This Is a Book About the Kids in the Hall

“Finally! The Kids in the Hall gets the book their legendary body of work deserves. Just like its subject matter, This Is a Book About the Kids in the Hall is funny, insightful, freewheeling, and strangely touching.” — Tom Scharpling, host of the The Best Show
“Head-crushingly good! Semley has written an immensely readable exploration of one of the architects of contemporary comedy.” — Nathan Rabin, columnist, author of You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me
“I liked this book so much. I love reading behind-the-scenes dissections of what makes comedy groups work, and I kind of can’t believe there wasn’t one about the Kids already. Now there is one, and it’s delightful! Thank god!” — Mallory Ortberg, author of Texts from Jane Eyre
“Semley’s comprehensive and engagingly written book will appeal primarily to fans of the Kids and also those interested in the history of the comedy scene of the 1980s and 1990s.” — Library Journal
“The personal and interpersonal troubles, network struggles, failures, and triumphs of The Kids in the Hall make the reading absolutely compulsive.” — Psychobabble
“This is A Book About the Kids in the Hall is a book that fans of the troupe, whether you watched their TV show, caught one of their stage shows — and yes, even saw “Brain Candy” — will find as the authoritative story of how five diverse Canadian comedians joined forces to set the gold standard of what modern sketch comedy should be like.” — Montreal Times
“Excellent.” — National Post
“Exhaustively researched and wonderfully written … In his in-depth analysis and really colourful, funny writing, Semley brings fans into the psyche of these ‘five losers,’ as McCulloch once called them.” — Globe and Mail
“Turns out Semley’s monograph is as good as its subject deserves. There’s not much new to offer outline-wise, but Semley colours in and shades the broad strokes in such a way that makes the Kids’ story more vivid than it’s yet been, elevating the usual historical bullet points with blessed context… Semley’s subtle triumph here is his acute humour.” — Bookshelf.ca
“I recommend any self-respecting KITH fan snap it up all the same, lest he or she risk a well-deserved head-crushing.” — Flick Attach blog

John Semley is a writer living in Toronto. His work has appeared in The Believer, The New York Times Magazine, Salon, Esquire, The A.V. Club, The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, and a whole bunch of other magazines, newspapers, and websites. He is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and the Toronto Star.

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