Canada

by Mike Myers

Comedy superstar Mike Myers writes from the (true patriot) heart about his 52-year relationship with his beloved Canada.

Mike Myers is a world-renowned actor, director and writer, and the man behind some of the most memorable comic characters of our time. But as he says: "no description of me is truly complete without saying I'm a Canadian." He has often winked and nodded to Canada in his outrageously accomplished body of work, but now he turns the spotlight full-beam on his homeland.

His hilarious and heartfelt new book is part memoir, part history and pure entertainment. It is Mike Myers' funny and thoughtful analysis of what makes Canada Canada, Canadians Canadians and what being Canadian has always meant to him. His relationship with his home and native land continues to deepen and grow, he says. In fact, American friends have actually accused him of "enjoying" being Canadian and he's happy to plead guilty as charged.

A true patriot who happens to be an expatriate, Myers is in a unique position to explore Canada from within and without. With this, his first book, Mike brings his love for Canada to the fore at a time when the country is once again looking ahead with hope and national pride. "Canada" is a wholly subjective account of Mike's Canadian experience. Mike writes, "Some might say, 'Why didn't you include this or that?' I say there are 35 million stories waiting to be told in this country, and my book is only one of them."

This beautifully designed book is illustrated in colour (and "not" color) throughout, and its visual treasures include personal photographs and Canadiana from the author's own collection. Published in the lead-up to the 2017 sesquicentennial, this is Mike Myers' birthday gift to his fellow Canadians. Or as he puts it: "In 1967, Canada turned one hundred.Canadians all across the country made Centennial projects.This book is my Centennial Project. I'm handing it in a little late.... Sorry."

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography, Memoir, Canada, Humor, History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2016

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO MUCH FUN.......AUDIOBOOK....read by Mike Myers
I’m even trying to talk funny like a Canadian.
When somebody is sick and in THE hospital....they don’t say ‘the’ Middle word “Jonny is IN HOSPITAL”.

Who knew that Canada had a branch of Government called “Statistics”. Mike Myers who was born on May 25th, ( the day after my May birthday), informs that Canada is obsessed with LISTS.....LISTS OF *FIRSTS*.
Actually, Myers was so funny listing off a wonder of fascinating facts of ‘firsts’ that Canada invented....( I was thoroughly impressed).... I thought I’d look more into this and see if he was accurate… So, I visited to google. He ‘was’ accurate - but google explained a larger context.

I got a deeper understanding about the PURPOSE of STATISTICS CANADA:
It’s to help Canadians better understand their country — population, resources, economy, society and culture. In addition to conducting Census every five years, there are about 350 active surveys on virtually every aspect of Canadian life.
Here are a few of the greatest Canadian inventions:
Insulin, the light bulb, five pin bowling, the wonder bra, the artificial pacemaker, the Robertson screw, the zipper, and the electric wheel chair.
They also invented the game Trivia Pursuit. I’m never playing a Canadian... lol

Mike Myers was funny when talking about Canadian history. He said if he wanted to put his insomnia American friends to sleep, all he had to do is start talking about Canadian history.
Canada is famous for a lot of things, such as maple syrup… but when it comes to history, Mike had to admit it wasn’t particularly so thrilling....yet he sure expresses LOVE FOR CANADA. I’m feelin it too!

..... Canada - 151 years old, got its independence from Britain in 1867. They got their own flag in 1965. And they got it’s own constitution in 1982.

Mike Myers, actor comedian, screen writer, producer, often known for “Wayne’s World”, “Austin Powers”, and “Saturday Night Live”, who presently lives in America, LOVES HIS BIRTH COUNTRY: he is very sentimental about Canada.
So......his gives us a BOOK FILLED WITH HEART - a little history - part about Canada - parts about his family - his childhood- moving out of the house as a young adult - his beginning years of working at ‘Second City Comedy Club’ - and lots of nostalgia ‘feels’ that people who grew up in Canada probably could relate to.
I smiled too .....when Mike mentioned a childhood TV show called “Mr. Dress Up”.....
and that could be ‘somewhat’ compared to our ‘Mr. Rogers.

Mike gives a vivid childhood experience of growing up in Scarborough, Ontario.... the suburban district in the east side of Toronto....living with his parents who were British - VERY BRITISH - ( we begin to see where Mike Myers might have developed his funny bone: part survival from his family upbringing & part admiration for his father’s Philosophy on life: THERE IS NO BAD SITUATION IN LIFE THAT A LITTLE HUMOR CAN’T FIX.

