Original Prin - by Randy Boyagoda (Paperback)

About the Book

An uproarious novel about academia, family, fatherhood, the trials of Catholic faith in a secular world. With seahorses.

Book Synopsis

An uproarious novel about academia, family, fatherhood, the trials of Catholic faith in a secular world. With seahorses.

Review Quotes

"Original Prin is many things at once: a richly funny campus novel, a painfully humorous portrait of a modern family, an examination of a whole spectrum of religious faith from shaky to fanatical, and finally, in a climax of pitch-black comedy, a thriller too. Boyagoda writes with real panache and drive. An unputdownable book."
--Salman Rushdie

"An original animal...Clever, often ingenious...[raising] fascinating questions about fanaticism and the state of the modern world. Prin evolves in surprising ways, and tensions spike. For readers feeling confounded at the end, fear not. It's the first in a planned trilogy."
--The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)

"University corruption, infidelity, Catholic theology, Middle Eastern politics: not many writers could convincingly keep so many balls in the air, and that Boyagoda does so in a truly funny novel is impressive enough. But perhaps even more striking is the depth of sensitivity and understanding that Boyagoda brings to the emotive issues of faith, immigration, and violence. By examining the messy intersections between religious fundamentalism, global capitalism, and liberal values through the gentle comic form of the campus novel, Boyagoda does more than offer clever satire--he humanizes these vast impersonal forces even as he imbues them with a moral complexity that frustrates easy political judgment."
--The Walrus

"That Boyagoda can take on faith, global capitalism, religious terrorism, upper-middle-class preciousness and self-delusion--all the while implicating Canada in traditionally "American" problems--attests to his talent. It also manages to be a taut and funny novel throughout...This is the first volume of a planned trilogy. If I could hazard my own divination of signs, I would bet Boyagoda could take [Prin] anywhere."
--America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture

"One of the best satirical writers today...immediately funny."
--Micah Mattix, The American Conservative

"Boyagoda sets up a tightly paced novel in Original Prin that succeeds on a number of fronts. It's a hilarious romp of a campus novel, poking fun at the market-driven ethos of the modern Canadian academy. It's a touching look at the complicated sacrifices demanded of familial love. At heart, it's a richly humorous novel that explores the struggle for spiritual believers in a fiercely secular world...capturing the rambunctious multi-faith, multicultural zeitgeist of the city, particularly in corners where cultures and faith overlap...Boyagoda has crafted a novel that's fresh and utterly original."
--Toronto Star

"Timely...supremely funny...Original Prin deals with much that is purely human, centering on Prin's desire to do the right thing and the very relateable hang-ups and weaknesses that constantly thwart him. Boyagoda's novels are a reminder of what Catholic literature should be like."
--The Catholic Register

"A winning combination of academic satire and sociopolitical commentary that leaves readers facing grim reality and acknowledging the irrationality of it all. Globally aware and witty, this is the opening title in a projected trilogy and a tale that offers a fascinating new perspective on journeys of faith and contemporary intellectual pursuits."
--Booklist

"[Original Prin] skewers the corporatized university and modern world politics alike in this delicious satire...A lively complement to Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim, Malcolm

About the Author

Randy Boyagoda is one of Canada's funniest and most provocative writers. A regular presence on CBC Radio, his most recent novel, Beggar's Feast, was selected as a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice and longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize. His first novel, Governor of the Northern Province, was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Born to Sri Lankan parents in Oshawa, he lives in Toronto with his wife and four children. He is a professor of English at the University of Toronto, where he is also Principal of St. Michael's College.