Spooky Troutmans: A Mash-Up Review

So, I finished Spook Country over a month ago but couldn't bring myself to write a review. On the positive side, it helped me get to get to sleep quite quickly and I felt like a speed reader because I could blast through the three page chapters in no time. Overall, though, I have to give it a giant thumbs down/wag of the finger. It was too long and too slow and ultimately terribly unsatisfying. Gibson seemed to be experimenting with narrative and perhaps subverting the reader's expectations, but he needs to further refine this approach. One broasted potato out of five.

I enjoyed Miriam Toews's The Flying Troutmans just as much as I liked her previous books. Her ability to combine humour with the small tragedies of ordinary lives is remarkable and she creates rounded, believable characters. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending - Hattie's decision to go back to Min with Thebes seems naive and the family's desperate need to create and maintain a relationship with Min will, it seems, only cause them further pain. I think Min is far more dangerous to those around her than anyone, except perhaps for Logan, is willing to admit. I suspect that Min was the cause of Logan's scar, which casts her and her role as a parent and caregiver in an entirely different light. Of course, the question of whether Min will be alive when Hattie and Thebes return to Winnipeg remains, and the uncertainty regarding the future lends to the sense of realism in the novel. Overall, a good, thought-provoking read.

Review: The Flying Troutmans

Miriam Toews’ The Flying Troutmans is a delightful read. The three characters, Hattie, Logan and Thebes, embark on a road trip to find the kids’ father after their mother has a psychotic breakdown. Hattie suggests this because a) she doesn’t know if she can (or wants to) take care of them and b) because she doesn’t know what else to do.
Two things happen to Hattie during this road trip. First, she learns how to take care of these kids. She initially attempts to take their mother’s place but quickly realizes that that these kids are too smart for that. Instead, she learns from them how best to lead the next stage of their lives. She’ll take care of them but she won’t tell them what to do. Second, she learns how to care of her sister. Her childhood was dominated by an intense fear of Min, both for what she might do to herself and for what she might do to her; Hattie’s life is and always will be dominated by her sister. Hattie embraces this fact, and though this may seem sad, it is really for herself that she must do this.
The kids, too, learn how to take care of their mother. Logan seems to be the most mature 15-year-old in history – he deliberately creates extreme situations to expedite his own maturing process; by the end, he is ready to care for his sister(s) and mother. Thebes, on the other hand, is born 40 and acts how she thinks an 11-year-old should act. It is all in preparation for what is to come.
Toews is a great writer – tight, flowing prose with tangents inserted at the right moments and dialogue that is efficient but always genuine; there are no long passages about the meaning of life in Toews’ books. Instead, the characters bring a sense of what life is – or what purpose is – through their experiences. The book has a happy ending but doesn’t descend into cliché or convenience.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it five oversize novelty cheques out of five.

Miriam Toews Wins Writers' Trust Award

Well, Miriam Toews won the Writers' Trust Fiction Prize yesterday, giving her one award this year so far for The Flying Troutmans. In case you're wondering, the Writers' Trust has a mission statement:

"The Writers' Trust believes that the remarkable talents of Canadian writers must not only be widely recognized and applauded; they must be rewarded. Our annual awards ensure that our writers' powerful voices will continue to be heard, at home and abroad. Awards provide writers with the time and resources needed to hone their craft. Awards inspire other authors to emulate them, expanding the nation's garden of literary excellence."

They are cultivators, I guess. CBC ranks the Writers' Trust prize up there with the Giller and the GGs. I didn't know this existed, but I am glad that Toews won - The F'ing Troutmans is a great book (I've just finished - review forthcoming) and Toews is a great writer. The GGs will be announced later today.

October's Pick: The Flying Troutmans

It's a new month and as such a new book. Although it took us a while to read Spook Country, the next book shouldn't pose that problem. Our next book: The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews. Let's try for the end of November for this one, and maybe we can select a holiday book for December. You know, something Hanukkah-, Christmas- or New Year's-themed. I would throw A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby on there - it starts out on New Year's Eve - but I've already read that one. Something along those lines, however. And now... The Flying Troutmans.

October's candidates

While everyone is still enjoying Spook so much, it is time to choose the next book. We have three worthy contenders: The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews, A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. It's quite a mix: a tragicomic road trip, a heartwrenching biography and a burn ward love story. Of course, these descriptions are oversimplified. Each promises to be an interesting read. I'll open the voting for an indefinite amount of time - until we are ready to read, I guess. I also invite all non-clubbers vote - which book do you think we should read? To the polls!