I COULD GO ON and ON...... but I’m sure you’re sick of me.....
I LIKED THIS BOOK ....
....I’m walking away from it filled with emotions - thoughts - a little more knowledge about Canada ( good start), a warm feeling of comfort that our daughter has moved to a country to feel proud about ....with so much natural beauty & clean fresh air - great people who value justice - humor - with adorable ways of phrasing words ( read the lists to learn more)...has great hockey ( our daughter loves hockey) - criminals don’t dictate Canadian values -
Canada is a peaceful nation with an open heart.....a welcoming country...


I love Mike Myers more ‘now’ - after his book - than his screen work....HE WAS SO REAL!!!
TOWARDS THE END HE HAD ME IN *TEARS*...... yikes, I felt everything .....having known the core of the experience he felt - first hand myself.

This funny guy isn’t always funny. He just demonstrated the true mensch of a man he is.....
A great tribute to Canada ....Canadians.....and a few of us who live elsewhere.
🇨🇦

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, witty, and at times deeply moving, Canada is Mike Myers' love letter to his home country.

Never once did I worry about crime. I had the presence of mind to realize what a great thing it is, to live in a safe country. Other countries talk about freedom, but the freedom to walk home at night, knowing that the chances of being attacked are slim to none, is perhaps one of the greatest freedoms.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Mike Myers tells us about his parent's immigration to Canada, what it was like growing up in Ontario, and touring across the country in his early days with The Second City. I learned a lot about his career, and laughed out loud at his nuggets of Canadian nostalgia.

By June, if you’re a Leafs fan, the season is over. Truthfully it is usually over by December. Every year, the Leafs have a great team on paper, but, unfortunately hockey is played on ice.

It's so true...

Myers' love for his country is closely tied to his friendships, family, and outlook on life. And his narration of the audiobook brings a particular depth to his words. I certainly recommend if you are looking for a case of the warm and fuzzies about Stompin' Tom, back bacon, and Sam the Record Man.

[Paul Haspel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Canada is comedian Mike Myers’s home and native land, and he clearly loves Canada very much. I love Canada, too, even though I am not a Canadian. And the creator of the Wayne’s World and Austin Powers films clearly has two purposes in writing his 2016 book that is titled simply Canada. It is both a memoir and an ode – an autobiographical look back on what might seem an improbable journey to success and fame, and a love song to the home country that he clearly adores.

The first section of the book is titled “True,” and in it Myers sets forth a detail-rich recounting of “A Canadian Childhood.” Myers’s parents were Britons – Liverpudlians who emigrated to Canada after the Second World War, earning the lasting gratitude of their son who dedicates the book to them, adding, “Thanks for choosing Canada.”

Myers also takes pains to note that his British parents’ abiding love of all things British, and the pride they felt when British cultural exports like James Bond films broke big in their adopted Canadian homeland, influenced his later creation of the Austin Powers character.

Looking back at his working-class growing-up years in the Toronto district of Scarborough, Ontario, Myers recalls that “Canada in the 1960’s and ’70’s was a great place to grow up poor. During that time, the social safety net made it so that, while I knew we weren’t rich, I didn’t feel we were poor” (p. 54). He adds that “We had universal health care, which meant that getting sick never meant extra catastrophe. Plus, we had fantastic schools and a low crime rate. We felt safe and secure. It’s one thing to be poor; it’s another thing to be poor and feel unsafe” (p. 55).

An outside observer might note that Scarborough is also the hometown of Jim Carrey, and is where the rock band Barenaked Ladies got their start. That part of the GTA (the Greater Toronto Area) turns out some highly talented people!

Canadians of a certain age will no doubt derive particular pleasure from Myers’s recollections. Myers clearly enjoys, for example, looking back at summertime visits to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), at Exhibition Place on Toronto’s Lake Ontario shoreline. Of the exhibition, or “the Ex,” Myers writes that “The CNE was an old fair. Even by the seventies, it looked like it needed a lick of paint. It seemed permanent, but somehow temporary, like a downmarket Disney World representation of the British Empire. But to me it was…exotic, worldly….It was a magic zone where anything could happen” (p. 100). The accompanying colour photos capture well both the run-down tackiness and the improbable magic of “the Ex.”

The second section of Canada is titled “Patriot.” Myers writes with pride of what Canadians of the time referred to as the “Next Great Nation” period. The Expo ’67 world fair in Montreal, established to honour the centenary of Canadian nationhood, was wildly successful. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, whose government began in 1968, had a charismatic style that reminded many U.S. observers of John F. Kennedy, and the air of glamour that he and his wife Margaret brought to Ottawa gave rise to the term “Trudeaumania.”

