Spadework

On a summer evening in Stratford, Ontario, the errantthrust of a gardener’s spade slices a telephone cable intoinstant silence. The resulting disconnection isdevastating. With the failure of one call to reach thehouse, an ambitious young actor becomes the victim ofsexual blackmail. The blocking of a second call leadstragically to murder. And when a Bell Canada repairmanarrives to mend the broken line, his innocent yetirresistible male beauty has explosive consequences.

In Spadework, Timothy Findley—a master storytellerand playwright, has created an electric word-play ofinfidelity and morality, set on the stage of Stratford,Ontario—Findley’s home territory. In this insider’sfictional portrait of Canada’s pre-eminent theater town,intrigue, passion and ambition are always waiting in thewings. He peoples the town with theater makers, artists,writers, and visitors, both welcome and unwelcome—and with lives that are immediately recognizable as“Findleyesque”—the lonely, the dispossessed and thesexually troubled whose foibles confound their families,their friends and even their pets. A story that rippleswith ever-widening repercussions, a sensual andcompletely absorbing read, Spadework is anotherTimothy Findley winner.

Timothy Findley was one of Canada’s most compelling and best loved writers, from the publication of his first novel in 1967 until his death in June 2002. His acclaimed novels include Spadework, Pilgrim, The Piano Man’s Daughter, Headhunter, Not Wanted on the Voyage, Famous Last Words and The Wars. Findley was a two-time winner of the Governor General’s Award: The Wars won the 1977 award for fiction; Elizabeth Rex, a play, won the 2000 award for drama. The recipient of many accolades for his fiction, non-fiction and drama, including the Chalmers Award and the Edgar Award, Findley was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.