For this year’s advent calendar, I am recommending Canadian
authors/books found on Schatje’s Shelves.
Again, to make things more interesting/challenging, I will use the
alphabet, skipping “X” and “Z”.
In total, I propose to focus on 50 Canadian writers, an early nod to
Canada's 150th birthday next year.
“M” is for Ann-Marie
MacDonald
MacDonald is also a playwright whose play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
won several awards.
Novels (which I recommend):
Fall on Your Knees (winner
of 1997 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and nominated for 1996 Giller Prize)
The Way the Crow Flies
(nominated for 2003 Giller Prize)
Adult Onset
Review of Adult Onset
(3 Stars)
Mary Rose MacKinnon is a 48-year-old YA novelist, now a
stay-at-home mother looking after two young children while her partner Hilary
is away; she describes herself as “the middle-aged lesbian single-mother
housewife” (73). The duration is one week during which time Mary Rose must cope
with the loneliness, stress, and tedium of day-to-day single parenting. Her anxiety
about her mothering skills, especially when caring for a stubborn two-year-old,
lead her to examining her own mother’s parenting style. And recurring pain in
an arm causes her to reflect on events from her childhood when she also
experienced pain in that arm because of bone cysts.
Though the novel covers a short period of time, virtually
all of it in Mary Rose’s Toronto home, it explores a huge emotional landscape.
Within that week, the protagonist experiences what could be described as an
emotional unravelling. She is a very anxious person prone to panic attacks and
always worrying about possible tragedies that could befall the children and her
partner. She is especially concerned about whether she is a good parent; she
knows she has moments of uncontrollable rage in which she fears harming herself
or the children. In her tendency to anger, she sees her mother Dolly whom she
remembers as often being depressed and unpredictable in her outbursts; Mary
Rose agrees with her brother who says, “’We were raised with a lot of rage’”
(68).
One of Mary Rose’s difficulties as she starts sifting
through childhood memories is that she isn’t always certain of what she
actually remembers and what she remembers being told. A pivotal event she
remembers, one in which her sister played a major role, is not part of her
sister’s memories. As it becomes obvious that there is something unpleasant
about her past, she turns away in fear though Hilary encourages her to take a
direct look and face what is there.
One of the themes is the influence of the past on the
present. MacDonald examines what happens when people don’t confront the pain of
the past. It manifests itself in unexpected ways: Hilary tells Mary Rose, “’You
have your scars, you have your chronic pain, you have your broken heart’” (333)
and “’I live with some of the results of how your mother dealt with her
suffering’” (335). Rather than face a harsh truth, people tend to lie to
themselves and make excuses; again, Hilary tells her partner, “’you’d justify
[a cruel act] with how she suffered’” (335). And what if a harsh truth about
the past can be known only partially; does one have to forgive what one does
not remember (333)?
Though not as memorable as Fall on Your Knees, this book is definitely worth a read. It conveys
the frustrations and ennui of parenting in a very realistic way, and its focus
on the importance of not suppressing the past should certainly give every
reader pause to think.
************
“M” is for Alistair
MacLeod
MacLeod’s writing evokes the beauty of Cape Breton Island
and the resilient character of its inhabitants.
He wrote two books of short stories and one novel.
Novel:
No Great Mischief
(nominated for 1999 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and winner of 2001 International
IMPAC Dublin Literary Award)
***********
“M” is for Ami McKay
Though born in the U.S., McKay
has become known as a Nova Scotian writer.
Novels (which I recommend):
The Birth House (longlisted for 2007 Dublin IMPAC Award)
The Virgin Cure See my review at
The Witches of New York See my review at
************
"M” is for W. O. Mitchell
Mitchell has often been called
the Mark Twain of Canada for his vivid tales of young boys' adventures.
Novels (which I recommend):
Who Has Seen the Wind
How I Spent my Summer Holidays
************
“M” is for Rohinton
Mistry
Mistry is an Indian-Canadian writer whose three novels have
each been nominated for major awards.
Novels (which I recommend):
Such a Long Journey
(shortlisted for the 1991 Man Booker Prize and winner of the Governor-General’s
Award and a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize)
A Fine Balance (winner
of 1995 Giller Prize and 1996 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize)
Family Matters
(shortlisted for 2002 Man Booker Prize and 2004 International IMPAC Dublin
Literary Award)
***********
“M” is for Lucy Maud
Montgomery
Many people have read her Anne of Green Gables but not everyone realizes that there are 8
books in that series.
Novels (which I recommend):
Anne
of Green Gables
Anne
of Avonlea
Anne
of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne's
House of Dreams
Anne
of Ingleside
Rainbow
Valley
Rilla
of Ingleside
Emily trilogy
Emily of New Moon
Emily Climbs
Emily's Quest
************
“M” is for Donna
Morrissey
Morrissey is another Newfoundland writer whose books I have
loved.
Novels (which I recommend):
Kit's Law
Downhill Chance
Sylvanus Now
What They Wanted
The Deception of Livvy
Higgs See my review at http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2015/10/reviews-archive-donna-morrissey-and.html.
The Fortunate Brother See my review at http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2016/09/review-of-fortunate-brother-by-donna.html.
************
“M” is for Alice
Munro
No list of noteworthy Canadian writers would be complete
without a reference to our Nobel Prize winning short story writer.
Short-story Collections:
Dance of the Happy
Shades (winner of the 1968 Governor General's Award)
Lives of Girls and
Women
Something I've Been
Meaning to Tell You
Who Do You Think You
Are? (winner of 1978 Governor General's Award and short-listed for 1980
Booker Prize)
The Moons of Jupiter
(nominated for 1982 Governor General's Award)
The Progress of Love (winner of 1986
Governor General's Award)
Friend of My Youth
Open Secrets (nominated for 1994
Governor General's Award)
The Love of a Good Woman (winner of the
1998 Giller Prize)
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship,
Marriage
Runaway (winner of the 2004 Giller Prize
and Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize)
The View from Castle Rock
Too Much Happiness
Dear Life
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