Three powerful novels of loss, discovery and struggle play in the margins of Joseph Campbell’s assertion that “where you stumble, there lies your treasure.”
A narrative of brutal power about parental bonds, forgiveness, and identity, Jonathan Bennett ’s The Colonial Hotel recasts for the 21st century the ancient story of Paris, Helen, and Oenone. A doctor named Paris follows a nurse to a country on the brink of civil war. When a confrontation does break out, they are swept up by rebel forces and separated. The nurse, Helen, is pregnant; she escapes, but Paris is left behind, imprisoned by rebels as war rages.
Waiting for the Man by Arjun Basu is the surreal journey of a man who is searching for purpose and for happiness. Joe, a 36-year-old advertising copywriter for a slick New York agency, feels disillusioned with his life. He starts dreaming of a mysterious man, seeing him on the street, and hearing his voice. Joe decides to listen to the Man and so he waits on his stoop, day and night, for instructions. A local reporter takes notice, and soon Joe has become a story, a media sensation, the centre of a storm. When the Man tells Joe to “go west,” he does, in search of meaning.
All My Puny Sorrows, the latest from Miriam Toews, the award-winning and bestselling author of A Complicated Kindness and Irma Voth is the riveting story of two sisters, and a love that illuminates life. A profound reflection on the limits of love, and the sometimes unimaginable challenges we experience when childhood becomes a new country of adult commitments and responsibilities. Miriam Toews gives us a startling demonstration of how to carry on with hope and love and the business of living even when grief loads the heart.
Hosted by Sandra Abma, Reporter, CBC News Ottawa on CBC TV
Sandra has devoted much of her career to covering Canada's cultural scene. From local issues to international cultural events, Sandra Abma tells stories with compassion, curiosity and a sense of fun. A veteran television and radio reporter - she focuses on the people and personalities that drive change in our community. You can catch Sandra weeknights on CBC News Ottawa starting at 5 p.m. on CBC TV.
From the CBC Ottawa Archives:
Listen to Miriam Toews on All In A Day (2011)
Waiting for the Man is a strangely engrossing, meticulously written allegory of the present moment.
Three powerful novels of loss, discovery and struggle play in the margins of Joseph Campbell’s assertion that “where you stumble, there lies your treasure.”
A narrative of brutal power about parental bonds, forgiveness, and identity, Jonathan Bennett ’s The Colonial Hotel recasts for the 21st century the ancient story of Paris, Helen, and Oenone. A doctor named Paris follows a nurse to a country on the brink of civil war. When a confrontation does break out, they are swept up by rebel forces and separated. The nurse, Helen, is pregnant; she escapes, but Paris is left behind, imprisoned by rebels as war rages.
Waiting for the Man by Arjun Basu is the surreal journey of a man who is searching for purpose and for happiness. Joe, a 36-year-old advertising copywriter for a slick New York agency, feels disillusioned with his life. He starts dreaming of a mysterious man, seeing him on the street, and hearing his voice. Joe decides to listen to the Man and so he waits on his stoop, day and night, for instructions. A local reporter takes notice, and soon Joe has become a story, a media sensation, the centre of a storm. When the Man tells Joe to “go west,” he does, in search of meaning.
All My Puny Sorrows, the latest from Miriam Toews, the award-winning and bestselling author of A Complicated Kindness and Irma Voth is the riveting story of two sisters, and a love that illuminates life. A profound reflection on the limits of love, and the sometimes unimaginable challenges we experience when childhood becomes a new country of adult commitments and responsibilities. Miriam Toews gives us a startling demonstration of how to carry on with hope and love and the business of living even when grief loads the heart.
Hosted by Sandra Abma, Reporter, CBC News Ottawa on CBC TV
Sandra has devoted much of her career to covering Canada's cultural scene. From local issues to international cultural events, Sandra Abma tells stories with compassion, curiosity and a sense of fun. A veteran television and radio reporter - she focuses on the people and personalities that drive change in our community. You can catch Sandra weeknights on CBC News Ottawa starting at 5 p.m. on CBC TV.
From the CBC Ottawa Archives:
Listen to Miriam Toews on All In A Day (2011)
