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SensualPoet · 09-11-2011, 12:02 AM

The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud
Publisher: Gaspereau Press, Oct 2009
Winner: 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize

Winner of the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize, arguably Canada's highest literary award, Johanna Skibsrud's The Sentimentalists made headlines, not just as a first novel but for having been effectively out of print when it won. Produced by a small literary press in Nova Scotia (Gaspereau), the only extant copies were printed letterpress and hand bound; only days before the award was announced, Kobo stepped in to facilitate distribution as an ebook. Skibsrud had previously had two volumes of poetry published.

The memories of Napoleon Haskell and his daughter intersect, merge and submerge in a discursive narrative that flips between the final summer of Napoleon's life, her years growing up, and his experiences in Vietnam and later adulthood. The family -- consisting of the daughter, her sister Helen and her mother -- lived a strained existence in upper New York State, and Napoleon left and settled in Fargo when the girls were teenagers. Napoleon's childhood friend, Henry, lives across the St Lawrence near Morrisburg and it is to his home Napoleon retreats in his final days. The area consists of the "Lost Villages of the St Lawrence", where whole towns were flooded for the making of the seaway; the metaphor of submerged memories looms large throughout the story. When Napoleon finally talks to his daughter about the horrendous events, and a specific event in his tour of duty, he is speaking of this for the first time in decades, and the first time to his family. Who was this man she calls father and how much of him is buried inside her?

Though celebrated as a literary achievement, the prose left me frequently befuddled. Fragmentary, discursive, repetitive and obtuse, the moments of dazzle were for me drowned in plodding; other parts felt self-consciously clever and, if many threads remained dangling, it wasn't in order to more fully bring to the surface the main characters. Napoleon, yes, and his daughter to some extent are revealed; but others, such as her mother, wheel-chair bound Henry and his self-inflicted condition, Helen ... all left pretty much on the sidelines. Would it have been too much to actually give a name to the daughter as narrator?

Available for Kindle or Kobo for around $10.

09-11-2011, 12:02 AM	#45
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	The Sentimentalists - Johanna Skibsrud The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud Publisher: Gaspereau Press, Oct 2009 Winner: 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize Winner of the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize, arguably Canada's highest literary award, Johanna Skibsrud's The Sentimentalists made headlines, not just as a first novel but for having been effectively out of print when it won. Produced by a small literary press in Nova Scotia (Gaspereau), the only extant copies were printed letterpress and hand bound; only days before the award was announced, Kobo stepped in to facilitate distribution as an ebook. Skibsrud had previously had two volumes of poetry published. The memories of Napoleon Haskell and his daughter intersect, merge and submerge in a discursive narrative that flips between the final summer of Napoleon's life, her years growing up, and his experiences in Vietnam and later adulthood. The family -- consisting of the daughter, her sister Helen and her mother -- lived a strained existence in upper New York State, and Napoleon left and settled in Fargo when the girls were teenagers. Napoleon's childhood friend, Henry, lives across the St Lawrence near Morrisburg and it is to his home Napoleon retreats in his final days. The area consists of the "Lost Villages of the St Lawrence", where whole towns were flooded for the making of the seaway; the metaphor of submerged memories looms large throughout the story. When Napoleon finally talks to his daughter about the horrendous events, and a specific event in his tour of duty, he is speaking of this for the first time in decades, and the first time to his family. Who was this man she calls father and how much of him is buried inside her? Though celebrated as a literary achievement, the prose left me frequently befuddled. Fragmentary, discursive, repetitive and obtuse, the moments of dazzle were for me drowned in plodding; other parts felt self-consciously clever and, if many threads remained dangling, it wasn't in order to more fully bring to the surface the main characters. Napoleon, yes, and his daughter to some extent are revealed; but others, such as her mother, wheel-chair bound Henry and his self-inflicted condition, Helen ... all left pretty much on the sidelines. Would it have been too much to actually give a name to the daughter as narrator? Available for Kindle or Kobo for around $10. Last edited by SensualPoet; 09-11-2011 at 12:06 AM.