Richler's chronicle of running for office is insightful, brutally honest and devastatingly funny.

Reviews

Finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing
A Globe and Mail Best Book
A National Post Best Book

"A jaunty, well-written manual for how to fail in politics. . . . Mr. Richler paints a warm picture of his shambolic campaign." The Globe and Mail

"[Richler's] self-awareness is what makes his account, at times as chaotic as the campaign itself, so compelling. By the end, readers can't help but conclude that every suspicion, hope and clich about politics is both true and false." Macleans

"Richler takes readers through a humourous look at the ins and outs of a political campaign by combining his reminiscences with Facebook posts, Twitter conversations, a Shakespearean parody, daydreams, op-eds and even commentaries from volunteers. . . . The Candidate is a fascinating look at the election process,if somewhat dispiriting in its disclosure of how it works." Toronto Star

"[Richler] has penned an insightful, often scathing, always self-deprecating account of his brief foray into Canadian politics.... The Candidate is one of the more droll yet heartfelt accounts of the Canadian electoral process, and one that would have doubtless left his dad proud." Montreal Gazette

"The Candidate is as engaging as any book written about Canadian politics in a long time. Unsurprisingly, the quality of Richler's writing far surpasses that of the typical Canadian political memoir. . . . He doesn't seem to be holding anything back."Quill & Quire

"The Candidateis a groundbreaking Canadian political memoir because of its honesty. . . . [Richler is] open and funny about what it's like to door-knock, and he's insecure, over-confident, sarcastic and very witty, sometimes all at the same time, about life on the campaign trail. This isa refreshinglyfunny, well-written account of what it's like to run for federal office in this country, from the ground." TheHillTimes

Author Bio

NOAH RICHLER made documentaries and features for BBC Radio for fourteen years before returning to Canada in 1998. He was the books editor and then the literary columnist for the National Post, and has contributed to numerous publications in Canada and Britain, including The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. His first book, This Is My Country, What's Yours, won British Columbia's National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. He lives in Toronto.