10-03-2019, 01:24 PM | #31 |
Wizard
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I wish that were true for me too Charlie, but unfortunately it isn’t. US Amazon knows I’m Canadian and only lets me see and buy books that are available in Canada.
Last edited by Victoria; 10-03-2019 at 01:43 PM. |
10-03-2019, 01:28 PM | #32 | |
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I think you can make a very strong case for Davies as our greatest author. He’s our ‘man of letters’. But many will argue the title belongs to Margaret Lawrence. I love Davies, and it’s close, but if I had to choose just one, she’d get my nod. (PS: Was your “Margaret who” Atwood or Lawrence? ) Last edited by Victoria; 10-03-2019 at 01:53 PM. |
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10-03-2019, 01:47 PM | #33 | |
o saeclum infacetum
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So, whom do you consider to be the greatest Canadian author? I've already gone on record with Davies. |
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10-03-2019, 02:12 PM | #34 |
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Objectively, I suppose the title belongs to Atwood. But her work isn’t particularly ’Canadian’. I guess she’s ok
My personal favourite for the title is Margaret Lawrence, with Davies a very close second. But W.O. Mitchell, Alice Munro, and Mordecai Richler have given us wonderful portraits of the country too. (PS: I have to mention Carol Shields, but admit she was American) Last edited by Victoria; 10-03-2019 at 02:17 PM. |
10-03-2019, 03:22 PM | #35 |
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And Farley Mowat. Let's not forget him!
Charlie. |
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10-03-2019, 03:28 PM | #36 | |
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It’s odd though, because you would think an author like Swift would be available in Canada. But my library doesn’t have a paper copy either. I wonder if it’s an issue with the publisher? I considered nominating Last Orders a few months ago but the availability was restricted. I wouldn’t expect an issue between Commonwealth countries. Last edited by Victoria; 10-03-2019 at 03:32 PM. |
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10-03-2019, 03:48 PM | #37 |
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Absolutely! Love Farley Mowat! A terrible lapse of memory.
(It’s shamelessly off topic, but I’d love to hear everyone else’s pick their greatest national author . Is there an appropriate thread to pose the question? ) Last edited by Victoria; 10-03-2019 at 04:01 PM. |
10-03-2019, 04:59 PM | #38 |
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We could move this to the Welcome thread, if you want.
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10-03-2019, 06:30 PM | #39 |
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10-03-2019, 08:48 PM | #40 |
cacoethes scribendi
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I don't mind reading paper books, but the local library offers a catalogue search online that didn't show anything by Robertson Davies. There is a second hand bookshop that might offer a better chance, but not sure when I will be in town next to check it out.
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10-04-2019, 06:09 AM | #41 | |
o saeclum infacetum
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Catlady's mention of Rashomon got me thinking and while I don't think this is Rashomon-like, it's similar in exploring different reactions to a situation. So I'm nominating Paths of Glory by Humphrey Cobb, the basis for the classic Kubrick film and not the book by Jeffrey Archer! 228 pp.
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10-04-2019, 09:55 AM | #42 |
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I don’t know if you’ve already done this one, but I’m in the middle of “The Overstory” by Richard Powers, and it seems to fit the theme well. To say that it’s about trees is woefully inadequate. It’s an extremely difficult book to describe. Goodreads attempts it thusly:
“From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Power’s twelfth book unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century timber wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn to see that world and are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.” Warning: the book is long. And I’ll be gone much of November. (Not that I’ve contributed much so far, though I greatly enjoyed reading your comments about September’s book.) But it’s definitely an unusual book and an unusual subject, and the writing is poetic. |
10-04-2019, 11:38 AM | #43 |
o saeclum infacetum
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I'll take that as a nomination.
I'll note that it won the Pulitzer and was shortlisted for the Booker. Last edited by issybird; 10-04-2019 at 11:51 AM. Reason: Prizes. |
10-04-2019, 12:03 PM | #44 |
cacoethes scribendi
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I do have a thing for trees, so I second The Overstory by Richard Powers.
And while I'm here, my last vote I use to second Ever After by Graham Swift. |
10-04-2019, 05:06 PM | #45 |
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Oh yes, I have heard good things about The Overstory, so I shall third it.
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