Village Squire, 1974-01, Page 20Book Review
The Mayor of Upper Upsalquitch makes fun reading
BOOK REVIEW...
The Mayor of Upper Upsalquitch is the
kind of book you CAN put down. That's not
a knock against John 5. Crosbie but simply
a statement on the nature of the book.
The book is a diary written by the mayor
of the mythical town in New Brunswick and
through the short daily entries we comp to
meet the people of the town. People like
Casey Irving, the local banker who doesn't
have a safe that .works so hides all the
town's money in a plastic bag in the toilet
overnight or Milky Becker, the building
inspector, termite inspector, police con-
stable and just about everything else.
The book 'is hilarious in many spots and
only now and then seems to get off the
track. Throughout, the Mayor, though
larger than life, reminds a smalltown
reader of many people he sees every day in
his home town.
Take for example the mayors explana-
tion of making democracy work to
advantage He and another member of
council, the undertaker, are discussing
how they would like to buy a hearse for the
undertaker which would serve the mayor as
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91
a limousine • when not in its usual
occupation. The council will rent the hearse
from the undertaker. How will they
convince the council, the undertaker asks?
"Well," says the mayor, "that is a
problem. But we'll just have to hope that
democracy will triumph. There are six
councillors: now, you're going to vote for
it, and Casey (the banker) will, because it's
a nice, .safe loan. And I imagine we can
count on Dan Prosser being for it, seeing as
how he's the car dealer involved. So the
worst we can have is a tie. And then I, as
Mayor, will cast the deciding vote".
No qualms about conflict of interest
there. Could be a member of the provincial
government.
Or how about the problems of a public
official going to church:
"In a town this small the Mayor simply
has to go to church on Sunday. To make
matters worse, you have to stay awake and
look as though you're listening. Some
Sundays my job seems hardly worth it."
The mayor is a real oldtime political
operator in the old time sense. He is a full
Personalized
Valentine Books
Boxed
Packaged
Children's
Table cloths
Table Napkins
Paper plates & cups
Table centres
Cutouts for Walls
Candles
20, VILLAGE SQUIRE/JANUARY 1974
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time mayor who doesn't get paid. His
position is used to gain financial favours
and he readily admits it, at least to his
diary. Such as the time someone
approached him to run for Parliament:
"Well, it didn't take long for me to
answer. I'd thought that through years
ago. There's no way you'd get me to move
to Ottawa. They're nothing but a bunch of
crooks up there. Everyone of them is out to
get everything he can for himself.
"Down here, it's different. I have the
field pretty much to myself."
It's the kind of book you can really enjoy
if you like a tongue in cheek look at the
smalltown way of life, although we found it
a bit too much of a good thing if we sat
down for long spells at a time. And at
times, Mr. Crosbie makes the mayor look a
little too stupid as in stupid stupid not
crafty stupid, and the fun goes out of the
story. But on the whole, it's a fun book and
the kind you'll enjoy.
--McGraw-Hill Ryerson
THE Curiosity Shoppe
(THE GREEN DOOR)
K. PREVETT
79 HAMILTON ST.
524-6661