15th Canadian Book Challenge

I have been participating in the Canadian Book Challenge since #6 and am ready to start #15 on July 1. Most years, including the current one, I have finished 13 Canadian books. There are several authors that I keep going back to (Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies, Louise Penny, Emily St. John Mandel and Michael Ondaatje in particular) so this year I want to try to add some additional authors I haven't read before. 

Negotiating with the Dead

Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing
by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is based on a series of lectures (the Empson lectures) that Atwood gave on writing. She describes them in the Introduction as being "about the position the writer finds himself in; or herself, which is always a little different." I am a great admirer of Atwood's novels and found this volume very interesting as a peek at the person behind the stories. One of the lectures addresses the issue of the Wizard of Oz and whether you want to see behind the curtain. 

"But deep down I was not a rationalist. I was the youngest and weepiest of the family, frequently sent for naps due to fatigue, and thought to be sensitive and even a bit sickly; perhaps this was because I showed an undue interest in sissy stuff like knitting and dresses and stuffed bunnies. My own view of myself was that I was small and innocuous, a marshmallow compared to the others. I was a poor shot with a 22, for instance, and not very good with an ax. It took me a long time to figure out that the youngest in a family of dragons is still a dragon from the point of view of those who find dragons alarming." (p. 9)

This was a thought provoking book and well worth reading, especially if you are interested in how authors across time and space are in conversation with each other through their work.

This title counts toward the Canadian Reading Challenge.

 

Paris 1919

Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World 

by Margaret MacMillan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Historian Margaret MacMillan has crafted a fascinating tale of the personalities and power-struggles that surrounded the drafting of the Treaty of Versailles. This peace treaty marked the end of WWI and many of the decisions that went into it still echo in today's world. European hubris can be solidly blamed (my interpretation, not the author's statement) for the political mess in the middle east. This is a LONG book, but it is a tale well told and everyone's story is included, not just the big players. If you want to understand how the men (it was mostly men) who crafted the peace did it and what influenced the choices they made this book is an excellent way to learn about it.


This book counts toward the  Canadian Book Challenge as it includes the role of the Canadian delegation in the peace process, and (more importantly) was written by a professor at the University of Toronto.  

 

The Edge

The Edge 

by Dick Francis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I heard about this book on the Trains episode of Strong Sense of Place (my latest bookish podcast obsession). I had never read a Dick Francis novel because I didn't think I was interested in horseracing (and I still don't think I am), but this one was about trains and Canada and was a really good story which kept me up and turning pages well after I should have been sleeping. I will definitely be reading more Dick Francis novels.

The Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train is a luxury trip across Canada (not quite the full 5,514 kilometres across, but close) for the international horse-racing community (including the horses) where a murder mystery production will be part of the planned fun. Our hero Tor Kelsey is going along, incognito, to make sure that a well-known blackmailer who signed up for the trip at the last minute doesn't spoil all the fun.

This novel counts toward the  Canadian Book Challenge as most of it takes place in Canada.  

Surfacing

Surfacing 

by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"I have to be more careful about my memories. I have to be sure they're my own and not the memories of other people telling me what I felt, how I acted, what I said: if the events are wrong the feelings I remember about them will be wrong too, I'll start inventing them and there will be no way of correcting it, the ones who could help are gone." (p.70)

The heroine of this novel goes into the Canadian wilderness where she grew up in search of her father who has disappeared. What she finds is her own past and a new sense of her own identity. This is an intriguing, somewhat strange novel perched on the very edge of magical realism. It was first published in 1972 and feels very set in its time in some ways, especially the way the women view themselves and each other.

I am counting this toward the Canadian Book Challenge. 

Dearly

Dearly: New Poems 

by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This slim volume is a mixture of poems about large concerns (the environment mostly) and personal, intimate moments. Some of the poems are about love and loss (not surprising given the 2019 death of Graeme Gibson) and are very sad. 

Atwood is a skilled writer and her poems show that as much as her novels do. There were a few lines that really struck me:

• "...and the parents who had not yet abandoned us to take their chances in the ground." (from"Winter Vacations")
• "First taste of sheer ambrosia! Though mixed with ash and the shards of destruction as Heaven always is, if you read the texts closely." (from "Coconut")

The poems that resonated most for me were "Salt" which questions the advice not to look back; "Carving the Jacks" which uses language to play with the reader's expectations as something we all know is described; "Sad Utensils" mourning the loss of words from our speech; and the title poem "Dearly"which beautifully captures the impossibility of describing the past to someone who wasn't there. 

