For Foi Nefaste -- the Canadian novel
Mar. 13th, 2005 11:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
felis_ultharusJust because I can't focus on Don Juan, and because I promised ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
foi_nefaste, here is some of "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of Canadian literature, in roughly chronological order. I've chosen them by the remarkably complex criterion that they all happen to be on my bookshelf. this is the first installement, though I warn you that this first period is a lot more "bad" and "ugly" than "good":
The Man from Glengarry (1901)
What is it? Ralph's Connor's turn-of-the-century bestseller about building a country, and being a good Presbyterian. It follows Ranald Macdonald as he goes from working the Ontario logging yards to becoming a big lumber magnate and helping to make British Columbia.
Review: At least this book is an easy read, except for towards the middle when it turns into a debate over Presbyterian theology. It's clogged, also, with gross stereotypes of Catholics and French Canadians, and is the first work of CanLit to depict (very homophobically) a queer character. It's only really redeeming feature is that it tries to be the anti-Horatio-Alger: a country is better off being built by good people, not good investors. His second book, Glengarry School Days is much better, though rarely read.
Anne of Green Gables (1908)
What is it? The book that replaced Prince Edward Island as our smallest province. The story of Anne Shirley, abused orphan, who winds up in the stodgiest community in Canada and teaches them to have fun.
Review: An enjoyable bubblegum read. The deeper themes aren't much interest to non-Christians, but it's still a lot of fun. Margaret Atwood once used it to show how depressing CanLit usually was in the early days: even our most cheerful novel was about an abused orphan. If my roommate ever sets up a website devoted to the concept of "genderqueer," I'm going to suggest the chapter title "Matthew insists on Puffed Sleeves" as a heading.
Legends of Vancouver (1911)
What is it? A nice little book that's been in print now for 94 years without a gap. It's a collection of traditional stories told by Joe Capilano, chief of the local First Nation, and collected by E. Pauline Johnson.
Review: Poor Johnson has almost been forgotten now, and you only find her books on shelves of travel and tourism. Half-English and half-Mohawk, all her work was about trying to bridge the gap between her two cultures. Worth a read.
Settlers of the Marsh (1925)
What is it? I read this book because I heard it was scandalous. Boy was I disappointed. Settlers of the Marsh follows a very nice, very introverted immigrant farmer named Niels, but it's really the story of two independent women: one resolved to live like a hermit because she doesn't want to be controlled by a man, and the other who uses men for her own purposes. Officially, church groups objected to the prostitute in the novel (the villain), but probably were more nervous about the other strong female character, the sympathetically-portrayed independent woman Ellen. Also probably because abortion is mentioned and not condemned.
Review: Frankly, Frederick Phillip Groves' own life is much more exciting than his novels (he faked his own death to escape creditors and his wife, then falsified his own past to throw people off the trail). But Settlers of the Marsh isn't always tedious, unlike his plotless non-fiction book, Over Prairie Trails. Establishes the long convention of prairie literature: it will make you want to commit suicide.
Klee Wyck (1941)
What is it? Emily Carr's little book of her life among various First Nations groups -- the Haida, the Coast Salish, etc. Very autobiographical.
Review: It's not poetry, but it reads like poetry of the most beautiful kind. Carr paints word-pictures -- she describes stunning scenes. There's no real plot, and no real unifying element except the presence of Carr herself. It's just about seeing the beauty she sees in these places.
Such is My Beloved (1934)
What is it? Morley Callaghan's most famous now for being a Canadian writer who hung out with Hemingway and Gertrude Stein in Paris. When people remember he actually wrote stuff, they remember this novel. It's the story of a Catholic priest who tries to help two prostitutes, and the church that tries to destory him rather than risk another sex scandal.
Review: Not bad, but not fantastic. An okay read. Establishes the long skepticism in Canadian literature of all organized religion -- which has been the rule since long before the Sixties
As For Me and My House (1941)
What is it? The diary of a woman in a loveless marriage, married to a preacher who's secretly atheist and who really wants to be an artist. Both feel crushed under their hypocrisy, their solitude, their gender roles, and their failed dreams.
Review: This novel only makes sense if you know Ross was extremely closeted gay. Even then, it's rather tedious, but at least it has a semi-happy ending. Since that's a rarity with Ross, you have to take what you can get. His collection of short stories, The Lamp at Noon is what I refer to as "stories to slit your wrists by." Indeed, along with Manitoba writer Margaret Laurence, and Alberta writer Joy Kogawa, Saskatchewan author Ross is in the running for most depressing Canadian novelist ever. What is it about wheat that makes it the anti-Prozac?
I'm going to have make this in a series of posts. Just no time in one day. But as you can see, it's not a bumper crop of novels in the first half of the 20th-century. This is why I intend to devote myself to the study of contemporary CanLit, which tends to be a lot better.
Just so you know,foi_nefaste, the Evil One despises most of the novels mentioned so far, which is, ultimately, a good reason to base an essay on one.
foi_nefaste, here is some of "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of Canadian literature, in roughly chronological order. I've chosen them by the remarkably complex criterion that they all happen to be on my bookshelf. this is the first installement, though I warn you that this first period is a lot more "bad" and "ugly" than "good":The Man from Glengarry (1901)
What is it? Ralph's Connor's turn-of-the-century bestseller about building a country, and being a good Presbyterian. It follows Ranald Macdonald as he goes from working the Ontario logging yards to becoming a big lumber magnate and helping to make British Columbia.
