Parking the Moose: One American's Epic Quest to Uncover His Incredible Canadian Roots

Description

A quarter-Canadian from Cleveland explores his roots--and melts your face with joy. A quarter-Canadian from Cleveland explores his roots--and melts your face with joy. Most American children are taught that their country is the "best." But this idea never stuck with Dave Hill, despite being born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. His grandfather, you see, was from Canada. And every Sunday at dinner he'd remind Dave and anyone else within earshot that it was in fact Canada, this magical and mysterious land just across the mighty Lake Erie, that was the "best." So while Dave's peers kept busy with football and baseball, Dave got into hockey, developed a preference for Canadian bacon, and was well-versed in the Canadian healthcare system by age nine (okay, the last one is not true). In later years he even visited Canada a couple of times. And then, inspired by a publisher's payment of several hundred dollars (Canadian) in cash, he travelled all over the country, reconnecting with his heritage in such places as Montreal, Moose Jaw, Regina, Winnipeg, Merrickville and of course Clinton, Ontario, meeting a range of Canadians, touching things he probably shouldn't and having adventures too numerous and rich in detail to be done justice in this blurb. The result, he promises, is "the greatest Canada-based literary thrill ride of your lifetime."

DAVE HILL is a comedian, writer, musician, actor, podcaster and man-about-town originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but now living in New York City. He is the author of two previous books, Tasteful Nudes and Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and has written for The New York Times, GQ, Salon, The Paris Review, McSweeney's, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, VICE, Guitar World and a bunch of other places. Comedy legend Dick Cavett called Dave "a major figure among American comic writers, past and present." Dave has appeared on such TV shows as Inside Amy Schumer and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, hosted for HBO and Cinemax, and performed live comedy around the world. For five years he hosted The Goddamn Dave Hill Show on the WFMU radio station in Jersey City. Dave is a frequent contributor to public radio's This American Life. He currently sings and plays guitar in the psych/garage rock band Painted Doll, the extremely extreme Norwegian black metal band Witch Taint, and the power pop band Valley Lodge, whose song "Go" is the theme to HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

"Who could have guessed that the wisest and funniest book about Canada ever would be written by a comedian and badass guitar hero from Cleveland, Ohio?" -Malcolm Gladwell "Dave Hill is one of the most hilarious non-Canadian, non-women that I know." -Samantha Bee "One of the genuinely cherished days of my year is the day a new book by Dave Hill comes out. Mercifully, for those of us who find the usual wait for a favourite author a trial, Hill has delivered his latest work of laugh-out-loud, expert humour in the nick of time. . . . If you're looking for an ideal book that makes you turn down soirees and tweetable events just so you can stay home and chortle, then Dave Hill's Parking the Moose is exactly what you need." -Dick Cavett "What Malcolm Gladwell, Samantha Bee and Dick Cavett said." -Janeane Garofalo "Dave Hill rocks! His book is a fun ride through Canada. Jump on board and give it a read." -Randy Bachman "When I was a little kid, my American cousins would make me say the phrase 'out and about' over and over again so they could laugh hysterically at my Canadian accent. I wish this book had been available to them. It's a whole lot funnier than 'oot and aboot,' and they might have even learned something about their great neighbours to the north." -Stephen Brunt "I laughed a lot reading this book, I gotta tell ya. It's very well done." -Steve Paikin, The Agenda, TVO "I loved your book. Laughed out loud. And it takes a lot, actually, to make me laugh out loud." -Mutsumi Takahashi, CTV News Montreal "I was laughing out loud on many occasions in your book. It's incredibly funny." -Jeff McArthur, The Morning Show, Global Television.