The success of Expo ’67 no doubt contributed to Canada getting its first Major League Baseball team, the Montreal Expos, in 1969. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) established “Canadian Content” rules that guaranteed a certain amount of Canadian programming on the nation’s television sets, and encouraged creative and innovative work by Canadian television performers and producers who frequently didn’t have a lot of money to work with (Myers frequently says, “Thanks, CanCon!”). And in 1972, at a high point of Cold War tensions, Canada played the Soviet Union in ice hockey, in the “Summit Series” – and won. It was, Myers makes clear, a great time to be Canadian.

But the Next Great Nation era “reached its climax at the 1976 Montreal Olympics” – where, Myers ruefully notes, “Canada performed miserably, becoming the only host country in the history of the Olympics not to earn a gold medal” (p. 152). He follows this grim observation by asking, “[H]ad the wave crested? We had come so close. Would Canada ever get a mission statement? An identity?” (p. 153)

These observations about Canadian life are interspersed with a look back at Myers’s career. With a long résumé of parts on CBC programs, Myers eventually made his way into stand-up comedy. And for one of his comedy routines, Myers invented the character of Wayne Campbell – a young man like many Myers had known growing up in Scarborough, and a character that Myers saw as representing, in both Canada and the U.S.A., “a universal, suburban, heavy-metal experience: the same long hair with baseball cap, workie boots, ripped jeans, black concert T-shirts, and the belief that Zep was God” (p. 208).

Myers had crafted the Wayne Campbell character while working at the Second City comedy troupe, first in Toronto and later in Chicago. Given the opportunity to perform at Second City Toronto’s fifteenth anniversary celebration, Myers presented the Wayne Campbell character in one of his sketches, and a seismic shift in North American popular culture quietly began:

I changed into my Wayne costume and took my starting position, which happened to be in the crowd, breaking the fourth wall. The lights came up, drunken stragglers took their seats, and I began performing from the crowd. At first, people thought I was an underage heckler. Then, people started to get it. Then I got my first laugh. Then I took the stage. And then it started to grow. “B” laughs. Then “A” laughs. Then laughs where we had to hold, waiting for the audience to finish. Then everything played. And when the lights went out, there was thunderous applause, cheers, stomps, whistles. It was like a jet taking off. I had fucking killed. I was stunned. (pp. 200-01)

And if that experience was stunning, Myers no doubt felt even more stunned the following day, when Lorne Michaels called him in Chicago and offered him a job as a writer-performer on Saturday Night Live. A couple of tweaks of the Wayne Campbell character and his dramatic situation – making him an American from Aurora, Illinois; giving him and his friend Garth a public-access show on local cable TV – and Wayne’s World was born. Party on! Excellent!

Two Wayne’s World movies, three Austin Powers movies, and many TV comedy sketches later, Myers found himself negotiating the consequences of fame – a picture of him on a game ticket for his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs, a street named after him in Scarborough, a Key to the City of Toronto, a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, a Canada Post stamp. Myers makes clear how strange he finds it all, and how unpleasant different “famous person” interactions can be.

At the same time, Myers, having long since relocated to the United States of America, found himself attending to Canadian life once again, as the book’s third section, “Love,” makes clear. (“True,” “Patriot,” “Love” – but you had already picked up on the allusion to the Canadian national anthem.) The Quebecois sovereignty vote of 1995 failed, but only by one percentage point. The 2000 death of Pierre Trudeau, Myers says, “underscored my fear that perhaps we had gotten even further away from the promise of the Next Great Nation” (p. 250). The Montreal Expos, whose establishment embodied the hopes of the "Next Great Nation" days, left Canada, relocating to Washington, D.C. And the Conservative Party government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, with its focus on rolling back the progressive policies of earlier Canadian governments, caused Myers to fear that Canada “had turned into a junior America. America Lite. Diet America. Only without the dynamism of the American Dream” (p. 255).

A couple of high-profile incidents of violence, in a country long renowned for being one of the safest nations on Earth, reinforced Myers’s fears that Canada “would slowly drift into a de facto consumerist suburb of the States” (p. 259), and caused him to support Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau in Trudeau’s campaign to become Prime Minister of Canada.

Myers clearly likes Prime Minister Trudeau, and approves of his policies. So do I. How you feel about these parts of Myers’s Canada may depend on your own political beliefs. But any Canadian reader – or any reader, from any country, who appreciates Canada’s contributions to the life of the world – is likely to appreciate Myers’s peroration. He expresses his love for Canada, states how happy it makes him when a fellow Canadian greets him – sometimes simply by saying the name of a specific town like “Kamloops [British Columbia]” – and closes by suggesting that “Canada may not have put a man on the moon, but it’s been awfully nice to the man on Earth. And perhaps that will be Canada’s greatest legacy” (p. 276).

