Norman Bray is a legend in his own mind. Stubbornly holding on to the fading light of his career, the aging actor has shirked all responsibility for the past 30 years in the name of "art." But life is finally catching up to him.

With the bank threatening foreclosure and the loss of his role on the cartoon "Tiny Taxi," the 56-year-old braggart is forced to confront his most cherished self-delusions. He may even have to get a real job. Making matters worse, his stepdaughter Amy has been reading her dead mother's journal and wants to know what really happened on the night of Norman's fateful last appearance on the stage.

Based on the popular CBC Radio serialization broadcast on The Roundup and Between the Covers in June 2005 and brilliantly narrated by David LeReaney, Norman Bray in the Performance of his Life is a dark comedy that takes us into the world of a self-involved bullying man, and shows us the endearing, terribly funny person behind the mask.

Trevor Cole is an award-winning journalist and novelist. His previous books include Norman Bray in the Performance of His Life, a Maclean's bestseller, shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best First Book, Canada-Caribbean region, longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; The Fearsome Particles, also shortlisted for the GGLA and longlisted for the IMPAC; and Practical Jean, nominated for the Rogers' Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, and winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. He lives in Toronto.

Trevor Cole's profile page

Calgary-based actor David LeReaney has been acting, directing and teaching since 1979, and has appeared in over 160 plays at regional theatres across western Canada. In 1993, he received the Best Actor AMPIA Award for his performance in the film The Life History of the African Elephant, and in 2000 he was honoured with the Harry and Martha Cohen Award for his contribution to Calgary theatre. His film credits include Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jake and the Kid, After the Harvest (with Sam Shepherd) and Ratrace (with John Cleese).

David LeReaney's profile page

"This is a remarkable achievement, a book to be cherished both for the depths of its ironies and the breadth of its responsiveness."

T.F. Rigelhof

"Fine dialogue and wit."

Mark Frutkin