Two Books

I procrastinated enough writing my blog post on River Thieves that I finished a second novel, so this is a dual post. If only you could also write blog posts on the subway to work...

I gave a quick review of Michael Crummey's River Thieves in my monthly update for Alternavox, but I will try to go into a bit more depth here. The novel follows the story of one family, the Peytons, in the greater picture of the history of early Canada. John, John Sr. and Cassie, their tutor and companion, are trappers and fishermen in Newfoundland. Their lives are interrupted when David Buchan, a naval officer, arrives in the Bay of Exploits to make contact with the Beothuks.

The novel becomes a series of misunderstandings- the englishmen misunderstand the Beothuks; John misunderstands the relationship between John Sr. and Cassies, etc. Through these misunderstandings characters are developed and a history of the trappers and Beothuks emerges.

Crummey paints a beautiful picture of pre-confederation Newfoundland. You can feel the cold of the novel as the characters hike through the forest or across the ice. Definitely an author I would like to read more of.

Where River Thieves tells the story of the historical relationship with the Beothuks, through the eyes of the British/Canadians, Green Grass, Running Water, in part tells the story of modern Blackfoot relationships with Albertans/Canadians from the point of view of various Blackfoot.

This is my first Western Canadian novel and it is about time! The novel follows numerous story lines, varying from a sort of mythology of Native history, two Americans follow four escaped elderly, a love triangle, and one man's struggle against a dam.

Thomas King's story is wonderfully written and very funny. I found myself laughing on the subway (always a sure way to make sure no one sits next to you). I like all of the characters and wanted each chapter to move faster so I could read about whoever was up next.

I am not big on judging novels, but since they are within the same post, I am going to say I liked Thomas King's better. I really enjoyed Michael Crummey, but it was refreshing to read something a bit different.

Up next: The Horn of a Lamb by Robert Sedlack

Giller long list announced...

The Scotiabank Giller Prize long list was announced yesterday. Here is a link to the list:

http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/

If someone would like to read them all and let me know which I should add to the list, it would be much appreciated!

One of the judges is already causing some trouble; Victoria Glendinning made some disparaging comments about Can-Lit. The Globe and Mail blog has summed them up:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/in-other-words/a-brit-giller-judge-makes-fun-of-canadian-fiction/article1297024/

As I am only at the beginning of this challenge, I can't particularly say if I agree or disagree. The only book I have read so far that meets her description is Alistair MacLeod's ("often about families down the generations with multiple points of view and flashbacks to Granny’s youth in the Ukraine or wherever") and he is a fellow judge! Not to mention how wonderful his novel was.

Her comments sound fairly petty, but I suppose everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It would seem to me there are probably plenty of mediocre British writers as well, she just didn't have to read them all.

I finished Michael Crummey yesterday and promise to post about it tomorrow!

- Katy

Monthly Summary @ alternavox.net

As part of the Can-Lit project I am doing a summary of my reading for www.alternavox.net.

Here is the link for the first one:

http://alternavox.net/writersbox/canlitproject-september/

Check back around the middle of every month for my column.

- Katy

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

So, I actually finished Anne a week ago, but I am a slacker, so I am just posting now.

In short, I loved it! I mean, I read the novel when I was younger, but it was a LONG time ago. Growing up, I watched the movies and was a faithful follower of Road to Avonlea, so I shouldn't be surprised I loved it so much, but I really did!

Now, what it really got me thinking about was the idea of the "Great Canadian Novel". Honestly, this isn't something that gets much discussion. Not nearly as much as the Great American Novel. Yet, the comparison is easy.

Now, for arguments sake, I am going to say that many critics consider The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain to be the Great American Novel. And when you think about, Anne is pretty similar.

For one, they are both about children without any parents. While Anne is lucky enough to get parents, Huck we see run around wild for the entire novel. As I mentioned in my last post, Anne truly captures the setting of PEI, as Huck Finn does for the south. Both books are episodic in nature- driven by the adventures of their young protagonists. Not to say they are identical, but it is easy to see the comparisons.

I think the most striking resemblance, however, is the way each character is brought to life through their distinctive dialect. The way Anne speaks is so important to who she is and how L.M. Montgomery paints her character. There is something so quintessentially Canadian about her speech and it truly makes the novel a great Canadian masterpiece. What makes Anne such a great character is how real she feels through her speech. Her strange character can be described over and over, but until she speaks, it isn't Anne Shirley. But her dialogue (her endless dramatic rants) make her character timeless.

Now, Huck Finn's dialogue is the polar opposite of Anne Shirley. I mean, you can barely read it! It is so vulgar and slangy. But they represent the same thing- a distinct cultural note about the time they represent. Huck wouldn't be Huck and Anne wouldn't be Anne without their distinctive speech.

Anyway, there are a million things I could post about Anne of Green Gables but I just had to make a comparison to Twain- mostly to cast my vote for Anne Shirley as the Great Canadian Character, in what I think may be the Great Canadian Novel.

Next up, Hey Nostradamus by Douglas Copeland

IFOA tickets on sale!

For those of you in the Toronto area- tickets for the International Festival of Authors went on sale today at 1 pm. Lots of great Canadian authors coming.

The festival runs from October 21-31, 2009.

Check out their website: http://www.readings.org/?q=ifoa

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

Larry's Party by Carol Shields

I think it is unavoidable that you want to compare the books you read back-to-back. What struck me between, the largely dissimilar, No Great Mischief and Larry’s Party was that in both novels the main characters move to the States! Why must our heroes leave?!?! Not sure if this theme will continue, but something to keep my eye out for- is it Canadian literature if our characters all run south of the border?

Other than the sojourn to the United States, Chicago to be precise, Lawrence Weller, or Larry as he is most often called, spends the large portion of his life in Winnipeg. It is there that we are first introduced to Larry, in 1977, just as he has met Dorrie who would become his first wife. We are re-introduced to Larry in each chapter, recounting where we have come so far and moving us forward in the story. Truthfully, re-introducing Larry in each chapter got a bit tiring by the middle of the novel, but by the end I had settled into the writing style.

Larry is a bit of an anti-hero; he stumbles through life, in his career as a florist and then as a maze maker, and he stumbles through his relationships.

He was raised in Winnipeg with his older sister, by his British-born parents. They had come to Canada after Larry’s mother accidentally poisoned her mother-in-law with pickled beans. Larry is a mediocre student growing up and when a local college accidentally sends him a brochure for floral design, rather than appliance repairs, Larry becomes a florist. When Larry and his girlfriend Dorrie (accidentally) get pregnant, they get married. It is on their honeymoon in Britain that Larry goes through his first maze. From there he becomes obsessed- building one in his yard and then going on to become a widely recognized maze expert.

The first maze proves to be the end of his first marriage, but his success brings him to Chicago and into his second marriage. Larry’s relationships are the focus of the novel- his family, his wives, his son, his lover. This culminates in a dinner party Larry holds (by this time living in Toronto), giving the book its title.

Carol Shields writes very well. The story reads at a nice pace and she left me with good image of Larry and his life. The language is not particularly flowery or poetic, but perfect in its simplicity and straight forward manner.

A worthwhile read- I am hitting two for two!

Up next: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

- Katy