Fahrenheit 451

 Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451. 1951.

Book club choice for June, 2025. 75 years after it was first published. Sci-fi , dystopian but scary. I have written about my reaction on my Substack: One Lonely Writer. How Bradbury's FUTURE is NOW. The discussion was interesting. People found it difficult to get into. Because I knew it was about book-burning, I persevered, but figuring out that the firemen start fires and their hoses spew kerosene instead of water took a while. I loved the image of EMPTINESS with the pumping out of stomachs = marriages where conversation does not happen. It was also difficult to accept a protagonist being and becoming a killer. Just doing his job. Then, in self-defense, when the boss is about to kill him. The idea of hope, with the image of the phoenix, and the quote from Revelations. Also difficult to accept that the homeless camps will save humanity. Because the homeless living in the woods are the fired professors from Harvard. A very 1950s world where women live at home and none are in the camps destined to save the world.

The scary parts start with everyone wearing earbuds. THen, wall to wall surround TV, with the walls talking to the occupants. People talking about characters as if they are real. THe way CRIME has become entertainment. And the way our heads are filled with advertising jingles making us do or want something. Could have been more emphasis on how LOSS of FREEDOM to READ = the END of FREEDOM to THINK. Followed by the disappearing of anyone who questions. THe one big question: Are you HAPPY?

RUNNING in the FAMILY

 Michael Ondaatje. RUNNING in the FAMILY. McClelland & Stewart (General New Press), 1982.

A memoir of the writer's return to his land of birth, Sri Lanka, and his quest to understand his relatives better. Beautifully written story about the dysfunctions surrounding alcoholism, affairs, divorce, etc.

SWING LOW: A LIFE

 Miriam Toews. SWING LOW: A Life. Stoddart, 2000. 

A beautiful book written from inside "manic depression" by the ill man, Mel Toews, with his daughter as amanuensis. 

Knowing the outcome made it less traumatizing for this reader. My take-away is the criminal way the family members of someone with a mental illness are held responsible for their care, with no help, professional or otherwise. Caretaker burnout and lack of appropriate treatment in a secure setting. 

The daughter's description is heart-warming, stressing Mel's success as a beloved teacher, and showcasing his love of words, writing, and word-play. For example, designing his own "Do Not Disturb" sign for his hospital door. He says it should say: "Come on in. The patient is already disturbed." Great, dare I say, typically Mennonite sense of humour. It struck me later that his bi-polar presented as mania at school/work and depression at home.

THE FORGOTTEN DAUGHTER

 Joanna Goodman. The FORGOTTEN DAUGHTER. Harper, 2020.

Another book club selection, also a sequel, to Goodman's novel about unwed mothers and the Duplessis orphans. Elodie is now an adult, part of her birth-mother's family, with a daughter of her own. Her through line is the court challenges for compensation from the government of Quebec and the church-run orphanages/mental homes, and the criminally abusive nuns. Elodie's brother James Phenix is a journalist, interested in understanding the source of the separatist thinkers in Quebec. He wants to interview his girlfriend Veronique's father, released from prison after being convicted of the murder of a cabinet minister. James is uncomfortable with V's participation in criminal smuggling and sale of cigarettes. Both James and Ver face ethical dilemmas. 

The writer's use of the term "French-Canadian" bothers me. I suspect an American editor, unaware of the province, and that close to half of the residents do not consider themselves or want to be "Canadian". Quebecois seems more correct to me, and the fact that it is not used loses credibility for me. Also the reference to "pure laine", the dyed in the wool Quebecker whose ancestry must link back to immigrants from France after 1600. To me, IMHumbleOpinion, this is a form of "white supremacy" and an excuse to reject newer arrivals, to disabuse the rights of certain others, the same way that the rights of illegitimate children were abused by the government who warehoused them in mental institutions in order to receive larger grants from Ottawa. 

I found this book very interesting, modern history of the changes in Quebec over the last sixty years, but lacking credibility because of a stereotypical sketch of "separatist" thinkers. 

The Glass Castle.

 Jeannette Walls. The Glass Castle. Scribner, 2005. 

A shattering memoir of growing up in a family with an "alternative" lifestyle, a father who is a dreamer who drinks and refuses to let employment interfere with his dreams. A mother who hides behind being an artist as an excuse not to be a protector and provider for her children. Terrible to see the invisible line between addiction/mental illness and freedom of choice, and the unimaginable life many children experience. Every teacher should read this story of a girl who survives and thrives in spite of the neglect she experienced. 

A Death Feast in Dimla-hamid

 Terry Glavin. A Death Feast in Dimla-hamid. New Star, 1990.

Have owned this for 30 years. Read it before attending the Dancers of Damelahamid performance at Cultural Centre. Book is much more enlightening although dance was beautiful & entertaining. Glavin mentions Mary Johnson 3 or 4 times. The Indigenous disrespect from government & corporations is mind-boggling.

Elemental

 Kate Braid. Elemental. Caitlin, 2018.

Reading an old friend.