The Good Women of Safe Harbour

Finished July 30

The Good Women of Safe Harbour by Bobbi French

This novel follows Frances Delaney through the last weeks of her life. She's recently been diagnosed with a disease that will end her life, but hasn't told anyone about it. She has no close friends, has never had a romantic partner, and lives alone. 

She's grown very close to the teenager in the family she is a housekeeper for. They are very well-off and busy and part of her job had been seeing over young Edie when her parents aren't home. This is her final week of work as she worries that her illness is affecting her ability to do things. When she given notice she doesn't tell them why she is leaving, just recommends someone else. Edie is going through her own issues and relies on Frances in a way that is that of close friends. The two have shared many things as Edie has grown up. Now she finds that Edie is determined to stay part of her life and help her in this time. 

We see Frances' backstory gradually as she reminisces of her childhood growing up in a small fishing town in Newfoundland, and dealing with her mother's grief after her father's death. Beside her all the time was her best friend Annie and Annie's mom was also a big support in her life. We learn the trauma she went through as a teenager and why she left Safe Harbour and moved to St. John's. 

Edie encourages her to return to Safe Harbour and reconnect with Annie, and the results are interesting and involve forgiveness on both sides. 

This is a moving story of a woman that felt like an outsider all her life, with a deep yearning for connection, but without natural social skills. I liked seeing the stories of all three characters at the centre of the novel, Frances, Annie, and Edie. They are strong in different ways, and their friendships are very close and complex. Highly recommended.  

Last Lullaby

Finished December 26
Last Lullaby by Alice Walsh

A mystery set in a small town in Newfoundland, this novel features the main character of Lauren LaVallee, a lawyer who also teaches at the local college. Lauren is a single mom of a 4 year-old daughter, Bailey, having left Bailey's father when she became pregnant, knowing that a child didn't fit into his plans.
The college is widely known for its drama program, and attracts talent from outside the province. Lauren is friends with many of the other professors. One of them is Emma, head of the English department. Emma is also a single mom, with a daughter, Dylan, the same age as Bailey. Both women teach a young woman Jade, who seems to be struggling as a single mom. She hasn't been coming to class or meeting deadlines. They go together to have a talk with Jade. Jade's apartment seems a bit of a mess, but her daughter Cara seems well cared-for, and the two women offer support, but Jade seems too worried about her finances to pay attention.
Lauren is reminded of another friend of hers, Claire, who has recently had a baby, Ariel. Claire has been struggling with postpartum depression, and has delayed her return to work at the college, where she teaches in the drama department. Claire's husband Bram is a local doctor and busy with his practice. Claire's doctor Anya has been helpful, but Claire is still struggling. Lauren makes plans to go see Claire soon.
I liked the characters in the book. There is depth to them. Lauren has some things in her past she isn't proud of, and we gradually find that she isn't the only one with secrets.
Because it is a small town, people connect with each other in more than one way. A local police officer, Rebecca, is also a student in Lauren's legal class at college, and has a child in the same daycare as Bailey. A young man, Patrick, is doing a coop at the daycare, but also sometimes babysits for parents like Jade and Claire. He's nearly finished college and plans to start his own daycare. Two other college teachers, life partners, have just adopted a baby girl, but seem reluctant to have visitors or to bring the baby out for a baby shower. One of them also seems very friendly with Patrick.
When Claire wakes up one afternoon and discovers young Ariel dead, and the death seems to be homicide, Lauren takes the case, and believing in Claire's innocence, looks beyond the obvious, to the possible.
This was a very interesting mystery, and, while I guessed at some things, I didn't figure out others until the end.

The Walker on the Cape

Finished December 7
The Walker on the Cape by Mike Martin

This is the first in a new series featuring Sergeant Winston Windflower of the RCMP, stationed in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. Windflower is a native Cree who grew up on a remote reserve in northern Alberta. He has had several postings with increasing responsibility and has a good relationship with his staff, but not so good with the Inspector he reports to. Windflower is also in the early stages of a relationship with a local Newfoundland woman.
The case here is one that seems straightforward on the surface, but concerns emerge gradually. A local man, Elias Martin went out for his daily walk and never returned, his body found out on the path later. Seemingly a simple case of an older man, a widower, dead of a heart attack. But the autopsy causes concern, and Windflower begins an investigation. With his Inspector wanting him to close down the case quickly, Windflower is forced to move quickly to gather the evidence and track down those responsible. With interesting characters, and a story that leads beyond the small village of Grand Bank, this is an interesting introduction to a new mystery series.

