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Bookish Quotes
"When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing."
Childhood
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Childhood
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
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9 journalers for this copy...
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A 1998 novel by Canadian author André Alexis (left), winner of the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Trillium Book Award, and shortlisted for the 1998 Giller Prize (it was beaten by Alice Munro's The Love of a Good Woman).
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In the first sentences of Childhood, we learn that at forty, narrator Thomas MacMillan is in love with an unnamed "you" (who reappears intermittently throughout the novel), that he has to plan carefully to ensure he has enough to do in a day, and that -- perhaps inspired by the fact his mother and her partner, Henry, died recently -- he has decided to write about his childhood as a means of filling his time.As the title suggests, Childhood is a sustained meditation on childhood and memory. Set in Petrolia, Ontario (see map at left), and later in the same Ottawa neighborhood as Carol Shields' The Stone Diaries, Thomas -- whose maternal roots are Trinidadian and whose paternity is unknown -- struggles to make sense of his own history. He describes the first twenty years of his life with a mixture of recrimination and nostalgia. His emotional detachment from the most important figures in his early life (his Trinidadian grandmother -- addicted to dandelion wine and the poetry of Archibald Lampman -- and his wayward and restless mother) is unnerving -- we get the sense that at forty, Thomas has arrived at a near-pathologically removed emotional place. But it allows him to assess the lives and personalities of each of these women with humour and forgiveness. I loved this novel not so much for the story, as for the observations it makes about writing, families, the harm we do to one another within them, and how the passage of time can -- sometimes -- sort all that out. The character of Thomas is a poet, and so -- clearly -- is author Alexis. I could quote so many passages, but here is one of my favourites:
This is a short, sweet novel -- highly recommended. There's a good review of Childhood in Quill & Quire -- click here. |
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I'll be mailing Childhood to honey1982 in Ottawa, Ontario this afternoon. I hope it won't take too long to reach you! (At left: a view of the Fraser River from the top of my street in New Westminster, BC.)
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Hi goatgrrl and fellow-readers,yes, I am alive and well, but faring very badly with my current bookrings and rays I'm afraid - so I am withdrawing from most of them, at least for the time being. No problems, just a lot on my plate and I'm trying to do some writing (!!), so most of my spare time is being increasingly devoted to that. Also a change of jobs means I don't spend 2 hours on a train - this was such precious reading time.... With Childhood, I did actually mail it to Jelicle a few days after my last journal entry, so I would have expected it to be there by now. I sent it 'Economy Air' - which is supposed to take up to 21 days, but generally gets there in about 10. It should be there by now, so expect it any day. Summer has ended in my part of the world and we've just had three days of heavy rain. Much needed as we are still on water restrictions because of the sever drought across NSW. I've planted pansies, violas and marigolds for winter, and some bulbs (freesias - my favourite!) in anticipation of next spring. My Canadian and US pals must be enjoying the first kiss of spring. Please accept my pictorial flowers for you all.... |
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Sent a PM to Jelicle on June 18th asking if she's received this book, and - if so - whether she might be in a position to move it along soon. Unfortunately, it looks like it's been lost in the mail ...Update: received PM from Jelicle on June 28/05 indicating the book is in the mail, but the post office said it may take a couple months to reach the USA. |
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Journal Entry 18 by
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Journal Entry 19 by
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Journal Entry 20 by
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Journal Entry 23 by
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Journal Entry 24 by
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Journal Entry 25 by
Released 4 yrs ago (7/20/2007 UTC) at mailed to a fellow bookcrosser in N/A, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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