Myers’s Canada is not the book to go to for a probing examination of all facets of Canadian life; indeed, Myers fair-mindedly makes clear, in the book's introduction, that he is not going to discuss topics like the Group of Seven painters or the Meech Lake accords (both worth Googling, if not familiar to you). But it is fast-paced, well-illustrated, and pleasant. Myers comes across as thoughtful, modest, and courteous – thoroughly Canadian. Thanking you, Mike, for a most agreeable visit. Go Leafs!

[Laurie • The Baking Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the first line of his book Myers relays his love for our mutual home country of Canada. While many people know of him as an actor from SNL and the Shrek and Austin Powers series (among others), most people who have seen him in interviews know that he is also a fiercely proud Canuck.

As a proud Canadian myself I could relate to much of what Mike described as he shares anecdotes from his upbringing in 'Scarberia' (aka Scarborough), a short drive from where I partially grew up in Markham, Ontario. It was a romp down memory lane as he recalls the Canadian TV of our childhood (Mr Dress-Up, The Friendly Giant ...), our own dialect/jargon (two-four, double-double, EH! ...) and his memories of famous Toronto haunts like the CNE and Sam the Record Man. He also includes stories about his rise to fame on stages in Toronto, London and Chicago as well as his beginnings on SNL. And while this section gave me all the nostalgic feels I couldn't relate to everything mentioned - like Canadians pronouncing the word 'been' as 'bean' or saying 'aboot' which I have never said and rarely heard.

And that's okay, eh? This book is Myers' personal account of what it was like for him to grow up in Canada. He also shares his thoughts about our Canadian psyche, our wonderfully dry, self-deprecating humour, heart and humility. Myers also recounts Canada's history which was well-researched - without sounding like a Grade 9 textbook.

While he hasn't lived in Canada permanently for a few decades he is Canadian through and through. He has the unique aspect of viewing Canada as an insider and as an outsider. He has maple syrup running through his veins, a love for Hostess ketchup-flavoured chips, an abiding love for hockey and our country.

As our country gets ready to celebrate the sesquicentennial (150th birthday) of our country in 2017 Myers shares his feelings and concerns for Canada. He gives us food for thought about the struggle we have with our country's identity, especially in relation to our neighbours to the south. While we're teased for being quiet, overly apologetic, hockey loving people who add 'eh's' onto sentences we also know how to laugh at ourselves and (hopefully) realize how good we have it here in the Great White North.

I appreciate how unabashedly and unapologetically proud Myers is for his home and native land. His continuing support, affection and respect for our country warms this Canuck heart. This is a funny and informative read which is, ultimately, a love letter to Canada from Myers. And we love ya right back. Now pass the two-four and the back bacon on a bun and turn up the Hip, eh?

[Jim Zubricky · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read all year!!

As an American who appreciates the nuances of Canadian culture, this was an awesome read, and I got some of the cultural references he made! I also googled some of the things he mentioned, and learned quite a bit more. This book makes me want to learn more about our neighbors to the north!

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

With his new book Canada, comedian/actor Mike Myers sets out to unload as much information about the country he grew up in while also detailing an abridged version of his life story. The result is an often entertaining yet interesting experiment.

At the outset, Myers is quick to explain that his book is not meant to be a definitive text on the country, but rather his own experiences coming of age in Canada. So don’t expect him to go into detail surrounding Canada’s role in residential schools and the mistreatment of its indigenous population or any other controversial subject; he’ll let other more qualified writers speak on that.

Instead, he speaks at length about the different accents, odd quirks and cultural milestones that form regional identities throughout the land. I found myself laughing out loud when he described the East Coast way of ingressive speaking, something my girlfriend pointed out when she moved to Halifax from Ontario a few years back.It also certainly doesn’t hurt that he is a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan! Myers discusses the importance of hockey as a national pastime woven into the fabric of the country’s popular culture. It brings people together even if most of the time is spent chirping one another over their respective teams.

My biggest criticism involves the final chapters wherein he discussed the 2015 election and the arrival of Justin Trudeau as the country’s apparent saviour. I’m not one to really get into politics and while I can get behind Trudeau being a more socially progressive choice for our country, I feel it’s a little too early to heap the amount of praise on him that Myers did. It seemingly came across as a weird and strange end to a book about the nostalgic views of a transplanted Canadian.

