Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada (Paperback)

by Will Ferguson (Author) "This is a book about arrivals, not departures-and therein lies the great divide between the Old World and the New..." (more)
Key Phrases: Hudson Bay, New Brunswick, Thunder Bay (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Humorist Ferguson (Why I Hate Canadians) offers an appealing, brisk account of his many travels in his native land, from the "England as it never really existed" veneer of Victoria to the "certain dignified ugliness" of Newfoundland moose. The title story, in which Ferguson has his limbs and his ego massaged at a Saskatchewan health spa, perfectly represents the book's twin charms: Ferguson's comic cynicism, and his descriptions of intriguing events and individuals tied to the places he visits. In this tale, the levity of Ferguson's interaction with a male "reflexologist" bearing peppermint oil is offset with an account of a hard-luck 1930s Finnish immigrant so desperate to return to his native land that he built an iron ship completely by himself, which stands to this day on the Canadian prairie as a sad but powerful symbol. While humor and history are the book's uniting elements, a lack of narrative harmony results from breaks in chronology and distinct shifts in scene. Ferguson acknowledges as much in his introduction, and while the approach makes the book episodic, it jibes with the author's premise that "Canada is not a country but a collection of outposts." (June 16)
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Review
"Yet another masterfully entertaining examination of Canuckishness penned by the Calgary author.… In each stop on this coast-to-coast travelogue, Ferguson sneakily wraps a local history lesson in a wickedly entertaining meander through obvious and obscure local landmarks…. Insightful and gag-filled.… Ferguson’s fascination with Canadiana is infectious."
—The Calgary Herald

"Full of surprises… and idiosyncratic charms…. Travel writers don’t always get to climb Everest or visit the Taj Mahal, and they can be judged best by what they come up with on a slow day. Ferguson is good when he’s sipping a handful of icy water out of Hudson Bay; he’s better eating pancakes in a Finnish restaurant in Thunder Bay.… Ferguson proves a companionable guide in Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw."
—National Post

"Will Ferguson is a talent. He writes refreshingly, provocatively and eloquently. He takes on issues from a contrarian’s perspective, but never exceeds the bounds of reason. He looks for the essence and his search brings out some smashingly insightful stuff."
—Ottawa Citizen

"Ferguson’s strength does not lie in whether he writes funny or not. His strength is that he writes so well."
—The Times-Colonist

"[Ferguson] delves into the soul of the cities he visits, sometimes climbing into helicopters, seaplanes and kayaks, and attending underground poetry slams."
—Airlines

"Ferguson takes readers on this quest for hidden gold in the best tradition of the true Canadian voyageur. He uncovers nuggets of hidden treasure in the stories of small towns and their resilient people. The landscape itself proves larger than life. He mixes the historical with the contemporary, adds a touch of humour and brings readers close to his subjects — in a way that only he can manage. . . . For those of us who seek to know that place beyond the horizon, this is a great journey and a great read."
—The Costco Connection, Buyer’s Pick

"[Ferguson’s] writing leaves nothing to be desired. It’s got a kind of This Hour Has 22 Minutes shtick that generally has readers guffawing in public spaces. . . . His vast historical knowledge . . . adds intellectual credibility to what is already a hilarious read."
—Georgia Straight

"You’ll enjoy this book. . . .Ferguson [gives us] lively, thought-provoking riffs on Canadian culture. . . . Anyone who can spin a tale as well as Ferguson, while peppering it with trenchant and often humorous commentary on what it means to be a Canadian traveling through Canada, will easily grab and hold the reader’s attention for the more than 300 pages that make up this book."
—Quill & Quire

Praise for Will Ferguson:
“Will Ferguson is a talent. He writes refreshingly, provocatively and eloquently. He takes on issues from a contrarian’s perspective, but never exceeds the bounds of reason. He looks for the essence and his search brings out some smashingly insightful stuff.”
—Ottawa Citizen

“The funniest writer in Canada.”
—National Post

“Ferguson possesses a crafty eye for detail, not to mention a highly developed understanding of the essential folly in what passes for everyday life.”
—Edmonton Journal

“Lively, knowledgeable, opinionated, disrespectful, debatable, and immensely readable.”
—The Gazette (Montreal)


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Canongate U.S. (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184195652X
• ISBN-13: 978-1841956527
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #188,882 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly What Does Eh Mean? , July 1, 2005

By	John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have lived outside of the U.S. for six years with the past two in Canada thus I had about the right amount of distance from everyday life in the U.S. and enough daily interaction in Canada to find this book hilarious. Page after page I keep laughing out loud. I kept finding my self blurting out things like "exactly" and "I have seen that too". This author has nailed the North American male and has a very clear view of the differences between the States and Canada. If you are a resident of either country you will find this book full of humor and uncanny observations that ring true to anyone with an eye to individual behavior. I would have no hesitation in recommending the book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable way to learn about Canada, February 11, 2008

By	Anton Karidian (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

Being a resident of the southeastern United States, I have traveled just a little in Canada. Since Canadian news and history seem to be mostly ignored in the U.S., I found BEAUTY TIPS FROM MOOSE JAW to be an enjoyable way for someone in my situation to find out about our neighbor to the north. Ferguson takes the country one province at a time, discussing people and places with often funny incidents, and weaving in a history background of each area. I must say, though, I did not find Ferguson to be as hilarious as some people do. I thought the history sections were particularly interesting and well-written, and they follow so naturally from the travel narrative that even people not really wanting to know the history would find themselves drawn into it. And although the book has decent maps for each section, I missed the total lack of any photos. There's not even one of the author! For someone like myself who has not seen much of the country, it was useful to keep a Canadian travel book full of photos nearby. Thus armed, BEAUTY TIPS FROM MOOSE JAW provides an entertaining way to learn about Canada.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Legendary Republics and... lots of space, May 17, 2007

By	K. Parsons "Hailing from the mountaintop!" (Idyllwild, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Canada! What a place. Americans, sure... as in "North Americans" (as are Mexicans, Panamanians and Cubans, not to mention Madawaskans and Acadians). Well, that's about where the comparisons begin and the similarities end. Ferguson refers to the US as "the great carnival to the south" - I don't think I've ever read a more fitting indictment of the colossus itself. This is surely a funny, witty read, but it also is filled with a lot of real information and good perspective on Canadian life. I've traveled extensively through that vast land, and like Ferguson, have found Canada to be a loose affiliation of countries within a huge state. Canada has the saving grace of being able to laugh at itself regularly, and mercifully is missing the British stiff upper lip attitude, at least according to this book (and my travels as well). Sometimes reading a book about a place makes me want to jump up and go there, and it looks like the Hotel Frontenac in Quebec City will see me pretty soon. Ferguson actually makes Saint John's, NL appear to be a pretty cool place (I always thought of it as downright cold and quite dour, but now it sounds like one could actually have some fun there). The discussions of old Victoria are sharp and righteously funny, but the best part of the book to me is the story of the author's rambling around "looking for Canada" and finding... of all things, Uncle Tom. That's just one example of the subtle skill Ferguson brings to this writing, and when expecting to be humored one is educated, that is a very good thing indeed.