''419'' is a novel by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer

Will Ferguson William Stener Ferguson (born October 12, 1964) is a Canadian travel writer and novelist who won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel '' 419''. Ferguson was born fourth of six children in the former fur trading post of Fort Vermilion, Alber ...

. Published by Penguin Canada in 2012, the novel was the winner of the 2012

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

. Titled for the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code that deals with fraud, the events of the novel are set in motion by Henry Curtis, a retired school teacher in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, who dies in a car accident after becoming embroiled in an

advance-fee fraud An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraud ...

scam that has left his family destitute. Following his death, his daughter Laura travels to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, in an attempt to track down and bring to justice the perpetrator of the scam. Prior to the novel's publication, Ferguson was known primarily as a writer of humor literature. At the Giller Prize gala, he told the media that the novel "began with the thought that maybe there really is a Nigerian prince somewhere who can't gain his freedom for lack of funds...but when I started writing it, the story began to turn dark, all by itself."

Reception

The novel received generally positive reviews. ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' called it "Riveting. Provocative." The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' called it "a persuasive work of fiction based on a very original premise."

References

2012 Canadian novels Canadian crime novels Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning works Novels set in Alberta Novels set in Lagos Penguin Books books {{Canada-novel-stub