That being said, Canada was an enjoyable read for the most part. It did its job in making me laugh in all the right spots and I learned quite a bit about Myers’ upbringing and some interesting trivia behind a few of his movies/SNL characters.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Never once did I worry about crime. I had the presence of mind to realize what a great thing it is, to live in a safe country. Other countries talk about freedom, but the freedom to walk home at night, knowing that the chances of being attacked are slim to none, is perhaps one of the greatest freedoms.”

Mike Meyers’ autobiographical ode to his homeland was my pick to celebrate Canada Day! A good choice, eh?

Narrated by the 90s juggernaut himself, this was a fair look at a country I admire. The way some people say
Next year in Jerusalem.
I say
Next year in Canada.

[Darmidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok I need to start this by saying to all the people with the negative reviews to just shut up. WHY would you ever read a personal memoir and expect the author to not share his personal views with you? WHY would you even read it at all if you fundamentally dislike all that he stands for? And to rate the book lowly just because you don't share his opinions is just petty and makes you look immature and ridiculous.

Rant over. This book just made me so proud to be Canadian. I am from Western Canada and Mike Myers' coming of age was before my time, so I will admit that I had no idea about a lot of the bands, bars, etc. that he referenced, but he is an entertaining storyteller. And he's the perfect Canadian... so humble and thankful and kind. He attributes so much of his success to his childhood in this amazing country. And perhaps we may not all share his love for everything Trudeau, but it's not like he was defending his terrible qualities. If anything he painted Trudeau in such a light that Canada looks pretty darn good, especially compared to a certain southern neighbour. But I guess, if you hate being proud of Canada, hate laughing, and hate that someone doesn't share your hatred of human rights and culture, this book isn't really for you. I will look forward to your positive view of Mein Kampf in the future. Enjoy!

[Kon R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Myers is so likable and charismatic that it's impossible not to love this book. I did this one in audiobook and Mike narrated it. It reads a lot like a light autobiography than the history of Canada. I learned A LOT about Canada, but that's not saying much as I knew next to nothing about it before beginning. I am an autobiography junky especially those read by the author. This one is a classic that I will revisit time and time again when I need a good laugh and smile on my face. We need a comedian to do an America book to compliment this one.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as a Christmas gift. I don't think I would have picked it up otherwise. Based on the title, and the blurb on the back, I was expecting kind of a Mondo Canuck or a How to Be a Canadian , or something similar to one of Douglas Coupland's Souvenir of Canada books than the hodgepodge that we get here.

This book is really a dog's breakfast, part memoir, part love letter to Canada, part reflection on Canada's national identity and where it goes from here. The problem is, Myers hasn't lived here since 1983. When he talks about Canadian identity in the first chapter, he's talking about it the way we talked about it back then. His references don't take into account the public figures, artists and events that have shaped us since then. And he constantly compares Canadians with how Americans would view us. It just feels dated, irrelevant and annoying.

As I continued to read, I kept wondering who he was writing for. The amount of time he devotes to describing Canadian institutions suggests he was aiming it at an American audience, as most Canadians don't need their own country and customs explained to them. And yet I can't imagine most Americans would pick up a hardcover entitled Canada. So I don't know who he's writing for. He hits a lot of the high points of Canadian culture over the time he lived here, but do we really need another recounting of the Summit Series, or a glossed over, dimly understood account of the FLQ? And he spends far too much time talking about the Canadian accent and slang, much of which is dated and some of which I've never heard before (Myers is only five years older than me and I grew up in the east end of Toronto, right next to Scarborough).

The book is best when it concentrates on his career and experiences, but loses the plot when he tries to universalise it and make statements about what Canada is like. And his comments on the country after he has left are largely off-base because he didn't experience them first-hand. A country evolves, and you can't look at it from a distance and think you know what it's like because you lived there once upon a time.

He makes a mistake when he describes his father, as he starts by talking about how his dad moved to Canada but always looked down on Canadians and never really assimilated, always talking about how much better England was. By the time he mentions how important a sense of humour was to his father, and how you were expected to be able to laugh at everything, I had already taken a dislike to the man and couldn't be won over. He might have been better to lead with his love of humour and then go into what a staunch Englishman he was.

Speaking of humour, for someone known as a comedian, there aren't a lot of laughs in this book. It's a rather dry, earnest approach for someone who's know for being enthusiastic about the country and lauded for his comedic skills. And nobody really cares about the trials and tribulations of being famous.

