He laughed at what passed for tragedy in his new country

So begins Randy Boyagoda’s scalding first novel, about an ex–African warlord named Bokarie who moves to small-town Canada—a place of comfort and tolerance, a place free from judgment and punishment for his gruesome doings in the northern province of his native African country, Atwenty.

From behind the convenience-store counter where he works, Bokarie has a chance meeting with one of the town’s clumsy political hopefuls, Jennifer Ursula Thickson. Otherwise fated to mediocrity by her family’s meagre means, Jennifer wants to be a great leader. To accomplish this, she seizes on Bokarie’s symbolic value and offers him the chance to gain position in his new setting. Not long afterwards, he’s happily employing his well-honed manipulation tactics, faux fresh immigrant enthusiasms, dazzling dance moves and unexpected Biblical eloquence to great effect around town. Meanwhile, Jennifer is on the make herself, tirelessly trying to persuade others to support her bid for power while dealing with her father’s attempts to get her away from both politics and Bokarie. Equally determined to advance, Jennifer and Bokarie find a path to Parliament Hill, with opportunities far beyond either’s expectations. But they have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into until the melodrama of Canadian life shifts to the bloody theatre of African politics.

With searing irony and irrepressible intellect, Randy Boyagoda has created a disquieting tale of ambition, reinvention and betrayal. Governor of the Northern Province shocks, amuses and announces the arrival of a daring new voice.

"Scathing and unpredictable, Governor of the Northern Province is a novel of considerable accomplishment; Randy Boyagoda's merciless prose marks him as a talent to watch."
–Trevor Cole, author of Norman Bray in the Performance of His Life

"Governor of the Northern Province is one of the funniest books ever written about federal politics in Canada... Boyagoda's humour is astoundingly politically incorrect. With his irreverence, the author crosses lines most would dare not even approach"
—The Ottawa Citizen

"Nice liberal Canada skewered for dinner: A T.O. smartypants creates a war criminal to send up smug Canuck hypocrisy and gets a Giller Prize nod for his trouble"
—headline from a major review in the Toronto Star

"Lively...zeroes in on various targets without slackening pace: colonialism, foreign aid, Anglo reserve and the exalted status of hockey all take stinging hits. Despite this novel’s scathing wit and sardonic tone, a hint of idealism sneaks in after all."

"An auspicious debut"
—The National Post

"Boyagoda’s prose is exhilarating..."
"...each paragraph flashed with inventive scorn."
—The Globe and Mail

"Boyagoda’s writing is precisely calibrated to expose and ridicule the cruel, the absurd and the merely foolish.”
“…scathing portrayal of Canadian smugness and naivete, brilliantly funny, and meant to sting.”
“Boyagoda’s language is colourful and alliterative, and his long sentences often dance with a storyteller’s rhythm. The characters and their interactions are vividly depicted...”
“…a sharply intelligent novel, both entertaining and disquieting."
—Winnipeg Free Press

"...a defiantly satirical novel..."
"Richler’s successor?"
—Embassy

"...cracks the hollow shell of political correctness."
"Boyagoda...scores many direct hits..."
—The National Post