The Kite
From AudioFile The work of a master storyteller is recited by a master raconteur--himself. The late Canadian humorist W.O. Mitchell has created a novel of irresistible charm about a journalist visiting a small town to interview a wily 111-year-old eccentric. Eloquent descriptive passages contrast with sparkling dialogue. One detects the influence of Mark Twain and Ring Lardner, though softened by a generous humanity. As a narrator, Mitchell sounds like a geezer, as indeed he was when he recorded this abridgment in 1990. He holds forth with shameless abandon, as if seeking only to amuse himself. If you enjoy listening to him, why, all the better! Fortunately, he is a superb performer, brimming with personality and good will, commanding an astonishing range, and vocally inventive. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine Product Description Set in the Prairie backwater of Shelby, Alberta, seasoned reporter and minor television celebrity David Lang arrives to write a magazine feature on the town's oldest living citizen, the 111-year-old curmudgeon Daddy Sherry. Still recovering from the disappointments of a fatherless childhood, the uptight David just wants to file his story as quickly as possible and hightail it back to Toronto. But he hasn't reckoned on the cantankerous cunning of Daddy Sherry. As David chases his recalcitrant subject all over town, he begins to understand the meaning of life and finds love and happiness for the first time. This never-before-published edition of the novel in audio format features Mitchell's own reading. It also introduces a whole new generation of readers to the rampaging Daddy Sherry, a holy terror whom Margaret Laurence considered to be Mitchell's "best and most complete character." Review "Bawdy and raunchy — an uncannily accurate feel for the emotional viewpoint of a 12-year old boy." — Globe and Mail"Astonishing. Mitchell turns the pastoral myth of prairie boyhood inside out." — Toronto Star"Moving, vivid and exciting — a beautiful, rich and utterly fascinating novel." — Windsor Star From the Back Cover When David Lang arrives in a prairie backwater to write a magazine profile of the town's oldest citizen, he has no idea what he's up against. The uptight reporter merely wants to file his story as quickly as possible and hightail it back to the big city. But he hasn't reckoned on the cantankerous cunning of Daddy Sherry. Moody, conniving, and stubbornly alive in every sinew of his 111-year-old body, Daddy Sherry is one of W.O. Mitchell's finest — and most hilarious — creations. He leads David on a journalistic wild goose chase that drags on for weeks and results in epiphanies for both men. This delightful archival recording, narrated by the author himself, combines a sly satire of the publishing world with gentle insights into the human heart. About the Author W.O. Mitchell is one of the most recognized Canadian authors of the last century. He was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan in 1914, and during a varied career he was everything from a Depression hobo to the fiction editor of Maclean's. His best-loved book, Who Has Seen the Wind (1947) is hailed as the quintessential Canadian coming-of-age novel. Other works include Jake and the Kid (1961), The Kite (1962), The Vanishing Point (1973), How I Spent My Summer Holidays