In the end, a mildly interesting book about Mike Myers, a much-less coherent foray into the national psyche. There's nothing here that I could say makes it worth the read.

[Kimberley · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the first 80 or so pages, my enjoyment quickly transformed to mild annoyance and, then, downright disgust. Firstly, I have lived in Canada all my life and have never encountered ANYONE who sounds like Stompin' Tom Connors, the Ottawa Valley accent does not typify the Canadian accent, and someone who left Canada over 30 years ago has no business discussing Canadian politics and labelling us as non-progressive. Nor should he devote an entire chapter to deifying Justin Trudeau. I think Mike Myers needs to admit that he has lost touch with his motherland and is, in fact, now an American. And like many of his fellow Americans, he doesn't get us at all.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should actually be a two-parter named "Memories of Southern Ontario in the '70s" and "Decades of Snippits of Canadian News That Made it to the Outside World".

There were bits of humour throughout but much less than I was expecting. You can tell that Myers loved growing up here but like a lot of people who live in the Toronto area, he knows very little about the rest of Canada. The first half was reminiscing about growing up but I was unfamiliar with at least half of the things he mentioned. Back then, we had only a few TV stations and it's obvious we probably only had one in common.

If you decide to read this, please know that contrary to how often he talks about our Canadian accent, for the most part it is incorrect. I think it's ridiculous how everyone latches on to thinking we pronounce 'about' as 'a-boot'. I've never in my life heard anyone say it this way and unlike Myers, I've lived here my whole life. In fact, I live in the Maritimes and he had a whole section dedicated to how we speak and it was completely off the wall. Then again, he made reference to my city and he spelled it incorrectly, so there you go.

It was a decent read but very misleading about Canadians. Remember, he hasn't lived here for decades. He doesn't know us anymore.

[Dianne Landry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Canada and I love Mike Myers so naturally, I loved this book. It is a love story about this wonderful country. Mike talks about growing up in Scarberia during the era of Trudeau père. He starts off talking about the great promise of that time and ends with looking hopefully to the future with Trudeau fils as our PM.

He talks about truly Canadian things like the CNE, the Toronto Maple Leafs and hockey cards. This is a wonderful book full of humour and Canadian pride. All Canadians should read this book.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I started reading thinking I would just read a few pages and ended up finishing it that night. I'm not Canadian or of Myers generation, but I have lived in Calgary for two years. I could relate and laugh at his observations of Canadian behaviour and I learnt about the social history of the country from his perspective. I believe if you were his age and Canadian the book would be wonderfully nostalgic, even if you did not hail from Toronto like Myers.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well Mike Myers, your Canada is not my Canada. I'm not sure if it's the 15 year difference in age or growing up on the opposite side of the country but I didn't recognize a lot of it, except for maybe a few iconic TV shows (Mr Dressup is a classic). I certainly didn't recognize the Canadian accent parts, I'm not sure where the Vancouver way of speaking came from but I've never heard it.

This book was very much a effort in nostalgia, and that's great, life in Scarborough with English parents, it's a good story. Saying that Canada is this way or that way when you haven't lived here for 30 years.....well, I think you're out of touch. Every country evolves and I think Canada has, maybe not in the way they were hoping it would in the 70s but it works, and in a quiet, unassuming, conservative way, we've become proud of being Canadian, we don't apologize for it and while Bob and Doug are still funny, they're caricatures of what we were, not what we are.

I love that Mike Myers created an ode to Canada, I love that he's so proud to be Canadian, I think ending your piecemeal memoir of oddly incomplete anecdotes with an ode to the Prime Minister a bit odd. Still, I am proud of all the Canadians that make it big, I love the CBC and I love that he told everyone that Canadian Tire (btw, I'm not sure anyone calls it Crappy Tire anymore) money is our real money and that we have a Canadian Christmas in July but I think he should have stuck to a memoir and not assumed that Canada is still stuck in the 1980s he remembers so fondly.

[Leila Danielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok, but not one I'm likely to recommend to others. I rounded up to three stars from what really would have been 2.5.

I picked this book up as a fellow Canadian living abroad, looking for something to remind me of home and perhaps a book I could recommend to anyone interested in the "Canadian experience." Although there were aspects I recognized from my own childhood in Canada, much of it, I couldn't relate to. The Canadian aspects are very "Toronto" (which is ironic, given the reputation Toronto has for considering itself the centre of the universe, or at least the "most important place in Canada." This plays right into the stereotype).

A large portion of this book focused on Myers' experiences as a Canadian in the US performance arts industry. Interesting, certainly, but not what I was hoping for, nor really what Myers himself sells the book as. And while Myers states early on that this book won't be about Canadian politics, he spends a large portion of it paying tribute to the Trudeaus.