New Under the Sun

Finished January 29
New Under the Sun by Kevin Major
I have to confess that this book didn't capture me. In fact, I had to force myself to finish it. As I told some colleagues at work, if it had been a library book I would have returned it, but since I bought it I felt compelled to complete it.
I did like it better near the end, but never loved it.
We have Shannon, a Newfoundland native who left as soon as she could and hasn't been back for 20 years. Shannon has made a career with Parks Canada and is back to write a proposal to add native elements to three Parks Canada sites in Newfoundland and Labrador. She makes contact with her aunt Bertha, and has a visit from her sister and a university friend from Norway. Shannon doesn't seem to know where she is going, she isn't entirely comfortable with any of her visitors or her family beyond Bertha. Will she stay in Newfoundland or not? We aren't sure. Shannon also has a unhappy romantic history, never having found someone she really wants to be with long-term. Will things change now?
There are two (maybe three?) other story lines. One is the diary of a British man in the mid-1800s, fascinated by the Beothuk and particularly by Shanawdithit. He tries to draw as much information out of her as he can about her people, but never really treats her as she would wish. Although I have to say, he isn't that familiar with white women either, so perhaps he really doesn't know what to do with her other than mine her for information.
The other stories are fiction (a novel and short story) about early natives and an early encounter between Basque fishermen and natives. The novel I really didn't like all that much and at first I wasn't clear about it's place in the book. Since it took up more of the story as the book went on, that made it drag a bit for me.
I think that I found the book too slow for my mood, and not satisfying by the end.
I shall pass it off to a Newfie friend and hope she enjoys it more.

A World Elsewhere

Finished September 26
A World Elsewhere by Wayne Johnston
Read this one in less than a day in two sittings. Wonderful story that kept surprising me.
Set in the late nineteenth century, Landish, a young man from Newfoundland is at Princeton. He is approached for friendship by an extremely wealthy young man, Van, and it changes his life. The two become inseparable at Princeton until one betrays the other.
Landish returns to Newfoundland and refuses to follow in his father's footsteps as a sealing captain, wanting to be a writer instead. He is disowned and shortly thereafter convinced to take on a young boy, who was orphaned as a result of Landish's father's actions. The boy Deacon and Landish struggle to survive, but things become more and more precarious for them. When Van offers them a way out it seems at first an escape, but their new life is as much a difficult one as their early life together was.
A tale of jealousy, friendship, and love, this story resonates with life.

Sheilagh's Brush

Finished September 1
Sheilagh's Brush by Maura Hanrahan
This novel is set during the 1930s in a small fishing village in Newfoundland. It begins with young Sheilagh giving birth to her first child. She attended by a nurse from a nearby village, the local healer, her mother and younger sister. It is a difficult and painful birth. Sheilagh married young and feels close to her husband and child. She lives the life expected for young women in her community.
Her younger sister Claire sees a different life for herself. She stays close to their mother and then begins to assert her independence. As she sets her own course, we see the relationship between the sisters change and see how others in the community may not be the people we think them to be. Sheilagh's daughter is a watcher, who sees far more than others think and she takes it all in.
A good short novel giving a snapshot of a particular time and place.

The Glass Harmonica

Finished November 24
The Glass Harmonica by Russell Wangersky
I have to say that I was absolutely enchanted by this book. It is set on one street, McKay Street in St. John's, Newfoundland. Each chapter is linked to a house on the street and involves residents, visitors, and intruders. All the events take place between 1980 and 2006, but they don't come to us in chronological order. Each event links to others, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly. We see things from so many points of view that we get a real sense of the people who live here and what their lives consist of.
From elderly residents with dementia, to young children, to single professionals, the characters all bring something unique to the book.
We see the relationships between them, misunderstandings, and missed opportunities. As an omniscent observer, we see more than normal and that makes the difference for this book.
Absolutely outstanding!

