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rowanwatts_'s review
3.0
Full disclosure: I read this book for a university course (“Literature of British Columbia,” in case you were wondering). While this was not my favourite reading that was assigned in that class (my favourite was Deactivated West 100, in case you were wondering that, too), I ended up enjoying Ethel Wilson’s Swamp Angel far more than I was expecting to.
This book is about Maggie and British Columbia and fly fishing and British Columbia. Did you know there is a prize for fiction named after Wilson? I’m being facetious, but only because I am confident that the unassuming and unintimidating lenity that Maggie exudes will charm you as immediately and unexpectedly as it charmed me. Her husband, while perhaps less charismatic than Maggie, appears repeatedly, each entrance a shock because of his geographical distance from the protagonist; he appears in tiny chapters, some no more than half a page or less. These sections, let’s call them, are reminiscent of clips from a montage in a movie, and while this observation may engage in anachronism, they seem ahead of their time. I also feel compelled to mention another character, somebody’s mother (I forget her name) who reminds me of a certain calibre of middle-aged white person who is beyond generous and often voluble but takes no shit and remains steadfast in their down-to-earth perspective of the world even though this perspective provokes them to say things like “I don’t see race.” Anyways, this hyper-specific archetype incarnates in this book, and I enjoy it.
If you’re a citizen of British Columbia in some capacity, such as I am, I suggest that you read this book if for no other reason than simply it will subvert your expectations. This province has changed drastically and irrevocably since the period of time during which Wilson wrote Swamp Angel in some ways, and it has remained stoically untouched in others. This book reveals the plurality of facets that B.C. possesses with a delicate but self-assured and no-fuss voice. Perhaps this book will bore you, though; it’s a stroll, after all, and not a sprint. Then I say to you, “That’s okay; it’s short.”
This book is about Maggie and British Columbia and fly fishing and British Columbia. Did you know there is a prize for fiction named after Wilson? I’m being facetious, but only because I am confident that the unassuming and unintimidating lenity that Maggie exudes will charm you as immediately and unexpectedly as it charmed me. Her husband, while perhaps less charismatic than Maggie, appears repeatedly, each entrance a shock because of his geographical distance from the protagonist; he appears in tiny chapters, some no more than half a page or less. These sections, let’s call them, are reminiscent of clips from a montage in a movie, and while this observation may engage in anachronism, they seem ahead of their time. I also feel compelled to mention another character, somebody’s mother (I forget her name) who reminds me of a certain calibre of middle-aged white person who is beyond generous and often voluble but takes no shit and remains steadfast in their down-to-earth perspective of the world even though this perspective provokes them to say things like “I don’t see race.” Anyways, this hyper-specific archetype incarnates in this book, and I enjoy it.
If you’re a citizen of British Columbia in some capacity, such as I am, I suggest that you read this book if for no other reason than simply it will subvert your expectations. This province has changed drastically and irrevocably since the period of time during which Wilson wrote Swamp Angel in some ways, and it has remained stoically untouched in others. This book reveals the plurality of facets that B.C. possesses with a delicate but self-assured and no-fuss voice. Perhaps this book will bore you, though; it’s a stroll, after all, and not a sprint. Then I say to you, “That’s okay; it’s short.”
wordsobsessed's review
4.0
Ethel Wilson is a great author, a lost treasure of Canadian Fiction, and her novels are always wonderfully penned. This one was no exception, and it was a pleasure to read.
10downing's review
4.0
I am so glad that Canada Reads inspired me to reread this book after a few decades. I loved this book. Wilson's description of the BC interior, and her sense of what it means to be a flyfisher are spot on, beautiful and obviously written by someone who knows both very well. In the afterword George Bowering says this book is simple & complex, like flyfishing; the idea is simple the method is complex.
readytogo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
hermit_essa's review against another edition
5.0
"A first meeting. A meeting in the desert, a meeting at sea, meeting in the city, meeting at night, meeting at a grave, meeting in the sunshine beside the forest, beside water. Human being meet, yet the meetings are not the same. Meeting partakes in its very essence not only of the persons but of the place of meeting. And that essence of place remains, and colors, faintly, the association, perhaps forever."
A fine novel. I'm ashamed that I had never heard of Ethel Wilson until someone sent me this book in a blind book exchange last year. It sat collecting dust on my bookshelf until, through some serendipity (and the praises of one Mr. Shawn Mooney), it floated back up into my awareness. I love it when you find the perfect book at the right time in your life. This novel is barely 200 pages but it speaks volumes about marriage, loss, transitions, the healing power of being true to oneself, nature as a spiritual force. I cannot sing its praises enough so I will conclude my review with another quotation, the one that best expresses my feeling for this novel: "No one can write about perfect love because it cannot be committed to words by those who know about it."
A fine novel. I'm ashamed that I had never heard of Ethel Wilson until someone sent me this book in a blind book exchange last year. It sat collecting dust on my bookshelf until, through some serendipity (and the praises of one Mr. Shawn Mooney), it floated back up into my awareness. I love it when you find the perfect book at the right time in your life. This novel is barely 200 pages but it speaks volumes about marriage, loss, transitions, the healing power of being true to oneself, nature as a spiritual force. I cannot sing its praises enough so I will conclude my review with another quotation, the one that best expresses my feeling for this novel: "No one can write about perfect love because it cannot be committed to words by those who know about it."
rochelles_reading_journal's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0