McAdam, Colin 1971-

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McADAM, Colin 1971-

PERSONAL: Born 1971; married Jaclyn Moriarty (a writer). Education: Attended University of Toronto and McGill University; Cambridge University, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES: Home—Montreal, Canada and Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Harcourt, 6277 Sea Harbor Dr., Orlando, FL 32887.

CAREER: Author.

WRITINGS:

Some Great Thing, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Colin McAdam, the son of a Canadian diplomat, has lived in Hong Kong, Denmark, England, and Barbados and was educated in Canada and England. McAdam is married to writer Jaclyn Moriarty, and they live both in Montreal, Canada and Sydney, Australia.

McAdam's debut novel, Some Great Thing, is the tale of two men living in 1970s Ottawa, Canada during the boom in which fortunes were made as shoddy buildings were thrown up by developers seeking to get rich quick. A Kirkus Reviews critic felt that the novel "flexes considerable muscle once it settles down from a jittery beginning." Narrator Jerry McGuinty is the son and grandson of plasterers. He began in the trade as an apprentice and became a master, but he wants more. He dreams of building quality buildings and homes, and he does, eventually becoming a proud and wealthy developer.

Washington Post Book World reviewer Lev Raphael noted that "with all the swagger of an American backwoodsman of legend—think Daniel Boone—McGuinty fills Ottawa with houses, and his name becomes a byword for quality. He's battled the recalcitrant earth, run the gauntlet of civic planners with their endless meetings, and drill-sergeanted work crews into cohesiveness and efficiency."

Jerry is married to Kathleen, a beautiful Irish immigrant he met while she served lunches to workers from her wagon, and they have a son. Jerry is so caught up with his work that he does not see how his family is changing. Kathleen drifts into alcoholism, their marriage becomes a love-hate relationship, and their damaged son leaves for life on the street. Raphael commented that in Kathleen's voice, "and in every other in this book, McAdam displays a superb ear for dialogue, especially when his characters are ranting or lying about what they want."

Jerry's counterpart is Simon Struthers, the privileged son of a member of parliament and the government's ineffective director of design and land use. He is involved with the rebuilding of Ottawa and has authority over a contested piece of land that Jerry and his investors want to develop. Simon's work, unlike Jerry's, goes largely unnoticed, and he makes bad choices, including his pursuit of, first, a colleague's wife, and then the colleague's daughter. Library Journal critic Harold Augenbraum wrote that "though one never likes Jerry or Simon, they become fascinating silhouettes, like crumpled paper dolls."

Virginia Quarterly Review contributor Colin Mort commented on the tight structure and delicate writing of the novel and noted the author's "frequent bursts of humor. McAdam has a rare gift for creating a rich surface of voices with darker currents gathering strength below." Raphael concluded by saying that Some Great Thing "is a novel about the fruitless longing to create something that will withstand the savage fist of time." A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that "technical prowess and a surprising empathy mark McAdam as a writer to watch."