book review

        Cheeseburger Subversive

        Richard Scarsbrook


Reviewed by Andrea Raymond


        When I finished Richard Scarsbrook's Cheeseburger Subversive, I had a grin plastered across my face.  The kind of grin you get after you've read the perfect ending to to a novel that has been so thoroughly interesting that you haven't been able to put it down since you started to read it.  This coming of age novel tells the story of Dak Sifter, an incredibly engaging character.  You can't help but identify with Dak, and with his observations about growing up and life in general.  Dak's character won me over immediately, with the recounting of a tale about trying to operate a second-hand lawn tractor, in an early effort at male bonding with his dad.  Dak's misadventures atop the tractor are hilarious, leaving me laughing out loud.

        Broken up into vignettes, the novel starts off when Dak is in grade seven, dealing with class bullies, trying to be cool, and a new found interest in girls - well, one particular girl - Zoe Perry.  The novel ends when Dak is in his first year of university.  His growing experiences are chronicled through the years, his adoration of Zoe a constant throughout the novel.

        Some of Dak's observations on life are a bit more morose - he learns about what it is to be a man, after having a jar of pickles hurled at him by a new boss who has just insulted his father.  Dak won't stand for the insults and is quick to defend his dad with a quick-witted insult.  Though he ends up with shards of glass in his wrist, he realizes that being a man can simply mean standing up for what you believe in.

        His experiences are always interesting, from confronting a bully on the school bus, to nearly starting a riot in a McDonald's while trying to behave like an anarchist to impress the object of his affections, Zoe Perry.  His efforts to impress her are endearing, he writes her poetry, takes a job at an art gallery where she works, and shifts his political leaning.  His many mistakes in his attempts to woo Zoe are all the more endearing.

        Dak is easy to relate to as he deals with life's trials and tribulations.  As I read Cheeseburger Subversive, I had a sense that I was reading about a shared experience.  While I haven't been in any of the exact situations as Dak, the vignettes and memories as shared by Dak relate certain thoughts and feelings that are universal to growing up.  This book is laugh out loud funny, but still manages to be touching and dramatic at times.

        Cheeseburger Subversive is Richard Scarsbrook's first novel.  His poetry and short fiction have been published in a number of publications.

        Read it.  You'll thank me.





Reproduced from the December 2003/ January 2004 issue of Surface and Symbol, a publication of the Scarborough Arts Council.  

Andrea Raymond is the editor of Surface and Symbol.