Before the Canada Reads got underway this morning, I had my money on Good to a Fault. Journalists traditionally do well in the Canada Reads format–I think it’s simply having the experience of talking on the air–and Good to a Fault, thanks to it’s Giller nom last year–is familiar to many people without many of them actually having read it. My back-up choice? The Jade Peony. Samantha Nutt is articulate and used to fighting for a cause she believes in. Yes, The Jade Peony has heaps of accolades, but that was fifteen years ago. And again, I don’t think as many people had read it as they claim.
That leaves Generation X, Nikolski and Fall on Your Knees. Gen X doesn’t have a hope in hell. It’s a love it or hate it book that shouldn’t be on this list. And I doubt Cadence Weapon will come ready to battle. Perdita Felicien? I love the gal, but as an Olympian, her media experience is limited to the basic athlete sound bites we hear all Olympics-long. With the right panelist, Fall on Your Knees overcome the Oprah sticker, but I don’t think she’s it.
Then there’s Nikolski. It was by far my favorite read on this years’ Canada Reads list. I know I defended The Jade Peony. (Politics, I tell you. Politics.) Michel Vézina is a journalist, but I think the combination of lesser known pick with lesser known media personality (not to mention the language issue) is going to kill Nikolski early.
After listening to the first day, some of my predictions were right. Some were wrong. Here’s how they went down:
Simi Sara and Good to a Fault: Simi’s articulate, but her debate fell pretty flat. The “it’s a lesser known book” argument is not going to fly. You need to get behind the plot and characters a bit more if you want to raise GTAF up. Otherwise, I’m expected this to go third, after Nikolski and Generation X.
Samantha Nutt and The Jade Peony: While Samantha tugged at the national identity argument a bit too hard, she came out fighting and well-armed. I’m betting on a top two landing for this pair.
Perdita Felicien and Fall on Your Knees: This was the pair that surprised me the most. Perdita came out fighting and ready to win. I was especially concerned after her Canada Reads library showing a fews weeks ago, but she’s used her Olympain background to her advantage and came out fighting. A book I once thought was toast is looking like a top two selection. We’ll see how it holds up.
Cadence Weapon and Generation X: As a panelist, Cadence was fine. Not stellar, not terrible. What surprised me was how much the other panelists hated the book. It’s going down just for that. And soon.
Michel Vézina and Nikolski: Michel was the panelist that proved me most right: his arguments were great, but his accent is going to kill him. This, simply put, sucks, especially in a country that prides itself on being bilingual. Language issues aside, Vézina simply isn’t strong enough to overcome how much the rest of the panelists were resistant to Nikolski.
Prediction: Generation X is outta here.
Image via CBC Canada Reads website.
