Taking Power

Hugh Oliver is Editor-in-Chief, OISE Press.

This novel, set in Toronto in the decade 1969 to 1979, represents an
interesting blend of fact and fiction. The predominant theme is city
politics, embracing such issues as the Berryman (read Spadina)
Expressway extension, high-rise development, the Hanover (read Yonge)
Street mall, and, in conclusion, a mayoralty election. A large, and at
times confusing, cast of characters consists chiefly of lawyers, real
estate developers, municipal politicians, municipal bureaucrats, and a
few militant citizens. The carefully crafted complex of human
relationships is worked out in both private and public contexts, and
there is drama aplenty in both. But almost inevitably in a sociological
novel of this kind, the characters tend to be rather two-dimensional,
and although one is curious about what will happen to them, one is not
emotionally involved at any great depth. Dramatized, the novel would
seem to have the makings of an excellent TV series.