Sunday 28 February 2010

More Canadian Fiction

Finished February 28
February by Lisa Moore
Another finalist for the Evergreen award 2010. This novel follows Helen, moving back and forth over time from her early adulthood and life with her husband Cal and more recent times. Cal worked on the Ocean Ranger oil rig and was one of the crew that died when it sank in early 1982. Helen was left pregnant with three young children. We see how this has affected her life, and we also see the effect on her children, most noticably on John, her eldest.
The changes in time let us see how some things remain the same over time and a theme can reoccur. It also lets us see growth in Helen in her life. This book is one to savour and read slowly, which I did. I found the short sections helpful to taking in the story. This book shows us what is going on and allows us into the heads of Helen and sometimes John, but mostly we learn about the people shown here by what they do and how they do it. Helen is a survivor, and her strength has inspired her children to be survivors as well. It is only in the most current times that we see Helen finally heal from her hurt and truly move on with her life.

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