Human Amusements

June 1, 2004
In his fifth novel, the droll and gifted Johnston departs from his historical novels to offer a highly amusing take on the early days of television. Substitute teachers Audrey and Peter Prendergast are struggling to get by in Toronto in the 1950s when Audrey's idea for a TV show for preschoolers becomes a runaway success. She goes on to write a series starring their son, Henry, as Philo Farnsworth, the teenage inventor of the television set. It becomes a huge cult favorite, inspiring fanatical followers dubbed Philosophers who reenact the episodes. Peter, struggling to complete a novel he has been working on for 15 years, offers caustic running commentary on popular culture, with especially vitriolic remarks reserved for the role of television, and amuses himself by staging mock fights with Henry for the tabloids. As the eccentric Prendergasts seem about to collapse under the weight of their enormous success, they each take drastic action to preserve their family. Johnston brings both high jinks and humanity to his highly original portrait of a more innocent era.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)