Back in my horrible college Canadian history class, we had to write a paper comparing both an old and modern novel written by Canadian authors. (Why we were supposed to do this I will never know - we never discussed literary Canada or any single book that even took place in Canada.) I ended up writing about Margaret Atwood and someone I can't remember and I disliked both the books I was assigned to read. They were depressing as hell - sort of the dark side of the Little House on the Prairie - and I wasn't impressed by the writing either. I have read books by Atwood that I've enjoyed (and The Handmaid's Tale pretty much rocks everyone's world that reads it), but this wasn't one of them. (I wish I remembered the title, but like most of that class it is thankfully blocked from my brain.) So that was the end of my exposure to Canadian writers, until I took Polar Exploration and Literature later and discovered Pierre Berton - one of the greatest historians who ever lived and a first class writer.
But still, that was nonfiction and as much as I have enjoyed Thomas Costain recently, he is nonfiction as well. I don't even know where to go looking for Canadian literature as far as authors, but I got lucky over the last couple of months and have found a couple of very good books from writers I've never heard of until I got very lucky and stumbled across them by accident.
When I saw Michael Ondaatje's blurb on Michael Winter's new novel, ("A wild and bravely written novel that shatters the spine of 'historical fiction.' ") I knew I was in for an interesting experience. I read The English Patient several years ago - after I saw the movie - and while the story amazed me, the narrative was a little tough sometimes. I really enjoyed his latest novel though, Anil's Ghost, but again - it wasn't your usual plot format. Winter's book, The Big Why, is unconventional as well, and even though I'm only about a 1/3 of the way through I'm very impressed. The story is based on the life on American artist Rockwell Kent and his decision prior to WWI to move with his family to Newfoundland. It's fascinating stuff, partly because of Kent's life, but also because of how well Winter climbs inside his main character's head. I'm not entirely sure if I like Rockwell Kent or not, but I can't stop reading this book. My review for this will be stellar, and I'm looking forward to finishing the book and seeing what happens to Kent and his marriage (it doesn't look good so far....).
In the December issue of Bookslut I have a review of Thomas Wharton's novel/short story collection, The Logogryph. Wharton is an award winning writer in Canada but doesn't seem to be well known down here. He is incredibly innovative - his imagination is amazing. Logogryph reads like a collection of literary themed stories that are all enjoyable independent of each other but then - at then end - Winter's overall plan becomes clear and the book takes on a whole new meaning. It's a gorgeous and brilliant piece of literature and like nothing I have ever read. It would appeal to any book lover, and surprisingly, to any romantic as well. If you know someone who possesses both of those qualities, then you just found the perfect Christmas gift.
I'm not sure why each of these Canadians are such risktakers when it comes to literary form, maybe it's coincidence, or maybe something more. I wish the American lit scene paid more attention to Canada though, because it is clear to me that we are missing quite a bit. We all love Anne of Green Gables, but she's really just a hint of the richness to be found up north for readers. As for me, I'm going to finish reading The Big Why and then move on to my next cool review book - would you believe I got something in the mail on Thule, Greenland today?! I'm starting to see a theme in my reading life....good stuff, but man - it's all cold!
Jimmy Buffet on the CD player today. I needed some beach music to balance the sleet and snow. (And it was good background for all that wrapping.....)
