A tour of the house: a novel

Abstract

This novel manuscript explores the connections between art, the city of Calgary, and political complacency. Legislated into the school and job chosen by her high school career test results, a law student attends a party at a heritage house in Calgary and takes a tour through the rooms, hoping to encounter a lost acquaintance. In this world, careers are divided into five ambiguous "Fifths" (labour, service, secondary service, small business, and corporate science) none officially more valuable than any of the others. "Fifth Fifths", though, are the best paid, their post-secondary educations heavily subsized. The characters adhere unquestioningly to the ideology of the government in power (as Albertans historically have done), though they resent their lack of choice and recognize injustice. They, like most of the characters featured in popular Calgary history books, are the ones ultimately benefiting from the system.