Friends, Moments, Countryside: Selected Columns from Canadian Living, 1993-98

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto-based broadcaster and public-relations
consultant.

The highlight of this book is the introduction, in which the author
describes the changes in Canada he has observed since 1993, the year his
first selection of Canadian Living columns appeared in book form.

A potpourri of reflections follows. Their subjects include a childhood
friend, a well-liked hairdresser, a personal trainer, Gloria Steinem,
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, forgetting names, cooking, and golf tournaments
organized to raise funds for literacy programs. Gzowski expresses
inexplicable pride in the fact that he has traveled abroad only
twice—once to Paris (where he served as a member of the Giller Prize
jury) and once to London (on a disastrous trip about which he does not
elaborate).

There is a lack of energy and substance in these columns, which fail to
live up to the author’s usual high standards. There is also
considerable overlap and repetition. Gzowski fans, of whom there are
thousands, will be disappointed.