I am counting this toward the Canadian Book Challenge. 

A Pitying of Doves

A Pitying of Doves 

by Steve Burrows
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This police procedural set in England features Dominic Jejeune a transplanted Canadian police inspector. The mystery here was was intricate and unravelled in a way that kept the readers attention. There was also quite a bit of information about the personal lives and internal conflicts of the various members of the Norfolk constabulary. I am counting this novel toward the Canadian Reading Challenge as the author lives in Ontario, several Canadians are characters, and there is a reference to the Tragically Hip in the story. 

Coming Through Slaughter

Coming Through Slaughter 

by Michael Ondaatje
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This felt more like a poetry collection than a novel. It has a very definite narrative thread running through it, but the form makes it read like poetry. It was Ondaatje's first novel and his amazing way with language is already apparent. This is a very dark story of people in terrible places (both literally and mentally) and the lyrical language provides a sharp contrast to the action in many places. 
This story takes place in the American south, mostly New Orleans, Louisiana, but Ondaatje lives in Canada so I am counting this toward the Canadian Reading Challenge. 

All the Devils are Here

All the Devils Are Here 

by Louise Penny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was my least favorite of the Louise Penny novels so far. It was set in Paris and most of the regular characters from the series made only very brief appearances. I also felt like the story dragged a great deal in the middle. The imminent arrival of a baby is also part of the plot here and I never like that in a storyline. This is by no means a bad book--it is a Louise Penny novel after all--it just wasn't as fabulous as some of the previous ones. 

I am counting this toward the Canadian Reading Challenge.

Past Reason Hated

Past Reason Hated 

by Peter Robinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was another solid entry in the Inspector Banks series. The very ending (the last paragraph) was wonderful. It showed a side of Banks we hadn't seen before. 

These books are set in England, but the author lives in Toronto so this counts toward the Canadian Book Challenge.

The Forest Lover

The Forest Lover 

by Susan Vreeland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This fictionalized life of the Canadian painter Emily Carr was a fascinating look into the world of First Nations people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Vreeland's portrait of Carr was complex and sympathetic and I found her a very likable character. The stories of some of her friends, especially Harold Cook, were heartbreaking. This was my second Susan Vreeland book and I will seek out more of her work. I am counting this book toward the Canadian Book Challenge.

A Necessary End

A Necessary End by Peter Robinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is number three in the Inspector Banks series (though it is the 4th I have read). These are British police procedurals set in a small Yorkshire village. They are pretty standard to the form, but quite well done with interesting characters an appealing but not-perfect detective, and a solid mystery. 

I am counting this toward the Canadian Book Challenge because Robinson (according to the jacket copy) lives in Toronto.

The Glass Hotel

The Glass Hotel 

by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once again Mandel has crafted a complex and compelling novel that tells several interconnected stories. This one revolves around a hotel on a remote Canadian island. I don't really want to say anything else about it because I think part of the wonder of Mandel's novels is the way you discover the connections as it all unfolds.

"She'd never believed in love at first sight but she did believe in recognition at first sight, she believed in understanding upon meeting someone for the first time that they were going to be important in her life, a sensation like recognizing a familiar face in an old photograph: in a sea of faces that mean nothing, one comes into focus. You." (p. 123)

This is a perfect description of NYC: "He felt such love for this city tonight, for its grandeur and indifference." (p. 187)

I am counting this toward the Canadian Book Challenge.

The Testaments

The Testaments 

by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This sequel to The Handmaid's Tale was a page-turner. I didn't think it was as beautifully written as some of Atwood's novels, but the story was absolutely compelling. 
There were some good lines though.

"The flame of my life is subsiding, more slowly than some of those around me might like, but faster than they may realize." (p. 31)

"You'd be surprised how quickly the mind goes soggy in the absence of other people. One person alone is not a full person: we exist in relation to others. I was one person: I risked becoming no person." (p. 148)

This book counts toward the Canadian Book Challenge as Atwood is a Canadian author and much of this novel is set in Canada. 

Canadian Book Challenge

I have completed the Canadian Reading Challenge each year since #6. This past year I only managed to read 7 books for the challenge. In my defense it was a very challenging year for me and I am running out of Margaret Atwood novels that I haven't read yet.

I am going to try again with the 14th challenge, which is being hosted at Canadian Bookworm and has levels identified by Canadian provincial flowers. Getting hold of books may be a problem this year, but my public library has reopened for curbside service so I am hopeful that I will manage.