Thinking about Canadian Fictions

So ...I haven't been doing much with this blog lately (how's that for understatement!?) but I did have a thought about it the other day.

I haven't been blogging here because I am so swamped with my schoolwork (PhD in Canadian Studies) that I really don't have much time/energy for reading/reviewing Canadian fiction these days.

So ... how to use this blog, then? It's called Flitting through Canadian Fiction ... but I'm not. And then, my ~brilliant~ thought.

I am indeed still flitting through Canadian fiction... well, fictions. The more I learn about Canada, the more fictions I discover... and especially, catch in the news media.

• Canada respects human rights.
• Canada is compassionate.
• Canada cares about the environment.
• Canadians have access to free health care....
• Stephen Harper... oh where to start!?

and so on.

So (yes, I know, I am over-using SO; so what? [I'm a little punchy; been marking first year essays for days now]) .... that's where I think this blog is going to head over the next year or so.

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Nora Roberts The Search

I (almost) feel guilty.

When I was offered a copy of Nora Roberts' latest (well - I think it's her latest; that woman is SO prolific, sometimes it's hard to tell) I jumped at the opportunity to read and review it.

I (almost always) enjoy Roberts' work. The J.D. Robbs series are my absolute favourite - but I have enjoyed many, many of her other novels as well. I can't think of any that I didn't, actually - and I have read a great many of them (Vampire series excluded; I don't DO vampires. NOT EVER, even for Nora)

So ... my hardcover copy of The Search arrived a couple of weeks ago. I was in the middle of re-reading Dragonfly in Amber - one of Galbaldon's Outlander series - but hey, I've read them before, so I put that down and switched to The Search.

Made it to about page 117 ...and it was far harder slogging than I expect a Nora Roberts book to be. It is not BAD, per se. Just - so far, anyway - boring. Way, way, WAY too much dog training detail. I get that she's a trainer and he has a bad dog ....but for crying out loud, could we get to the STORY? You know... the one that's on the inside flap about the serial killer ...and the attraction between Fiona and Simon? When does THAT show up? The characteristic tensions that Roberts can do so well just seems to be missing from this one.... or maybe it's just me?

I will finish it... but honestly, only because they gave me the book to review - I will feel guilty if I don't.

So. I will be back with a more complete review of it when I have actually finished the book. But so far, I'm mostly just dying to put it down and get back to Claire and Jamie.

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P.K. Page 1913 - 2010

P.K. Page died today.

P.K. was an extremely prolific poet and artist (as Page Irwin); last year (at the age of 92), she published a children's book - The Sky Tree - and also other works, including Coal and Roses, which I have written about on this blog.

I was talking about P.K. just today; my Canadian Literature into Film class meets in the Page Irwin Colloquium Room, which was dedicated last year. The room is an incredible learning space used primarily for Trent University's Public Texts M.A. program, and includes several pieces of her artwork, in chronological order around the room.

I am so sad that I missed out on an opportunity to meet her last year - it was rescheduled a couple of times and ended up being at about the same time as I had booked my flight back from Victoria for - but she did sign a copy of Coal and Roses for me. Now, obviously, I will never have the opportunity to get to know her in person.

R.I.P, P.K. You will be missed.

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The Dragon Book

This week when we got back from Peterborough, there was a new book from Penguin Canada waiting for me. A collection of never-before published stories, The Dragon Book features - you guessed it - stories about dragons.

Lots & lots of dragons. Big fiery dragons, annoying little ones, a worm-like dragon, talking/non-talking dragons... all sorts of dragons.

And of course, all sorts of other characters to go with them.

There are a lot of big name authors who have contributed to this edition, including Jonathon Stroud, Gregory Maguire, Diana Gabaldon, Tamora Pierce and many others. Edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, the collection includes stories for everyone.

It's unlikely that any one reader is likely to enjoy every story - there are a few that just did not engage my interest, and given the limited amount of time I have for reading texts-that-aren't-on-the-syllabus these days, I happily moved on to those that did.

But with this many well-written stories to choose from, it just doesn't matter - there is still plenty of excellent reading in The Dragon Book. My particular favourite is "Oakland Dragon Blues" by Peter S. Beagle, although Kate Baker's "Are You Afflicted With Dragons" is a close second.

Whether you are looking for great reading for yourself, or perhaps a gift for a dragon-loving friend or family member, The Dragon Book is sure to please.

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My ~New~ Book - Seeds of Pine

On the way home from Peterborough today, Ross & I stopped at an antique shop. Lots of WAY cool stuff - including a $5000 desk that I am now coveting....and $600+ light fixtures that would be PERFECT in our Peterborough house.

Actually, also makes me wonder how much some of the light fixtures we DO have might be worth - there is one right inside the front door that looks like it has probably been there since the house was built in the early 1900s. It's missing a shade though - and not something you can just pick up at Home Depot.

Anyway, in addition to bunches of way cool antiques that would be PERFECT for the P. house, they also had a very nice selection of books. LOTS of Canadiana - and since I'm in Canadian Studies, now, I have a much better excuse to buy Canadiana, right? Right!

There were plenty I would have liked to buy - there was a Canadian military history that almost came home with me - but then we spotted a 1922 edition of Seeds of Pine by Janey Canuck.

Janey Canuck was the pen name of Emily Ferguson Murphy, who is one of the so-called Famous Five, "the women who carried the Persons Case to the Privy Council in England where, on October 18, 1929, the decision was handed down that women were persons qualified to become members of the Senate of Canada" (Library and Archives Canada). She was a social activist, the founder of the Federated Women's Institute for rural women, and in 1916, she became the first female police magistrate in the British Empire.

Most of what I have found out about her is focused on her activism rather than her literature - I'm looking forward to reading the book to find out why. And to assess whether this might be a potential editing project for an aspiring Canadian Studies PhD student! Will have to see what there is in the archives about her too... perhaps I shall have a look when I am in Ottawa next month. (Like I need more archive work! But seriously, I am interested)

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