Spud Sweetgrass

Dave Jenkinson is Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education at the
University of Manitoba.

Doyle’s seventh novel is both simple and complex, for its seemingly
straightforward plot, with its gentle, subtle humor, is suffused with
several interconnected themes. The title character, John “Spud”
Sweetgrass, whose nickname evolved from his summer job of operating a
chipwagon parked on a street in Ottawa’s Chinatown, becomes convinced
that Dumper Stubbs, the man who picks up the chipwagon’s garbage and
used cooking oils, is not taking his loads to the grease depot for
recycling, but is instead dumping them into the Ottawa River, thereby
polluting it. Spud’s attempts to prove his suspicions become
complicated when Dumper and Mr. Fryday, who is both the owner of a
series of chipwagons and Spud’s employer, seem to be “good”
friends. After learning that appearances are not necessarily reality,
Spud ultimately prevails.

As with Doyle’s more recent books, some of his characters are
somewhat “unusual.” Spud’s best friend and “assistant sleuth”
is Dink the Thinker, a walking compendium of facts and a photo-taking
fiend. Dink also becomes mixed up in a subplot wherein Spud seeks
revenge on Mr. Boyle, the English teacher who was responsible for
Spud’s being expelled from Ottawa Tech. A further subplot involves the
way Spud and his mother deal with their grief over the recent death of
Spud’s father; in fact, part of Spud’s motivation for
“capturing” Dumper relates to Dumper’s having insulted the memory
of the dead man.

Spud Sweetgrass also has a strong multicultural element. Spud is part
Irish and part Native, while his girlfriend, Connie Pan, is half
Vietnamese and half Chinese. Throughout the book, readers repeatedly
encounter casual reminders of Canada’s changing cultural mix. A
recommended title for school and public libraries that serve middle-year
students.