More Canadian Fiction

Finished August 22
Annabel by Kathleen Winter
The writing in this novel just blew me away. I kept reading bits of it aloud to anyone around. I'd started doing that just a few pages into the first chapter. I've already got several other people interested in reading this, starting with my godmother, Morag.
So now, the story. We start in 1968, where in a small town in Labrador, a child is born at home to Jacinta and Treadway Blake. The baby seems to be both male and female. Only the parents and a trusted neighbour, Thomasina, present at the delivery, know this. It is decided to raise the child as a boy, Wayne. Treadway works hard to teach his child all the traditional male skills present in their hunting and fishing culture. But Wayne's feminine side, Annabel, is still there, and is nurtured by the females in his life, Jacinta, Thomasina, and his friend Wally (Wallis).
We follow Wayne through childhood where he never really fits in with the other boys, no matter how much his father tries. We see what he does with the growing knowledge of his own body. As a young adult, Wayne goes away to St. John's and we see how he struggles to find a life there, how the decisions he makes influence that, and how his father and Thomasina and Wally help him find a new way forward.
The characters are well-drawn and complex and we see them grow and change. This is going to be one of my favourite books this year. Kathleen Winter knows the land this book is set in and can write about it. She is a wonderful, expressive writer.

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.

Canadian Fiction

Finished August 27
Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark
My mother was returning this book to a friend so I read before giving it back. Set in Newfoundland, this is the story of Aurora, found by fishermen floating on an ice floe in 1912. She was brought up by one of the fishermen's families, Merla and Francis St. Croix. We watch Aurora grow up and get married and have children, never leaving her new home in Newfoundland. She has always felt like a "come from away" and with her white hair and oddly coloured eyes has looked different from her neighbours. This is a character-driven story following not only Aurora, but also her husband and children and granddaughter. This is a great read and a moving story, another Canadian gem.

Quirky novel

Finished April 27
Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant
This lovely first novel by Canadian author Jessica Grant has two narrators: Audrey Flowers, native of St. Johns, Newfoundland and lately of Portland, Oregon; and Winnifred (aka Iris) her tortoise.
Audrey gets a call from her uncle back in Newfoundland telling her that her father has been hit by a Christmas tree protruding from a passing vehicle and is now in a coma. Audrey leaves Winnifred with friends (although she worries about her a lot) and has adventures on the way home.
Once getting home to discover that her father has died, she struggles with adjusting to this new reality and then has to deal with the sudden disappearance of her uncle Thoby, as well as her pet mouse, Wedge.
Audrey (known affectionately to some as Oddly) has a wonderfully quirky sense of humour and a equally quirky set of friends. She must work through memories and current concerns to find a way to deal with her father's death.
Winnifred also has memories of her various owners and previous journeys and pines for Audrey and her care.
I loved this book and the characters created.

More Canadian Fiction

Finished December 7
What They Wanted by Donna Morrissey
This is a follow-up book to her earlier Sylvanus Now. This book concentrates on Sylvanus' children, Sylvie and Chris. Sylvie has been working out in boomtown Grande Prairie, Alberta following her university degree. She has come home to be with her family when Sylvanus has a heart attack, and old family tensions arise again, particularly between Sylvie and her mother.
When Sylvie returns to Alberta, Chris insists on coming along and finds a job on an oil rig. Both children feel the responsibility of helping their parents, younger brother Kyle, and their grandmother financially. Sylvie joins Chris at the rig as a cook's helper and the two find their way in the small community with its own tensions. Added to the mix are old family friend Ben, who Sylvie has always had feelings for, and his friend Trapp.
Morrissey really gets into the characters lives. We already knew that her knowledge of Newfoundland life was intimate, but she also shows the same intimate knowledge of life in the boomtown of Alberta and on the rigs. She also really gets inside Sylvie's head emotionally, and I felt Sylvie's emotions intensely throughout the book.
Morrissey just keeps getting better, and this book is a winner.