About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Enlarge Cover
list price: $18
edition:eBook
category: Fiction
published: Mar 2006
ISBN:9781895636727
publisher:
Anvil Press
Description
Longlisted for the ReLit Award
Best Fiction 2006, Ottawa Xpress
Dead Man in the Orchestra Pit is a singularly Canadian novel featuring crime, culture, and sports. Written in the vein of John Kennedy Toole (Confederacy of Dunces) and JP Donleavy, Dead Man in the Orchestra Pit is set in Vancouver during an early 80s Grey Cup weekend. Tourists and sports aficionados have descended on the city in record droves. There are, however, a few folks who have other interests and plans. Three small-time career crooks are planning a heist on one of the city’s exclusive hotels. Enter Harry Pazik Jr., a good ole boy from Calgary, who is inadvertently swept up in the mayhem of the crooks’ boondoggle. Meanwhile, across town at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, rehearsals of La Traviata are in full swing. The 300-pound stage manager has toppled to the orchestra pit, crushing the tuba player, while Jorgen Thrapp, assistant to the Lighting Director, is busy behind the scenes with his dealings in drugs and numbers running for a crooked printer intent on making a killing on the big game. Everyone gets more than they bargained for in this slapstick Grey Cup-meets-Goodfellas romp.
Praise for Dead Man in the Orchestra Pit:
"... If you've spent any time torturing yourself reading the recent spate of horrid Canadian 'historical' fictions or suffering through Giller-nominated books that make you want to stick sewing needles in your eyes, read this book and bust a gut and revel in delicious, punchy writing, dark and memorable characterizations, intricate plotting and absurdity by the bucketfuls. I couldn't help but gobble this novel in one sitting and I put it down with a shit-eating grin on my face, feeling as though I'd been let in on a secret: Tom Osborne is a Canadian comic genius. ..." (Front & Centre)
"‘Only connect’ was E.M. Forster’s advice to writers, and Osborne connects like a mad electrician in a power plant.” (The Vancouver Sun)
"Tom Osborne’s Dead Man in the Orchestra Pit begins with a film-noir style, moves to a rocking rhythm midway, then gallops madly ...” (Canadian Literature)
Contributor Notes
Tom Osborne was one of the founding editors of the notorious Pulp Press Publishing Co. (now Arsenal Pulp Press) in the 1970s. Osborne is the author of two novels published by Anvil Press: 'Foozlers' and 'Dead Man in the Orchestra Pit'. He is also the author of several poetry collections: 'Under the Shadow of Thy Wings', '9 Love Poems', 'The Reamer's Car Club Blues Band Story', and 'Please Wait for Attendant to Open Gate' (the latter two of which are now "rare" finds). His work has appeared in 'Geist', 'subTerrain', and '3-Cent Pulp'. He was born on Baffin Island, spent his youth in Kamloops, BC and later years in Vancouver. He currently resides in Maple Ridge, BC.
Editorial Reviews
“‘Only connect’ was E.M. Forster’s advice to writers, and Osborne connects like a mad electrician in a power plant.”
“Smart dialogue, fast action, and a mix of liquor and drugs fuel this clever tale.” —North Shore News
