Recent Literary Fiction

[SensualPoet]

Annabel by Kathleen Winter
Publisher: House of Anansi, Jun 2010; US: Black Cat (Grove Press/Atlantic), Jan 2011
Shortlist Finalist: Governor General Literary Award 2010, Scotiabank Giller Prize 2010, Rogers Writers Trust Award 2010

When a child is born at the remote hamlet of Croydon Harbour, Labrador in 1968, his parents Jacinta (born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland) and Treadway Blake, a native of Labrador, and a deep woods trapper as was his father and his father before him, are faced with an unusual problem: the child is born with both female and male sex organs -- a true hermaphrodite. With surgery and hormone treatments, the child is raised as Wayne but the secrets of his origins are kept from him; only Thomasina Montague, a neighbour whose husand and eleven year old daughter drowned around the time of Wayne's birth, knows the truth of Wayne's origin. Thomasina calls Wayne "Annabel" when they are alone, the name of her drowned daughter; Wayne hears "Amble".

Annabel, in often exhilarating prose, tells the story of Wayne's growing up, and his discovery of his origins as he copes with both his male and female selves. But it's also the story of his parents over these years; as well as Thomasina who studies to become a teacher and travels Europe sending postcards to Wayne; and a childhood friend, Wally Michelin, a young girl with a passion for music. A first time novelist, Winter teases out the inner emotions of the characters, and their change over time, without judgment but with obvious love. It's hard not to care for every character fleshed out here, and empathise with their flaws as well as celebrate their triumphs over the raw land, relationships changing over time, regrets and attempts to make amends.

Multi-layered, it's a book about Labrador, about coming of age, about ethical choices and their ramfications but most of all it is about spirit, expressed poetically, page after page, as she invokes the land and the inner lives of the central characters. Highly recommended.

The Canadian cover is far more atmospheric than than the US one which is more dramatic but "in your face" as well.

A review appeared in The Globe and Mail, The National Post, with some further background in an interview with the CBC.

Available from Kobo and Nook for under $10; an ePub in the Overdrive library system; also available in paper editions.

[pholy]

OK, you talked me into it... I'm 8th out of 8 on the TPL Overdrive list - much better than 450th for the pbook with 150 copies available (I think).

[6charlong]

I've just read a book called The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. I couldn't figure out what the genre was but I was impressed by the beauty of the language and the interesting characterizations, so maybe it fits here.

It's the story of three sisters who grew up in the home of a Shakespeare scholar. As children they played games with quotes from Shakespeare and could usually name the play, pulled wagon-loads of completed books to the library every Saturday to exchange for more, and missed out on references to TV shows all through their teen years. Their mother comes down sick and they all end up back home together, now in their early 30s, each one with her own problems. As the narrator says they love each other but don't especially like each other.

I was sorry when it ended which makes me think the book was pretty good.

[SensualPoet]

Thanks for the heads-up about Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters. First novels are often exceptional reads: the author struggling to find her/his voice and often taking risks that later become "style". I put a hold on it at my local library ... number 46 on a list of 3 copies. *sigh*

New York Times has a review here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/books/17book.html and the author has her own website with blogs and such.

(Can't wait? It's available at Kobo and Kindle in Canada; and on Nook in the US.)

[carpetmojo]

Secrets From the Dust - George Hamilton.

This sounds very interesting, and has complimentary praise for the quality of its writing. It's about the Aborigine children of Australia who were taken from their families, under what can really only be described as an official Government genetics programme.

Had an eye-opening couple of TV & radio programmes on the subject over here lately.

Just wondered if a members opinion was available.

[elemenoP]

I'm also of the "I know it when I see it" camp, with regards to the definition of literary fiction. To me, the foremost thing is that I can lose myself in the beauty of the language. I do prefer my fiction (literary and otherwise) to have great characters and a great plot. So I do have a quandary on my hands when literary fiction offers me the first two and not the last. (some examples: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, which I adored right up until the ending, and Tana French's In the Woods, which is that even more difficult to define genre "the literary mystery." Does a "literary mystery" have an obligation to resolve all plots? I don't want to give away anything about the book--and what does and does not get resolved--but let's just say that it was beautifully written AND incredibly frustrating).

As far as Cutting for Stone: I believe it has it all: great writing (which is fully subjective), great characters, international settings, great plot. It is about a young man and his twin brother, of Indian descent, who are orphaned and grow up in the hospital where they were born, in Ethiopia. The first part has 100 pages of harrowing hospital procedures (my friend nearly had to stop reading it because of this), and after that it's pretty sweeping in both time frame and place.

eP

[SensualPoet]

Thanks! I've put Cutting for Stone on my library watch list.

And I like how you put this: "To me, the foremost thing is that I can lose myself in the beauty of the language. I do prefer my fiction (literary and otherwise) to have great characters and a great plot."

[carpetmojo]

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" .

Epub (i,e,Waterstones,) Amazon/ Kindle.

I think a real classic, very moving, beautifully written.

[SensualPoet]

Thanks for the suggestion: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

From Amazon Kindle blurb: Published in 2003, "Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a murder mystery of sorts--one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers."

Also available for Kobo. Canadian prices are $7.64 got Kindle, $10.49 (tax included) for Kobo.

[beespeckled]

Louis Bayard, he transports you to the time period he is writing about, has plots that twist and turn. His writing is both plot and character driven. I'm anxiously awaiting his newest book School of Night to come in.

Mr. Timothy. setting is 15-20 years later from where Dickens' A Christmas Carole left off.
Brief blurb:
His father freshly buried, Mr. Timothy Cratchit embarks on the next phase of his life intent on two things: to rid himself of his image as a pitied cripple and to escape the financial shackles of his benevolent "Uncle" Ebenezer by vanishing into the thick of London's teeming underbelly. Plunging into the rolling brown fog of 1860's London, through filthy back alleys and boarding houses, Tim succeeds - or so he thinks - in sidestepping his past, but fate deals him a cruel blow when he discovers the bodies of two dead girls....

[Joonbug1]

I'd like to suggest my own novel as suggested Literary reading, but since this isn't the place for that, I'll recommend instead anything written by Haruki Murakami -- particularly The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood being his two best works IMO.

[TGS]

I've just finished, and would recommend, American Rust by Philipp Meyer. It is interesting written from multiple narrative viewpoints and has been compared favourably with William Faulkner and John Steinbeck.

[SensualPoet]

Beespeckled, thanks so much for the heads-up about Louis Bayard and his three mystery thrillers in historical settings. I agree the School of Night sounds worth looking out for. His website is here.

I have Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore in my tbr pile ...

TGS, your praise for American Rust is very intriguing given this is Philipp Meyer's debut novel. Can you comment a bit more on the story or style?

[beespeckled]

You're welcome SensualPoet
A more recent read just came to mind, Amy Greene's debut novel Bloodroot
http://amygreeneauthor.com/

Told through the eyes of three generations of an Appalachian family.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Beespeckled, thanks so much for the heads-up about Louis Bayard and his three mystery thrillers in historical settings. I agree the School of Night sounds worth looking out for. His website is here.

I have Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore in my tbr pile ...

TGS, your praise for American Rust is very intriguing given this is Philipp Meyer's debut novel. Can you comment a bit more on the story or style?

The story is of two young men in the depressed rust belt town of Buell, Pennsylvania, and their connections with each other and their respective families. Narratively it is interesting because, whilst there is a classic third person narrator, chapters shift between characters and between this third person narrator and greater or lesser degrees of free indirect style.

I read it in two days...I'm a very slow reader and a normal 300 page novel can easily take me a week...in part at least because of the quality of the writing.

Hope this helps.