By Todd Babiak.
Toby Ménard is a television presenter who has a tastefully decorated condo, drives a BMW, and has a beautiful girlfriend who is equally ambitious. His face gracing a billboard for his televised etiquette segment, Toby: a gentleman, Toby seems to be invincible until an on-air meltdown leaves him virtually unemployable. A chance meeting with a woman named Catherine results in unexpectedly parenting a 2 year old in addition to the indignity of living in his parents’ basement in the suburbs. Toby continues to wear well-made suits with real handkerchiefs throughout the chaos that envelops his formerly dignified and tidy life as his father’s behaviour becomes increasingly alarming and he finds himself in more and more situations where there doesn’t seem to be a proper thing to do.
Babiak creates a light picture of Montreal with this endearing, funny social satire whose tone reminds me of Alexander McCall Smith’s Scotland Street series. Toby: a man manages to be light in a thoughtful way with plenty of detail to entertain the reader.
If you enjoy Toby: a man, you will likely also enjoy Babiak’s The Garneau Block.
