The Antagonist
Forty-year-old Gordon “Rank” Rankin discovers that a close friend from university days has used him as a primary character in a novel. Infuriated by Adam’s portrayal of him as a teenager, Rank begins to blister Adam with angry e-mails to set the record straight and, ultimately, to come to terms with Ranks own deeply conflicted feelings about himself and his life. Coady, 28, is a rising star in Canadian fiction, and she has turned the very neat trick of engagingly, entertainingly, and insightfully examining the predicament of a boy of 14 (the young Rank) whose growth spurt unexpectedly places him in a large, powerful man’s body. Suddenly, Rank looks dangerous, and people, including his splenetic father and, later, his university hockey coach, want to make him their “enforcer,” a role Rank doesn’t want to play. His e-mails evolve from clumsy rages to thoughtful, measured ruminations on crucial events in his life, and he becomes a genuinely fascinating character. But it is Coady’s ability to realistically portray Rank’s teens and university years and empathically conduct his search for self that makes The Antagonist more than just entertainment. It’s deservedly long-listed for Canada’s prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize. --Thomas Gaughan