The Toronto neighbourhood of Rosedale features several times in the novel, All The Way, for it is the home of two of the characters, Linda and Jay. The image depicted, however, is very different from the traditional view of this region of the city.

Here is a brief excerpt from the novel that illustrates the difference:

“On the inside the house did not look very different from the other staid, red-brick mansions on Chestnut Park, the understated yet privileged dwellings of Toronto’s “old money” families. The rooms on the ground floor were wood-panelled with small mullioned windows. Oil paintings of living and departed relatives and of bucolic scenes in Britain and Canada hung on the walls…polished oak bookcases (contained) old leather-bound tomes and voluminous sets of reference works, rarely disturbed except for dusting…The exterior of the house on this particular evening was, however, in stark contrast with the rest of the homes on this quiet, park-like street with its conservative residents of impeccably decent taste and manners. For, in the middle of the front lawn, Linda had erected an eight-foot-high papier mache model of a circumcised penis. With its flesh-covered wrinkles and folds and prominent blue veins, to the arriving guests it looked extremely realistic. And for added effect, Linda had sprayed patches of the scrotum and the surrounding snow-covered ground with a blood-red stain. While Jay had had reservations about the whole enterprise from the moment Linda had broached the idea, she had been insistent that they celebrate Lou’s recent vasectomy by throwing a party for their friends in his honour.

“‘Well,’ Jack said to Susie as they passed the sculpture on the way to the front door. ‘We’re here to bear witness to the last, triumphant stage in Sally’s campaign to ween Lou from his Catholic origins.'”

To see a short video about the Rosedale sections of the book, please go to the author’s Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

The book is available online at: http://www.borealispress.com and autographed copies can be purchased directly from the author by going to: terdotcomm@sympatico.ca