This is an early post as I think it’s going
to be a busy weekend and this seems like a good time to write, with a steaming
cup of tea in front of me and the first snow on the ground outside this morning,
which I think is pretty exciting.
I read a book for my committee this past week, Accusation,
by Catherine Bush. She is a Toronto
author who has been nominated for the Ontario Trillium Award for her novel, Claire’s
Head. This is her fourth novel, but
the first that I’ve read by her. Set in
1996, this novel opens with a short news item about the defection in Australia
of nine members of an Ethiopian circus, claiming that the head of the circus, a
Canadian man, Raymond Renaud, consistently abused them. Told from the point of view of a reporter,
Sara, the story then recounts her first experience with the children's circus, Cirkus
Mirak, while she was in Copenhagen at a conference. This circus, led by Montreal-born Renaud, impresses Sara so much that when she returns to Toronto, she contacts her friend
and filmmaker Juliet to tell her about it, in case she would like to make a
documentary about them. Sara and Juliet
have a long history together, as they encountered one another as students in
Montreal nearly 20 years before, where Juliet supported Sara through a
difficult time. When the circus comes to
Toronto, Sara meets and forms a bond with Renaud as they share an intimate
experience together, during which time Renaud shares his mission and vision about the potential social benefits the circus movement could have on street children around the world, an encounter over which Sara will experience guilt in the
coming months as the accusation of abuse is made public. She goes on a search for the truth behind the
accusation, and the novel explores the concept of truth in the world today, and
the damage an accusation can cause, whether true or false. It sounds like a great story, but I have to
say, I was really disappointed in the novel.
Call me a traditionalist, but I generally like my novels to follow a
standard pattern, beginning, middle, and end.
If an author deviates from this pattern, they need to do so with more
skill than Bush exhibited. I also prefer my
authors to use full sentences most of the time, employing sentence fragments
only for emphasis. This story was told
using mainly sentence fragments, which made it really difficult for me to read,
despite my keen interest in getting to end and finding out what happened. I was sorely disappointed in the style of
writing and the total vagueness of the overall story, although the issues
behind the story are ones that need to be explored by writers. The only other book I could think of offhand
that explores the consequences of false accusations is Atonement by Ian
McEwan, which was also vague and slow, but in my opinion, a much better
novel. Not that Bush didn’t have some
fabulous ideas and phrases (usually phrases, not full sentences!). I almost hate to criticize, as I’m sure this
novel would appeal to others, but the style was too jarring for me. I don’t know if this is a style she uses in
other books, but this novel did not make me want to read her earlier
novels. It would be a great book club
discussion book, and maybe some would find it enjoyable, so take my criticism
with a grain of salt.
And I listened to a very different type of
book from the above, Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt, an early novel in
the “Andy Carpenter” series. Because I
download from the library website, I listen
to these books as they are available, not necessarily in order. So this book gave me the background on the
Willie Miller case, a case to which he refers in a later book. In this novel, Willie Miller is on death row
and awaiting execution for the murder of a girl in a bar 7 years earlier. Andy’s recently deceased father was the
prosecuting lawyer for the original case, and shortly before he dies, he asks
Andy to try to appeal the case, just months before Willie faces death. It seems like an impossible appeal to win,
but Andy’s persistence shines through as he leaves nothing uncovered in his
quest for the truth. It also gave me the
backstory to his relationship with his ex-wife Nicole, and his current
relationship with police investigator Laurie.
It was, as always, an enjoyable listening experience.
I need to go to the library today to pick
up my reserves. Not sure what is in for
me, but I hope there will be something I really want to read – I’ve had a few
books recently that have been just so-so, and I’m longing to really sink my
teeth into a good book (not literally, of course!)
Bye for now…
Julie
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