Book Review: The Candidate by Noah Richler

Good stories about politics are disappointingly rare. Good stories about politics set in Canada are even rarer. When I first got wind of Noah Richler's The Candidate: Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail I hesitated to pick it up for a variety of reasons, but having finished reading it I am very glad I did.

In 2015 I was a very active member of the New Democratic Party. After four years of a Harper majority I was ready to put my shoulder to the wheel and push to replace the Conservative government with the first New Democratic government in history. It was a heady time, but my closest political friends and I knew that it was going to be a difficult fight and nothing could be taken for granted. However, there was also a whiff of hope and ambition - that we could pull it off and make history. Little did I know Noah Richler and I were on a similar journey.

I bring up my personal narrative here because so much of my experience fed into my enjoyment of the book. I don't believe you have to have been engaged in politics or a New Democrat to enjoy this book, but I think it adds something tremendously to have that little smirk and nod knowing precisely the sort of experience Richler is describing. It is wonderful to have those experiences reflected.

Noah Richler was the NDP candidate for Toronto-St. Paul's in 2015 challenging the incumbent MP Carolyn Bennett. The book follows the journey from his decision to run to working with the party to find a seat to challenge and then the campaign.

Richler describes the bizarre and informal world of politics with great human and a certain wry look. One of the things that I like best is that Richler is motivated by genuine issues of concerns. He has topics that he is opinionated and passionate on and struggles how to square that passion with the realities of running a real campaign. Richler is also flawed, like everyone. He has to find a way to deal with the fact that he expressed his opinions in public and therefore gets in trouble for how his words on social media from the past are interpreted.

There's a bunch of aspects that I appreciate in the story. For example the way the riding executive is described. The unglamorous and unassuming people who dedicate themselves to the political process. The awkwardness of politics, mainly approaching strangers and trying to convince them of a point of view out of nowhere. How the NDP volunteers was described also made me smile because it fit my experience for the most part.

What Noah Richler expresses about the party itself and the frustration about the campaign in 2015 mirrors my own. Four years on that disappointment still clouds some of my political thinking. People made mistakes during that campaign, I have no doubt. One of my favourite scenes is when Richler describes an event in Toronto and the well-heeled audience is full of Liberals and Conservatives back-slapping each other, the true powers behind the country and the NDP feel excluded and unwanted. Perhaps that shapes elections more than we'd like to think.

Overall, I have to very much recommend this book to people curious about how elections work and the more human side of things. It is a great read for people thinking about running, certainly. I'd also add that it would be fun for veterans of the political process.