New (Paperback) Release: THE BIRDS by Tarjei Vesaas

3.5 Stars

This book was originally published in Norway in 1957; now an English paperback version is being released.

This is the story of Mattis, a mentally challenged man in his late 30s, known as Simple Simon by the people in the small village in which he resides.  He lives with his sister Hege who looks after him.  Their quiet lives change when a lumberjack arrives at their lakeside cottage, and Mattis becomes increasingly concerned about his future.

This is not a book for lovers of action/adventure novels because this is not a plot novel.  This is a portrait of man who doesn’t fit into the world, but wants to.  He is very much aware of how he is different from other people; he wants to be different in the three ways that matter to him:  beauty, wisdom, and strength.  He has difficult doing even menial labour and suffers anguish because of his ineptitude.   He clings to the familiar, being afraid of change, but he wants to find a role for himself which he does for a short time when he becomes a ferryman. 

It is unclear what Mattis’s disability is, but it seems to be autism.  He struggles to express himself, he has obsessions which occupy his thoughts, and he becomes easily frustrated.  He lacks connections to people, but he is attuned to the natural world.  He sees meaning in events in that world, events like the flight of a woodcock and a lightning strike. 

I found that the book did not maintain my interest because there is so little suspense.  It is true that Mattis is not always able to accurately interpret people’s actions and so there is always the risk of his doing something inappropriate.  But since he is middle-aged, he has learned how to behave in a socially acceptable way.  And his fear of mockery ensures that he usually reacts and speaks cautiously.  I did not have the same concerns as I did when reading Of Mice and Men.

The novel’s strength is its psychological insight.  The reader sees Mattis’ fears, loneliness, unhappiness, and his sense of childlike wonder.  Mattis’s thoughts may be muddled and he may have difficulty communicating them, but his emotions become very clear.  And all of this is accomplished in very sparse, stark prose. 

It is also Hege who receives the reader’s sympathy.  Her life is almost unbearably lonely as she struggles to look after her brother.  She is “worn out and miserable” and though she is only 40, her hair is turning grey.  At one point, she screams in frustration:  “’Leave me in peace, please!  I can’t go on any longer if you don’t –‘” 

Apparently there is a Polish film entitled Matthew’s Days which is based on this novel.  I recommend the novel, but readers should be forewarned that sadness pervades the book.

Note:  I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE by Joseph Boyden

In yesterday’s blog entry, I mentioned that Through Black Spruce is being made into a film.  I thought, therefore, I’d share my review of that book which I read back in October of 2008 – though my notes are rather sketchy, I do remember I loved the book, as I did its precursor.

4.5 Stars

This novel is a follow-up to Three-Day Road.  The two narrators are related to Xavier Bird, one of the two Cree snipers whose stories are told in Boyden’s first novel.  Will is Xavier’s son and Annie is his granddaughter.

Will Bird, a legendary bush pilot, lies in a coma.  While in his deep sleep, Will's mind is in a state of active dreaming, looking back on his life.  A sense of urgency compels him to share his life's story, a tale of survival, with his niece.  And Annie, Will’s niece, tells her story to Will after some reluctance to talk to a comatose.  She describes to her uncle the events of the last months that took her to Toronto, Montreal and New York City and, eventually, brought her back to Moosonee.

Will’s story is much stronger, the locale being portrayed much more realistically.  The New York scenes do not seem real, although the glittering artificiality may have been intentional.

One of the themes is the death of traditional ways of life.  Drugs are one of the contributing factors but there is also passing reference to residential schools.

The novel is also a study of the formation of identity.  Annie finds herself shedding her tomboy past and slipping into the role of Indian Princess in New York.  What she eventually discovers, as does Will, is the inescapable ties of family.  Both characters are lost or stuck, peering through black spruce, but eventually escape the shadows.

One weakness is the ending.  It is much too melodramatic so the tone of the novel is lost.  It is a disappointing finale that does little justice to the rest of the novel.

Upcoming Film Adaptations of Canadian Novels

Some excellent Canadian novels are going to be made into films.  Bell Media has announced funding for a number of film adaptations of award-winning novels.

“Screenwriter Michael McGowan has signed on to write All My Puny Sorrows [by Miriam Toews], which won the 2013 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The novel follows a woman named Yolandi, who grapples with her sister's request to help end her life. [See my review on July 20, 2015.]

“Jason Buxton is writing Three Day Road, [Joseph] Boyden's debut novel that took home the 2005 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. The book focuses on two Cree snipers haunted by their experiences on the battlefield during World War I. [I read this book back in 2005 and loved it, but I didn’t write reviews back then, so I have none to post.]

 “Bell Media renewed the option on the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner 419 written by Will Ferguson. Suzette Couture is writing the script. 419 is a dark thriller about the criminal underworld behind notorious Nigerian internet scams. [This novel I have not yet read.]

“Funds have been committed to production on Indian Horse based on the book by Richard Wagamese. Stephen Campanelli will direct the film, with the script written by Dennis Foon. Indian Horse is about an Ojibway hockey player who struggles with an alcohol addiction.  [See my review on November 6, 2015.]

“Screenwriter Barbara Samuels is working on a second draft of the script for Through Black Spruce, which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for Joseph Boyden in 2008. [I read this book in October of 2008 – I will post my review tomorrow.]  Through Black Spruce follows the parallel journeys of a Cree bush pilot and his niece, as they face heartbreak, fierce love and ancient blood feuds.”  (http://www.cbc.ca/books/2016/03/joseph-boyden-miriam-toews-and-richard-wagamese-books-getting-the-movie-treatment.html

For a complete list of film projects supported by Bell Media, see http://www.bellmedia.ca/pr/press/bell-medias-harold-greenberg-fund-announces-support-for-30-new-canadian-film-projects-2/.

