Terry Fallis blends satire and espionage to address important issues in his latest novel Operation Angus
Terry Fallis is the author of several comedic novels including The High Road and Albatross. He has won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour twice — for his debut novel The Best Laid Plans and No Relation — and has been a finalist five times. The Best Laid Plans won Canada Reads 2011, when it was defended by Ali Velshi.
In his latest book, Operation Angus, he returns to his beloved character, Angus McLintock. This time around, Angus is plunged into the world of international espionage. Angus and Daniel Addison, who is Angus's young colleague and friend, starred in Fallis's earlier novels The Best Laid Plans and The High Road. Once again, they are forced to navigate the politics of Parliament, but this time with a side order of international intrigue.
Fallis spoke with Shelagh Rogers about writing Operation Angus.
Familiar characters
"In the 11-year hiatus from the last time I wrote about Daniel and Angus, I've done lots of book club talks and festivals and library readings. At every single one of those events, during the Q&A period, somebody will say, 'Well, we loved your new novel. It was great, but nothing will ever beat The Best Laid Plans. When is Angus coming back?'
I decided to bring them back by popular demand.
"So it's not always what a writer likes to hear — that you peaked on your first novel and have been on a slow and steady decline ever since. But clearly those characters struck a chord and I just thought, 'Why am I fighting this?'
"And I decided to bring them back by popular demand."
A principled politician
"I think Angus, his adherence to his principles, his inherent honesty in his ethics — all of that — I think, makes him an aspirational politician. For many readers, many Canadians, they would like to see an Angus McLintock talk on the floor of the House of Commons. I think that's partly why they like Angus. Daniel is just a good guy. He's a bit hapless and he knows his way around Parliament Hill, but perhaps not around too many other places. But they make a fun pair, I think. They're good guys. They're kind and they believe in the right things.
He is a man of action, a man of principle and firm beliefs, and nothing is going to stop them from honouring those.
"Angus doesn't really care what anyone thinks, except perhaps he cares about what his dearly departed wife thought when she was alive — and what she would think were she still here. So that guides him a bit. He is a man of action, a man of principle and firm beliefs, and nothing is going to stop them from honouring those."
Espionage inspirations
"I'm a big fan of thrillers and those kinds of movies. That was sort of the challenge I set for myself. I didn't want to write another straight political satire because Angus was a fish out of water in that world. But after two novels, he's not really the same fish out of water.
I didn't want to write another straight political satire because Angus was a fish out of water in that world.
"So I decided to write a comic thriller and throw Angus and Daniel in in the middle of it. I loved the James Bond movies and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mission Impossible and all that stuff. I lapped it up as a kid."
Writing older women
"It's always been really important to me to have older women in my novels playing important roles. It just struck me from the beginning when I started writing back in 2005 that women, particularly as they age, seemed to fade from our literature. They seldom have important roles, let alone leadership roles.
It's always been really important to me to have older women in my novels playing important roles.
"I've tried to address that almost in each of my novels in a subtle way by including older, important women who are doing important things in the story. So that's certainly the case with Vivian Kent, who's a new character."
The power of satire
"Humour can be a trenchant instrument of social comment if it's wielded well. With satire, you can shed light on injustice. You can get readers to think about issues without them knowing that they're thinking about it. So I think of humour as a different entry point for thinking about important issues when maybe rage had been the justifiable, but perhaps the all too common response.
Humour can be a trenchant instrument of social comment if it's wielded well.
"When there is so much rage, it tends to wash over us and maybe it diminishes its impact over time. So if you can find a new way to get the reader to consider a question, an issue, a subject, a problem — you may get them into that debate to think about those important issues.
Terry Fallis's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
