Yann Martel: Master Narrative

Carol Shields Dept: The tale the Liberal leader has promised to tell Canadian voters has a lot of minor characters and plot twists that aren't easy for a casual observer of politics to keep straight, according to Vancouver Sun. The storytelling challenges are formidable. Perhaps it's not a bad thing for Harper's chief challenger, then, that he's got some serious credentials as a writer and novelist, and is among the handful of Canadians -alongside the likes of Margaret Atwood, Carol Shields and Yann Martel -who have been finalists for the Man Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards. Ignatieff, also a broadcaster and human-rights scholar of considerable renown, knows how to spin a yarn. And he's got some decent material to work with depending on your political point of view , including the Conservative government's highly controversial decision last year -over the advice of the Harper-appointed head of Statistics Canada, Munir Sheikh -to scrap Canada's long-form census and the polls don't look promising for any opposition party. And the economy isn't exactly waving a "Save Me -Turf the Tories" election sign. So as the Liberals embark on their five-week campaign to end Stephen Harper's five-year run as prime minister, they are counting heavily on the ability of Michael Ignatieff to weave a compelling master narrative -from the threads of a dozen or so lesser storylines -about the Conservative government's alleged contempt for democracy. Quick: Can you define prorogation? Why did the head of Statistics Canada quit his job? Who was that ousted nuclear watchdog? And why does Ignatieff's "Contempt" story have chapters titled "In-and-Out", "Not", and "Bruce Carson's Girlfriend"? As reported in the news.
@t prestigious literary awards, man booker prize