Unless

by Carol Shields | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0679311807 Global Overview for this book
Registered by fracula of Calgary, Alberta Canada on 7/2/2011
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by fracula from Calgary, Alberta Canada on Thursday, July 14, 2011
Unless is about a writer--in this case, Reta Winters, a middle-aged novelist, mother, and translator who lives in a pastoral town just outside of Toronto. Reta lives a happy and successful life until her eldest daughter, Norah, abandons family, boyfriend, and university to panhandle on a busy and slightly seedy Toronto street corner, saying nothing and wearing a sign that reads only "Goodness." Norah's strange self-sacrifice sends Reta into despondency, and she seeks some sort of explanation for her daughter's behaviour in a profoundly pessimistic mode of feminism, insisting again and again that Norah, as a young woman, was simply shut out of any hope for a fulfilling life by a monolithic and masculinist culture.

Journal Entry 2 by fracula at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, August 21, 2011

Released 12 yrs ago (8/22/2011 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Senting off to the winner of Canada Smiles #3 sweepstakes.

I hope you enjoy this book. I keep buying copies to release, because I love it so much,

Congrats!

Journal Entry 3 by winglauraloo29wing at Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Is it possible I am the winner? :) Really!? Thank you!

Journal Entry 4 by winglauraloo29wing at Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Released 12 yrs ago (10/27/2011 UTC) at Edmonton, Alberta Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending as a RABCK to bookowl1000. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 5 by bookowl1000 at Foshan 佛山, Guangdong China on Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thank you very much for sending this my way. It was on my wishlist as I am trying to work my way through the 1001 list. I doubt I will ever succeed in reading them all, but I have discovered some interesting reads along the way.

Living somewhere where English language books are in limited supply means I treasure every book I have.

Thank you again.

Journal Entry 6 by bookowl1000 at Foshan 佛山, Guangdong China on Saturday, March 10, 2012
I love the 1001 list because it introduces me to different authors. I was not bowled over by this book. I completed the bok through perseverance rather than enjoyment. That said, I have not been put off trying any of her other books.

A lot of the book is mundane descriptions of everyday life, which I found it effective in conveying how even when you are distraught about not being able to help a daughter that has gone over the edge, life must go one like normal. Some may find it boring in places but that does somehow add to what was being conveyed.

I did not feel much sympathy for the characters, and what was irritating about the character was her feminist opinions and that a male dominated world that undervalues women must have been what caused her daughter to give up on life. At times I found myself thinking...oh, please. Sometimes the answer is more straight forward. By the end we do find out what caused the change in Nora, and it would have been nice to have explored more of her mid during the novel, but I suppose that would have been a different story altogether.

Released 11 yrs ago (6/6/2012 UTC) at Nanhai International Education Centre in Foshan 佛山, Guangdong China

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left in the level 5 staff room

If you were lucky enough to find this book please journal it to say where you found it, and then what you thought of it.

When you have finished please release it. Keep its journey alive!

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