In the Skin of a Lion

[calzephyr]

Every now and then I think, I should read more Canadian literature. And then I realize how few Canadian authors I like. Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies, Pierre Berton...all the giants of CanLit failed to float my boat. Maybe they weren't contemporary enough either! I was familiar with Michael Ondaatje's poetry, so when a co-worker suggested I read In the Skin of a Lion, I thought it would be very enjoyable. In some ways it's very good, but in other ways it was very boring. One of its strengths is the mysterious, dreamy, poetic quality of the language, but it's also a weakness because every little action takes on a mysterious, dreamy, poetic quality. There really needed to be a balance between the historical truths of the book (Toronto in the 1920s and 1930s), the characters and the mysterious, dreamy, poetic qualities. I liked that the lives of so many characters interwined, it reminded me of John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven but there really wasn't that same authenticity for the time and place, however.

Comments

[taeha.livejournal.com]

We read In The Skin Of A Lion in an english class in university, I felt about the same way. Mysterious, dreamy and poetic are good ways to describe it. Also, boring. I had to write a pretty thourough essay on the book, which is kind of difficult when you don't really LIKE a novel.

We also read Away by Jane Urquhart, which I liked more, but is really more of the same dreamy/poetic stuff.

Canadian literature has yet to really truly interest me with anything.

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you felt the same way about it :-) I wonder if you have to be a native Torontoian to appreciate it fulfilly or something.

I haven't read anything by Jane Urquhart, I'll jot her name down. I always liked Alice Munro's short stories, and Crow Lake by Mary Lawson was very good too. No one else comes to mind unfortunately!

[fledchen.livejournal.com]

I like Tanya Huff, but her stuff probably doesn't count as "literature." ;)

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Oh LOL! That's a name I haven't heard in a while. It reminded me that I once read Bitten by Kelley Armstrong a long time ago too!

[frith]

We read Ernest Buckler's The Mountain and the Valley in University. It was awful. The only Canadian author who comes to mind whom I really really liked (yes I really really liked) was Farley Mowat. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, A Whale For the Killing, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float, The Snow Walker... Many good books.

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Oh gee! How could I forget Farley Mowat? Yes, The Dog Who Wouldn't Be was a great book. It seems Canadians excel at literature for younger people now that I think about it.

[wolfebyte.livejournal.com]

Hiromi Goto. Canadian. Albertan. Brilliant. If I wasn't who I am, I'd totally be stalking/courting/procreating with her.

I can't even really express why I've loved her writing so much, but if you wanted to read her, I'd try to make the next Calgary Furs meet (assuming they still have those?) just to lend you a book for you to read.

Seriously.

Or, if you're onto less literary, more interesting/fantasy type stuff, there's always Dave Duncan (he's Calgarian, even, imagine that). The Seventh Sword was pretty keen, and somewhat off-the-beaten path as far as Fantasy stuff goes (by which I mean I couldn't predict everything that happened a few dozen chapters before they happen, like I can with most fantasy stuff...).

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

I think the dinners are a little off and on...they're not as regular as they used to be, although I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe we're all growing up?

I have never heard of Hiromi Goto and I'm gobsmacked that Dave Duncan is a Calgarian as well! I'll give them both a shot :-) I have to go to the library anyway soon.