J. T. McLaughlin is a Professor of Economics who appears blessed until his wife of twenty-four years suddenly ups and leaves him. J. T. becomes despondent. At this point Zinger, a high-school chum and journalist, bursts upon the scene. Amidst the machinations of academia, passionate encounters at Catholic spas, and slanderous accusations of sexist, racist and homophobic behaviour, MacLeod creates an exhilarating romp through the pressing issues of the day.

Jack MacLeod’s first two novels established him as that rarest of talents, a writer who can entertain while also grappling with ideas and social issues. Uproar, his new novel, is the story of a marriage in free fall, a career on the skids and the bewildering era we have only just recently survived. Included among the list of zany characters is ‘Zinger’ — that remarkable literary creation who first made an appearance in Zinger and Me (1979), and whom the actor Don Harron has called ‘one of the most memorable characters in Canadian literature’.

Unpublished endorsement

‘Uproar is a lovely book, funny, clever, and a vivid reflection of the times. Beneath the entertaining surface, MacLeod had created a classic comic plot which takes the hero down through a broken marriage, a disintegrating career and a too-close acquaintance with the bottle, but emerges at the end into the sunlight. A story that is full of people like us, mostly at our worst, but sometimes at our best. I found it hugely satisfying.’

—Eric Wright

Unpublished endorsement

‘An exuberantly satirical romp through the thickets of academe.’

—Richard B. Wright