Fakin' eh!: How to Pretend to Be a Canadian

by Dan de Figueiredo

A madcap guide to hiding out in Canada and passing oneself off as a local; the how-to book on quirky Canadian ways.

Genres: Canada, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[dee (andie) 🕺🏼✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read this as a joke but the author bitching about how stupid americans are for 223 pages straight was absolutely wonderful

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's title really says it all; it is about how to pretend to be a Canadian. And it humorously does so. It starts with the basics, such as Canada's geography, giving a basic description of each province. It then moves into Canadian history, and ends with current affairs, such as money, sports, and the metric system. It gives enough information on each subject to make a person seem reasonably Canadian if you don't scratch the surface too deep.

The humor is pretty good, but the author has a tendency to digress frequently. It is a good introduction to all things Canada, and I found it worth my while to read, even though I'm not going to pretend to be Canadian.

I would recommend this book to people for no other reason than to educate them on what Canada is really like. Too many people are ignorant of foreign countries, and this is a fun way to get them informed.

[Nicole Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie, this was an extremely entertaining read. I'd give it a 4 star rating for being an overall enjoyable read (it was a little light on actual facts I felt... but more than made up for it in tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, hilarious spot-on characterizations of various political figures, and plenty of Alberta-based jokes!) Probably could be given another star if you consider the laughs it gave us on the ferry ride back from Victoria... Not bad for a random gift shop purchase, eh?

[Marla Nayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nominally, a book written by a Canadian for Americans who want to pass as Canadian. However, I suspect that anyone not familiar with Canada will miss much of the humour in this book. He moves through the provinces and territories, he uses “Eh!” frequently, he goes through history (The Hudson Bay company comes into this), indigenous peoples, politics, measurements (e.g., imperial vs. metric), sports, holidays, the flag, weather, and more. There is a lot of non-fiction that was interesting and it was presented in a very fun way; my Mother would call it droll. It was a fun read.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a non-Canadian, I found this to be a very informative book. I shared many passages with my Canadian partner who laughed at me asking him questions lots of times. Some of the political and historical information was slightly confusing, while some of it was overdone. Overall, an entertaining and easy to read book that I enjoyed in preparation for my trip.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent introduction to Canada based on content, but the humor is not that great. Actually, if you removed the "humor" it would be half as long and pretty handy. I'm American who's lived in Canada for a year, and while the info is spot-on, I don't think the humor meets the same mark.

[Ward Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, frank, and honest. Actually more informative than most history lessons.