As other reviewers have said, I love that Myers is so proud to be Canadian and that he cares about the nation enough to write a nostalgic book about it. But he should recognize it as that: a nostalgic look at HIS experience of Canada. He doesn't seem to recognize that the country has changed since he lived there, or that his experiences from the Toronto area don't necessarily reflect the experiences of people in other parts of Canada, even at the time he experienced it.

[Marc-Antoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Myers has written a wonderful love letter to Canada. I sincerely thank him, it made me feel great!

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mike Myers and I are a year apart in age. He grew up in working class Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, and I grew up in working class Hamilton, a city one hour away. His humour and sensibility has always resonated strongly with me. I even think I look like him! But this book got a little ham handed at the end. He has benefitted from Canadian taxpayer dollars during his early career and then left. That's okay, Mike, the rest of us will pay for all those arts grants you benefitted from. I enjoyed this book very much until the end when he slammed us for the Harper years and extolled the virtues of our new Prime Minister, who has been in power less than a year. If this is how he pays it forward, by writing a book about us and reaping the rewards and imagining that it will improve tourism, it's too little, too late for what we have done for him and countless others who didn't make it big the way he did.

I loved this book until the "Love" section. His formative years were fun to read about, his love of hockey is so typically Canadian (the '72 Canada Cup series was such a touchstone for all of us!), the Gasworks, the CNE. All of this was the story of my life too. I like to believe that this would be interesting for other people who didn't live through it as well. But the last section was a pile of crap. He basically blamed the conservative Prime Minister for a crazy Muslim extremist gunning down two Canadian servicemen, when crazy Muslim extremists were perpetrating terrorist attacks in the USA with Obama in the White House. Ugh. "I know it's shallow, but isn't it awesome that our prime minister and his wife are hotties?" sort of shows how politically credible he is.

[AndreaMGC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book set the bar pretty high for the rest of 2017. I absolutely loved this memoir/exploration of Canadian culture/history of Canada! It was such a weird yet satisfying blend of so many things that it's hard to pinpoint exactly where it falls. But labels don't really concern me. Whatever you want to call it, it was fantastic.
While so many of the things Myers reminisces about from his childhood are far removed from my own experience, the way he luxuriates in the comforting realm of nostalgia kept bringing to mind my own nostalgic feelings for a time gone by. It felt like being in on all his references while never having experienced them personally.
What stands out the most for me is how *funny* it was. You might be thinking that I should have expected a book written by a comedian to be funny, but honestly it didn't cross my mind. It was a memoir about his life and about Canada--both of which rely heavily on relaying facts and series of events... not much room for humour. Within the first 25 pages I'd laughed out loud a minimum of six times in a crowded store--and I didn't care! I was in love. I knew I needed this book in my life.
I don't want to give too much away so I'll just finish this by saying I'm feeling fiercely Canadian after reading Myers' book and I felt the full range of emotion during my journey between its pages. Every Canadian should read it.

[Julia Dewolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVEDDDD this book. I am also a Canadian living in the USA so there were soo many truths to it. And it was FUNNY! So I listened to it on audible, and Mike Myers narrated it making it was definitely funnier this way. A must LISTEN. If you want to find 'out' 'about' (punny) your Canadian neighbours LISTEN to this book. There were so many LOL moments for me. Now I realize I pronounce words just as he refers to them. And yes Canadians don't have an accent, lol.

[Leann Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! While a lot of the Canadianisms are more Ontario and the Maritimes focused, I could still relate to most of the book. It makes me feel patriotic when patriotism really isn't the Canadian way. There were so many laugh-out-loud parts and it has many poignant passages. It's a great Canadian read!

[FR · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. There is no joke or play in the title, this book is 100% about Canada.
2. Well, Mr. Myers. I am shocked and impressed. The style was phenomenal. I felt like I was reading a letter from a friend. Several spots brought me to tears. I laughed out loud with great frequency. The ending ripped my heart out. I read this book as a young American. I read this book a month into Trump's presidency. I read this book at the exact time I needed to be encouraged about the state of my country. Since the election, the first hope I had came from the Women's March. The second bit came from watching Aziz Ansari's recent monologue on SNL. The third, and certainly the most powerful, came from this book. Thank you, Mike Myers, for loving your country. Thank you for educating me about Canada, and for understanding your American neighbors. Thank you for hope and laughter and for giving me a strange feeling of nostalgia and wonderment and determination. Thank you for reminding me that people like Pierre Trudeau and his son exist. This is a book I will read again and again and again. I will be gifting a copy to all of my discouraged friends. America needs the light of Canada right now. Truly.

