Literature
Oh, Canada! Our home and native land...
There are three reading projects that I have in mind and this is one of them. As a fellow Canadian, we seem to be more renowned for our delicious maple syrup, hockey and crack smoking mayor of Toronto as opposed to being recognized as a country that produces great literature. Although we do have several critically acclaimed authors such as Margaret Atwood, Mordecai Richler and Michael Ondaatje representing us (to name a few), I feel that we are lacking in the literary talent department. I have yet to come across anything resembling the Great Canadian Novel and a lot of the so-called "classics" many students like myself have been forced to read during middle-school or high-school proved to be unworthy of their stature. Don't even mention As for Me and my House by Sinclair Ross or The Temptations of Big Bear by Rudy Wiebe--both of these novels were terrible. Where are the Woolfs, Hemingways, Bellows, Salingers, Steinbecks or Greenes hiding of our great nation? Let's face it, the majority of Canadian literature is pitiful but there must exist some hidden gems. I plan to use this reading challenge as a way to discover some great pieces of literature that have been forgotten or overlooked. Some of the questions I want to address while reading these works is what exactly constitutes Canadian national identity and how has it changed over the years? What specific characteristics or literary tropes distinguish Canadian literature from other countries? What is the role of multiculturalism, immigration and dislocation? Should Canadian authors who write in different genres or don't base their stories on Canadian culture be represented?
I have compiled a list (subject to change) and considering the daunting task, there is no time limit for me to finish this challenge. If you have any suggestions or want to recommend a Canadian literary work that is not on this list, please feel free to do so in the comments sections.
Novels read so far: 3
- Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Spring Tbr List
It's that time of the week again. Thanks to the good folks at The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this meme, which is always fun. My track record for following through with reading lists has been rather spotty to say the least but surprisingly,...
- The Lions Of Al-rassan By Guy Gavriel Kay
?The deeds of men, as footprints in the desert. Nothing under the circling moons is fated to last. Even the sun goes down.? There are fantasy authors and then there is Guy Gavriel Kay who is in a league of his own. Not only does he...
- Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Fall To-be-read List
It's been a while since I last participated in the Top Ten Tuesday held by the Brooke and the Bookish so let's give this another go. As the first day of fall, this weekly meme is quite appropriate and asks fellow book bloggers to list their...
- Cockroach By Rawi Hage
"The underground my friend, is a world of its own. Other humans gaze at the sky, but I say unto you, the only way through the world is to pass through the underground." Rawi Hage has given me hope that there does exist other great writers hailing...
- Tigana By Guy Gavriel Kay
"In this world, where we find ourselves, we need compassion more than anything, I think, or we are all alone.? Stop the press! I hereby declare that Tigana may just be the finest stand-alone fantasy novel ever written. Yeah, it's that good....
Literature
The Canadian Reading Project
Oh, Canada! Our home and native land...
There are three reading projects that I have in mind and this is one of them. As a fellow Canadian, we seem to be more renowned for our delicious maple syrup, hockey and crack smoking mayor of Toronto as opposed to being recognized as a country that produces great literature. Although we do have several critically acclaimed authors such as Margaret Atwood, Mordecai Richler and Michael Ondaatje representing us (to name a few), I feel that we are lacking in the literary talent department. I have yet to come across anything resembling the Great Canadian Novel and a lot of the so-called "classics" many students like myself have been forced to read during middle-school or high-school proved to be unworthy of their stature. Don't even mention As for Me and my House by Sinclair Ross or The Temptations of Big Bear by Rudy Wiebe--both of these novels were terrible. Where are the Woolfs, Hemingways, Bellows, Salingers, Steinbecks or Greenes hiding of our great nation? Let's face it, the majority of Canadian literature is pitiful but there must exist some hidden gems. I plan to use this reading challenge as a way to discover some great pieces of literature that have been forgotten or overlooked. Some of the questions I want to address while reading these works is what exactly constitutes Canadian national identity and how has it changed over the years? What specific characteristics or literary tropes distinguish Canadian literature from other countries? What is the role of multiculturalism, immigration and dislocation? Should Canadian authors who write in different genres or don't base their stories on Canadian culture be represented?
I have compiled a list (subject to change) and considering the daunting task, there is no time limit for me to finish this challenge. If you have any suggestions or want to recommend a Canadian literary work that is not on this list, please feel free to do so in the comments sections.
Novels read so far: 3
- Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
- Cockroach by Rawi Hage
- The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
- Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
- Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
- The Clockmaker: the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville by Thomas Chandler Haliburton
- Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich by Stephen Leacock
- Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro
- Who do you think you are? by Alice Munro
- Such is My Beloved by Morley Callaghan
- The Rebel Angels (Cornish Trilogy #1) by Robertson Davies
- The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
- The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
- Fugitive Pieces of Anne Michaels
- Barometer Rising by High MacLennan
- The Watch that Ends the Night by Hugh MacLennan
- Two Solitudes by Hugh MacLennan
- The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy
- The Mountain and the Valley by Ernest Buckler
- Double Hook by Sheila Watson
- Ana Historic by Daphne Marlatt
- The Studhorse Man by Robert Kroetsch
- Lives of Short Duration by David Adams Richards
- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
- Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen
- Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
- The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
- Surfacing my Margaret Atwood
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje
- St. Urbain?s Horsemen by Mordecai Richler
- Solomon Gursky was here by Mordecai Richler
- What We All Live For by Dionne Brand
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
- Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
- River Thieves by Michael Crummey
- The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore
- Red Dog, Red Dog by Patrick Lane
- February by Lisa Moore
- The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
- Woodsmen of the West by Martin Allerdale Grainger
- Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King
- Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
- A Good Man by Guy Vanderhaeghe
- The Englishman?s Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe
- The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald
- The Wars by Timothy Findley
- The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
- Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden
- Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden
- The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
- Louis Riel: A Comic Biography by Chester Brown
- The Flying Troutsmans by Miriam Toews
- How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired by Dany Laferriere
- Banana Boys by Terry Woo
- Dry Lips Oughta Move To Kapuskasing by Tomson Highway
- Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright
- The Corrigan Women by M.T. Dohaney
- Downhill Chance by Donna Morrisey
- The Stonecarvers by Jane Urquhart
- The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy
- Ivor Johnson's Neighbours by Bruce Graham
- 419 by Will Ferguson
- Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
- Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell
- The Truth About Death and Dying by Rui Umezawa
- Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards (recommended by T)
- Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill (recommended by T)
- Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Spring Tbr List
It's that time of the week again. Thanks to the good folks at The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this meme, which is always fun. My track record for following through with reading lists has been rather spotty to say the least but surprisingly,...
- The Lions Of Al-rassan By Guy Gavriel Kay
?The deeds of men, as footprints in the desert. Nothing under the circling moons is fated to last. Even the sun goes down.? There are fantasy authors and then there is Guy Gavriel Kay who is in a league of his own. Not only does he...
- Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Fall To-be-read List
It's been a while since I last participated in the Top Ten Tuesday held by the Brooke and the Bookish so let's give this another go. As the first day of fall, this weekly meme is quite appropriate and asks fellow book bloggers to list their...
- Cockroach By Rawi Hage
"The underground my friend, is a world of its own. Other humans gaze at the sky, but I say unto you, the only way through the world is to pass through the underground." Rawi Hage has given me hope that there does exist other great writers hailing...
- Tigana By Guy Gavriel Kay
"In this world, where we find ourselves, we need compassion more than anything, I think, or we are all alone.? Stop the press! I hereby declare that Tigana may just be the finest stand-alone fantasy novel ever written. Yeah, it's that good....