Book Review

By Derryll White

Mitchell, Ken (1979). The Con Man.

I have not rendered anyone unhappy; I have not plundered the widow; I have not turned anyone adrift penniless on the world; I have merely availed myself of superfluous cash.               — Nikolia Googol, Dead Souls.

Ken Mitchell is a Canadian novelist who has been around for a long time. I am sure some readers remember ‘Wandering Rafferty’ or ‘Cruel Tears.’ Mitchell is unabashedly Canadian, the Corner Gas of the prose world. His central character here, Gillman (Gilly) N. Savard, is the Willie Loman of the small town Canadian frontier. Everyone, almost, loves him.

But Gilly is a loser, one of those people who is always out of step with societal norms, always being used by someone else. He is not stupid and sees society for what it is, but he can’t say no.

Mitchell is a delightful writer. He knows Canada and Canadians intimately, and he is gifted in the way he translates that knowledge to story. Reading ‘The Con Man’ reminds me that this is the way history should be written. Both the social and economic conditions of Canada in the 1960s and ‘70s are laid out in intriguing, understandable prose.

I would recommend Ken Mitchell to anyone, but those who feel that being born in Canada is tantamount to winning the big lottery should seriously consider reading ‘The Con Man.’

****

Excerpts from the novel:

RURAL CANADA – Holdfast was identical to most other prairie towns. A single main street lay parallel to the railway and the grain elevators; four side streets intersected at precise intervals. On the main street was the usual line-up: gasoline station, general store, machinery dealer, lunch counter, school, community hall, town office, church and pool hall. No trees.

PERSPECTIVE – If Gilly Savard’s punishment appears excessive – in light of the fact that none of his victims lost much actual cash – it should be pointed out that he was doing something far more outrageous than bilking people of money. He was making fools of them. What was worse, he was making fools of important people, who resent it far more than ordinary folk. The law courts can no more permit anarchy and ridicule than they can permit the destruction of property and life. Possibly, they are the same thing.

MONEY – “Now you all know the name of the game in our present day modern society. It’s money, right? Don’t be fooled by woolly-headed idealists who talk about some never-never land and live off your taxes. No. It’s money that makes the world go round.”

CLASS – “No, no: we can’t. Jensen is my boss! And his wife – she’s not used to – people like me.”

“People like you?”

“You know. She’s – educated.”

Maggie laughed. “No Geelly. Education frees people from class distinctions! Besides, zis is not Europe! You are a classless society in America, Geelly!”

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS – “Because it isn’t a game any more, no more’n any other sport. When people do it for money, it’s a business – which is why Goodman is in it. It’s big business, man! And it’s all fodder for the idiot box. To sell beer and cigarettes. I don’t know a single player who isn’t in it for the bread! So where does that leave you?”

– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them.  When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org

Article Share