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A review by alexkerner
Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright
4.0
I was prompted to read this by the now infamous Book Tube Spin challenge that Rick MacDonnell does every few months. This is one I have wanted to read for a while (it won the Giller Prize winner back in 2000 and I won all the Giller winners a few years ago, it is one of my mother's favourite books, and my daughter's name is Clara [a name that coincidentally comes up in several Giller winners). So the Book Tube Spin finally pushed me to pick it up.
Firstly, this is very much a "CanLit" book, taking place in certain settings and with certain types of characters that often appeared in books that began to define Canadian Literature for decades. If you have read and enjoyed Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood this will be your bag.
This book follows the life of Clara Callan, a single woman navigating the mores of an early twentieth century small town, often challenging them to the consternation of an intolerant community. Told through letters (between Clara and mostly her sister) and journal entries, the pacing of this book is brilliant, turning very literary themes and styles into a page turner. My one qualm is that Wright can't help interject commentary from the characters about larger world events that are occurring. Although certainly these things would be the subject of conversation it felt almost as afterthoughts, inorganic to the dialogue, Wright just letting us know "hey this is happening now too and these characters are thinking about them." Aside from that this was a fun read that I really devoured toward the end.
Firstly, this is very much a "CanLit" book, taking place in certain settings and with certain types of characters that often appeared in books that began to define Canadian Literature for decades. If you have read and enjoyed Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood this will be your bag.
This book follows the life of Clara Callan, a single woman navigating the mores of an early twentieth century small town, often challenging them to the consternation of an intolerant community. Told through letters (between Clara and mostly her sister) and journal entries, the pacing of this book is brilliant, turning very literary themes and styles into a page turner. My one qualm is that Wright can't help interject commentary from the characters about larger world events that are occurring. Although certainly these things would be the subject of conversation it felt almost as afterthoughts, inorganic to the dialogue, Wright just letting us know "hey this is happening now too and these characters are thinking about them." Aside from that this was a fun read that I really devoured toward the end.