Review of AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED by Khaled Hosseini

Today, March 4, is Khaled Hosseini’s 51^st birthday.  He is best known for his novel The Kite Runner, but in honour of his birthday, I decided to post my review of his most recent book, And the Mountains Echoed.

4 Stars

Three-year-old Pari is separated from her ten-year-old brother Abdullah when their father makes a decision which he thinks will improve his family’s future. The novel examines the reverberations of this difficult choice – consequences which are felt far from his small rural village in Afghanistan and for 50 years hence.

Spanning the years from 1942 to 2010 in various locations (Afghanistan, France, Greece and the United States), the novel is really a collection of nine interconnected stories featuring a large cast of characters, some only tangentially related.

The stories set in the past, particularly those of Parwana and Nabi, are the most powerful. The ones set in the present have less emotional resonance. Sometimes there is extensive description of the lives of people who did not engage me emotionally. Markos and Idris fall into this latter category. Nonetheless, what is positive about the characters is that they are all three-dimensional. Most are good, well-intentioned people with flaws. What is striking is that sometimes a character will be viewed in one way because of his/her actions in a scene but being shown that same scene from a different perspective forces the reader to reconsider first impressions. What is also notable is that despite the myriad characters, I experienced no confusion; it is not difficult to remember who is who.

As mentioned, the various characters are related to varying degrees, although all have some connection to Pari and Abdullah. One chapter, for example, focuses on Pari and Abdullah’s stepmother; another, on the Greek doctor who takes up residence in the home inherited by Pari and Abdullah’s step-uncle; a third, on the son of a drug warlord who becomes friends with the son of Pari and Abdullah’s half-brother. There are also other connections, however. All either lose someone or reject/let down someone in some way. Usually this someone is a sibling/pseudo-sibling or a parent. Several yearn for “escape, reinvention, new identities” and unmoor themselves “by cutting loose the anchors that weigh [them] down” (328). Naturally, many of the characters seek redemption for their betrayals. Parwana and Masooma, and Markos and Thalia, and Pari and Nila are obvious examples. Pari perhaps best summarizes the shame and regret many characters feel: “’I did careless things. Reckless things. . . . I should have been more kind. That is something a person will never regret. You will never say to yourself when you are old, Ah, I wish I was not good to that person. You will never think that. . . . It would not have been so difficult . . . I should have been more kind’” (382 – 383).

Readers should be forewarned that not everyone finds a satisfactory resolution. For some it is too late to have a happily-ever-after ending. There are, in fact, several unanswered questions: What happens to Gholam? Does Thierry really reconnect with his mother? This open-endedness may bother some people, but I found it realistic. To have Pari remember an object from her infancy would have been unbelievable.

Early on, one of the characters says, “A story is like a moving train” (74). Reading this sprawling tale is like hopping on a train and encountering various passengers who tell you their stories; some disembark without your knowing what happens to them. Nonetheless, at the end of your journey with this book, you will have a feeling of shared humanity and the interconnectedness of people across time and space. It is definitely a journey worth taking.

World Book Day - in the UK and Ireland

Today, March 3, 2016, is World Book Day in the United Kingdom and Ireland.  World Book Day is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and, most importantly, it’s a celebration of reading.

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries all over the world (http://www.worldbookday.com/about/).

Canada and the United States celebrate World Book Day on April 23, the date chosen by UNESCO, because that is “a symbolic date for world literature. It is on this date in 1616 that Cervantes, Shakespeare. and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors, such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla, and Manuel Mejía Vallejo” (http://www.un.org/en/events/bookday/).

In the United Kingdom, World Book Day is held annually on the first Thursday in March, as April 23 clashes with school holidays, and April 23 is also the National Saint's Day of England, St George's Day.

I think every day should be a day to celebrate reading!  Regardless of where you live, READ.

New Spring Releases

March has arrived and, with it, hopes that spring will soon make its appearance.  It also seems to be the season for lists of most anticipated new releases.

Kirkus Reviews issued a list of upcoming crime novels:  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/plucky-13-fresh-crime-novels-dare-spice-your-sprin/#continue_reading_post.  The one that caught my attention is Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman because I love her standalone novels.

And if you, like I, love Canadian books, check out this article from 49^th Shelf (http://49thshelf.com/Blog/2016/01/07/Most-Anticipated-Our-Spring-2016-Fiction-Preview) which lists Canadian works to be released within the next few months.  It is an extensive preview and mentions two books I have on my to-buy list:  Nightfall by Richard B. Wright and The Naturalist by Alissa York.

Some good books await readers this spring!

Some PEN Literary Awards Winners

Today, the winners of some of the PEN Literary Awards were announced. 

The one that caught my attention is the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction ($25,000) to a distinguished living American author of fiction.  It will be given to Toni Morrison.

See http://www.pen.org/blog/announcing-2016-pen-literary-award-winners for the winners that were announced.  The winners for the other PEN awards will not be announced until April 11. 

I’m particularly interested in the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction ($25,000) which is awarded to an author “whose debut work—published in 2015—represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise.”  See my February 3 blog entry in which I gave some information about the shortlist for this prize.