Review: At least this book is an easy read, except for towards the middle when it turns into a debate over Presbyterian theology. It's clogged, also, with gross stereotypes of Catholics and French Canadians, and is the first work of CanLit to depict (very homophobically) a queer character. It's only really redeeming feature is that it tries to be the anti-Horatio-Alger: a country is better off being built by good people, not good investors. His second book, Glengarry School Days is much better, though rarely read.
Anne of Green Gables (1908)
What is it? The book that replaced Prince Edward Island as our smallest province. The story of Anne Shirley, abused orphan, who winds up in the stodgiest community in Canada and teaches them to have fun.
Review: An enjoyable bubblegum read. The deeper themes aren't much interest to non-Christians, but it's still a lot of fun. Margaret Atwood once used it to show how depressing CanLit usually was in the early days: even our most cheerful novel was about an abused orphan. If my roommate ever sets up a website devoted to the concept of "genderqueer," I'm going to suggest the chapter title "Matthew insists on Puffed Sleeves" as a heading.
Legends of Vancouver (1911)
What is it? A nice little book that's been in print now for 94 years without a gap. It's a collection of traditional stories told by Joe Capilano, chief of the local First Nation, and collected by E. Pauline Johnson.
Review: Poor Johnson has almost been forgotten now, and you only find her books on shelves of travel and tourism. Half-English and half-Mohawk, all her work was about trying to bridge the gap between her two cultures. Worth a read.
Settlers of the Marsh (1925)
What is it? I read this book because I heard it was scandalous. Boy was I disappointed. Settlers of the Marsh follows a very nice, very introverted immigrant farmer named Niels, but it's really the story of two independent women: one resolved to live like a hermit because she doesn't want to be controlled by a man, and the other who uses men for her own purposes. Officially, church groups objected to the prostitute in the novel (the villain), but probably were more nervous about the other strong female character, the sympathetically-portrayed independent woman Ellen. Also probably because abortion is mentioned and not condemned.
Review: Frankly, Frederick Phillip Groves' own life is much more exciting than his novels (he faked his own death to escape creditors and his wife, then falsified his own past to throw people off the trail). But Settlers of the Marsh isn't always tedious, unlike his plotless non-fiction book, Over Prairie Trails. Establishes the long convention of prairie literature: it will make you want to commit suicide.
Klee Wyck (1941)
What is it? Emily Carr's little book of her life among various First Nations groups -- the Haida, the Coast Salish, etc. Very autobiographical.
Review: It's not poetry, but it reads like poetry of the most beautiful kind. Carr paints word-pictures -- she describes stunning scenes. There's no real plot, and no real unifying element except the presence of Carr herself. It's just about seeing the beauty she sees in these places.
Such is My Beloved (1934)
What is it? Morley Callaghan's most famous now for being a Canadian writer who hung out with Hemingway and Gertrude Stein in Paris. When people remember he actually wrote stuff, they remember this novel. It's the story of a Catholic priest who tries to help two prostitutes, and the church that tries to destory him rather than risk another sex scandal.
Review: Not bad, but not fantastic. An okay read. Establishes the long skepticism in Canadian literature of all organized religion -- which has been the rule since long before the Sixties
As For Me and My House (1941)
What is it? The diary of a woman in a loveless marriage, married to a preacher who's secretly atheist and who really wants to be an artist. Both feel crushed under their hypocrisy, their solitude, their gender roles, and their failed dreams.
Review: This novel only makes sense if you know Ross was extremely closeted gay. Even then, it's rather tedious, but at least it has a semi-happy ending. Since that's a rarity with Ross, you have to take what you can get. His collection of short stories, The Lamp at Noon is what I refer to as "stories to slit your wrists by." Indeed, along with Manitoba writer Margaret Laurence, and Alberta writer Joy Kogawa, Saskatchewan author Ross is in the running for most depressing Canadian novelist ever. What is it about wheat that makes it the anti-Prozac?
I'm going to have make this in a series of posts. Just no time in one day. But as you can see, it's not a bumper crop of novels in the first half of the 20th-century. This is why I intend to devote myself to the study of contemporary CanLit, which tends to be a lot better.
Just so you know,
foi_nefaste, the Evil One despises most of the novels mentioned so far, which is, ultimately, a good reason to base an essay on one.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-13 09:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-13 09:55 am (UTC)Thanks! Much appreciated!
Date: 2005-03-13 04:02 pm (UTC)Emily Carr looks like a worthy alternative to the rape-and-murder scenes I'm currently reading. E. Pauline Johnson looks interesting, as well.
Establishes the long convention of prairie literature: it will make you want to commit suicide. Seconded. And a fair amount of Quebec literature gives the exact same impulse - which is why we need this list, eh? I rather do appreciate this - it gives an alternative to my CanLit class - which, as anyone who has come into vague contact with me in the past few months will know, is a perversion of three hours a week that I will never get back. Actually, I'm not quite sure I want to use 'perversion' - those are usually a lot more fun than this is - but hey, we'll take the descriptions we can get...
And what are the chances of eventually doing something social (or non-required-by-school, more precisely) before I go mad? I rather do miss seeing you, and the rest of hte d&d people... supper some evening or whatnot could be fun.
Re: Thanks! Much appreciated!
Date: 2005-03-13 04:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-13 08:00 pm (UTC)And yes, I will be using that. Thank you.