La Guerre- Yes Sir!

No one has ever said French-English relations in Canada are straightforward, certainly not Roch Carrier, our once upon a time National Librarian and author of the much beloved the Hockey Sweater- well, beloved by everyone except maybe Toronto Maple Leaf fans. Although he is best known for this children's classic, he was also a novelist for adults and much like the Hockey Sweater, his novella La Guerre- Yes Sir! attempts to explain the eccentricities that divide us and bring us together.

The novel takes place in a small Quebec during WWI. The town acts as the backdrop for a fable-like story of conscription, religion, love, family and yes- the dreaded French-English relations. The novel features a variety of soldiers- one on leave, one avoiding going all together, one upon his return and one upon his return in a coffin. These French soldiers, in all their states, are interrupted by English soldiers escorting the coffin of the fallen French soldier. Add in a few dozen drunk villagers and trouble is bound to happen.

The novel is at times terrifyingly violent, but the characters are written with great compassion and the novel is clever and concise. A definitely worthwhile read.

-Katy

Canada Reads x2

It's not that I haven't been reading, it's just that I haven't been blogging.

The Canada Reads books have been steadily streaming into the library and I have finished numbers 2 and 3- they could not have been more different. I am going to somehow tie them together into one blog post though.

First up... Fall on your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald, the most successful of the Canada Reads novels, as one of Oprah's Picks and for the numerous awards it has won. The novel tells the story of the Piper family, beginning with the marriage of Materia Mahmoud, a Lebanese whose father moved to Cape Breton and established a successful grocery business, and James Piper, a piano tuner, many years her elder. The couple, their daughters and other members of their small community form the centre of this tumultuous novel. The story has everything you would not wish upon any family: a disowned daughter, unhappy marriage, violence, rape, incest and the list continues.

Unfortunately, the plot weighs down the novel. I kept thinking nothing worse could happen and then it did and then it did again. I am not afraid of 'heavy' novels, some of my favorites are, but Fall on your Knees just didn't hold up for me. The depth wasn't there, I didn't see where all the shocks were central to the plot or character development. In Clara Callan, which had some similar plot lines, Clara's rape was a turning point in her relationship with her sister and a major turning point in the plot; but, it didn't overwhelm the book and I wasn't shocked by it. And past the plot, it didn't have anything to offer me.

On an entirely different note, Nikolski by Nicholas Dickner (translated by Lazer Lederhendler) is the story of three twenty-somethings as their lives diverge, converge or come as close to converging as one can in a small Montreal marketplace. The debut novel is eccentric, wonderfully written and in many ways among the more pan-Canadian novels I have read yet. It manages to span many, many provinces and regions; mostly thanks to Noah's Chipewyan mother who is constantly traveling the middle of the country in her mobile home, but also from the Atlantic coast (loads of fish imagery), to Montreal and all the way to furthest West Coast.

The novel is about wandering spirits, youth dealing with the decisions of their parents and all the wayward meanderings of a quirky, well passed along story. So far it is easily my favorite of the Canada Reads books.

That is 3 down, 2 to go. I am waiting on the others to arrive from the library; in the meantime I have started Michael Crummey's newest, Galore.

-Katy

The Man in the Closet by Roch Carrier

It seemed this fall the big thing to do was to hold used book sales. There were a few in the lobby of my building at work and one at church. I took advantage of these to gather some Can Lit at reasonable prices. Now, this has positives and negatives. Positive: most books cost me $1. Negative: Not always the best selection. This meant I had to broaden my selection criteria, so basically, anything Canadian I bought. So that is how I ended up with Roch Carrier on my shelf.

Then, post wedding, I was falling behind and wanted a book that I could blow through quick. So I decided on The Man in the Closet.

The only other Roch Carrier book I have read is The Hockey Sweater, which I love (of course). So this was my first non-kids, non-picture book from him. And it wasn’t bad.

The Man in the Closet is a mystery type story of a small town in Quebec that often has big town people visit on the weekend (country homes). Two young (beautiful) girls come to stay in a house owned by the Martins. One night, a man jumps out of the closet and scares one of the girls, who in turns punches through a window and runs away (all while naked- she was getting ready for bed). This leads to chaos in the small town as fingers are pointed and accusations thrown.
Though a mystery, it was not all that mysterious, but the ending did still shock me a bit (not entirely). It was a good portrait of small town life and the interesting dynamics that play out. While I would never nominate this book for any kind of prize, it wasn’t horrible.

Anyway, it is hard to write about mediocre books- not much to say besides it was ok. I still say Roch Carrier is one of the most important writers in Canada, just for the Hockey Sweater, not this one.

Next up: Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa, which I am now 25 pages into and really enjoying!
-Tory

Mme Proust and the Kosher Kitchen

When Kate Taylor's Mme Proust and the Kosher Kitchen was released it got some harsh reviews for being less than historically accurate. The story, which partly takes the shape of the diaries of Marcel Proust's mother, is an historical fiction. But Taylor uses dates, names, places and events a bit more loosely than authors typically do and she does so unabashedly. Being a former history student, I was a bit concerned by this notion; yet, I quickly forgot all about it. The story is engaging, the plot she weaves does not make dates pivotal.

Beyond Mme Proust, the story involves two other females: Marie Prevost, who is in the process of translating the Proust diary (and providing us her access to the diaries) and Sarah Bensimon, a French Jewish refugee who was sent to live in Canada during the WWII. These three lives unfold over decades. They are most often stories of the everyday, un-life changing events. But they are compelling stories and the writing style of Taylor makes for an enjoyable read. Some exploration of numerous (maybe a bit too many) themes: family, self-satisfaction, bilingualism, belonging, food, Jewish identity, and a few others.

At times I felt as though there was enough in all three stories to make more than one novel, but probably not enough for three. I wanted more out of each one, they were all intriguing!

Not my favorite novel, and I was secretly hoping there would be more about food (kitchen IS in the title), but still well worth the read.

-Katy

Duddy Kravitz, the anti-hero and the Canadian canon

I wrote in my last post that I thought of Larry Weller (from Larry’s Party) was an anti-hero; boy, did I speak too soon. Larry, by comparison to Duddy Kravitz, might as well be Prince Charming. Duddy Kravitz, the title character and prime anti-hero, from Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, makes his way through the ups and downs of the Montreal business underworld.

The novel begins with Duddy indirectly causing the death of his teacher’s wife; from there he embarks on a series of business misadventures in an attempt to buy land, because as his grandfather says “a man without land is nothing.” Stepping on, and occasionally helping out, a variety of people including: his taxi driver father, his med-student brother, a sympathetic French girl, an epileptic poet, half of Jewish Montreal, and a smattering of other eccentric characters.

The book is decently funny, although I never laughed out loud, and Richler’s writing style is fine. The book is definitely not my favorite, but I don’t regret reading it. I won’t be running out to read another one of his.

In terms of how it fits into the overall Canadian canon, it brings up a good point that was raised below (in the comments, courtesy of backwoodscanlit)- are there any truly pan-Canada novels?

I tend to think that there aren’t. Books can represent a certain region or group of people, for example Alistair MacLeod and Cape Breton, or Mordecai Richler and Jewish Montreal, but they don’t often span all of Canada. I will keep my eye out for one!

Up next: River Thieves by Michael Crummey

-Katy