[Chinook · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know what’s really weird about this book? Meyer’s argument is basically that Canada had been in a deep decline for the entire length of my life until Justin Trudeau was elected. That’s an odd thing to hear and not something I particularly agree with.

I really liked a lot of what he covered when talking about the Canada of his childhood. It’s more the Canada I’ve heard of from my parents than anything I personally connect with, outside of the odd thing, like Mr Dressup. But there was also a lot of stuff covering his rise as a comic and things that happens in improv troupes and SNL and I have to say, that stuff beyond bores me and it’s in every damn book by a comedian it seems.

I actually read this because of a reading challenge prompt - it wanted me to read about my country’s independence but because I’m not living in Canada my ebook library options were pretty much this or fiction. It’s possible some fiction might have been a better fit.

But, not a bad read. Kind of odd to realize that someone I associate with my youth because of Wayne’s World has more in common with my father’s Canada than anything I could claim to be my Canada, but life is weird like that sometimes.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars +

I can’t think of any of Mike Myers’s film work I’ve actually seen, though I’m certainly aware of it. It just lands so far out of my awfully narrow range of comedic appreciation that I’m not likely to ever bump into it, much less intentionally try it.

But I’m a fascinated fan of Canada, and found the title and the idea of a patriotic-fandom memoir of Canada irresistible. I wasn’t disappointed.

And I especially liked how likable, relatable, and indeed smart I found Myers as a person.

I’m sometimes sorry I become familiar-through-the-media with authors (or other creatives) whose work I admire. When I’m particularly turned off by the author-as-person, my appreciation of the creative work is a little soured, though that isn’t reasonable.

I loved this phenomenon turned on its head here: the creative work that I’m probably not suited to appreciate is irrelevant to my ability to enjoy the person behind it.

I found this book entertaining, informative, nicely shaped—an enjoyable read.

[Rosemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read! I loved everything about it-and the photos are super.
And I have driven by Mike Myers Blvd in Scarborough!

[Aydin Turgay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right after experiencing the 2016 U.S. elections, this book was JUST what I needed!

About 75% of the book was exactly what I hoped it would be: Mike's memoirs, with stories about growing up in Toronto and funny Saturday Night Live memories.

The other 25% was unexpected. Entire chapters about Canada, and what it means to be Canadian. Our history, our psyche, our media, our accent - it's all explored in an interesting, entertaining way.

Many parts made me appreciate Canada more, like when Mike examined the years between 1967 and 1976. Many parts made me feel proud, like when he listed great Canadians and their achievements. When he described all of the places in Canada he'd seen while touring with The Second City, he made me want to see more of my country. And when he wrote about Justin Trudeau, it made me more optimistic about a scary future.

It was a very quick, fun read, with lots of photos. After reading it, I also listened to the audio, which was very well performed by Mike himself. If was really entertaining to hear him perform all the voices from his stories - especially when he imitates Lorne Michaels, his dad and the stereotypical Canadian accent.

[Kinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part memoir, part love letter to Canada this is a short book by one of Canada's most famous exports. Very amusing in places, all it did is make me miss Canadian winters and the people of Canada. Good read, eh?

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a most interesting book. I really really liked it. I don't know much about Mike Myers, but I've enjoyed a huge revelation on him and his passions.

I've never been to Canada, gratefully I've gained a few friends through GR. But I sure have a better understanding now. Myers gives a very passionate review of experiences, places, friends, sports, work, and it makes me want to go to everywhere he speaks of. He in a lot of ways telling his life story, much like an autobiography. You can hear the joy and love. It reverberates with me. Moments I'm laughing right out loud and others feeling the tender moments shared.

I think he would be a delightful person to know. We are just a couple years apart in age. Really like the guy, the book, and feeling it left me with. Recommend!
Rate: 4.5 stars, -.5 due to foul language starting 3/4 way thru.

[TraceyL · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little memoir by Canadian comedian Mike Myers. He does say at the beginning that while he grew up in Canada, he's spent almost all of his adult life in the UK and the US, so the anecdotes are based on his experience. A lot of it was really dated - especially when he talks about Canadian slang which was very 1980's. It's like hearing an American talk about 1980's slang and saying that all Americans still speak like that today.

It was very funny and he pointed out a few very Canadian behavioral things that I've never noticed that I do, and didn't realize they were Canadian things, but I totally do them.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slyly political and beautifully written.