Skip to content

From the archives

Between Words

Anne Carson’s new book-without-a-spine, and the spiritual experience of centrelessness

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

A postmodern elegy from our most original writer

Boredom as a Political Weapon

Saul Bellow fought banality—and taught us to look hard at the world

David Olive

David Olive is a business and current affairs columnist at The Toronto Star.

Articles by
David Olive

A Hotel for All Seasons

One of Canada’s leading entrepreeurs reflects on five decades of success July–August 2009
Four seasons is one of those all-too-few commercial brands with which Canadians have achieved global renown, alongside Massey-Ferguson, Ski-Doo, Seagram’s V.O. and the BlackBerry. Stories of great, sustained success usually are unlikely. This one’s no different. Isadore Sharp, protege of his father, Max, as a builder of Toronto houses and modest apartment blocks, falls into the inn keeping trade after putting up a surprisingly successful motel for a client in the 1ate…