Bonnie Burnard (1945–2017)

I hadn't read any of Bonnie Burnard's work before this. I think this was probably a Library Thing recommendation based on my high ratings of books by Canadian authors such as Carol Shields, Elizabeth Hay, Miriam Toews, Alice Munro, Joan Barfoot, and nearly-Canadian Beth Powning. Burnard is, however, not in the same class as this group, in my opinion. I did like her slow, understated style, but I felt I didn't get to know her characters as much as I would have liked. The essential underlying story was well told and worth telling. Of course, being in a 'second tier' of Canadian women authors still puts her way above a lot of her peers!… (more)

This is a book I enjoy re-reading. Everytime it comes back to me after being loaned to a friend, I sit down to read the first chapter and I get hooked.

A Good House follows a Canadian family over 5 decades - checking in every five-8 years or so, like the film series Seven Up. A husband comes home from the war. Kids grow up, mothers die, fathers remarry and new bavies come. college, grandchildren, divorce, love affairs. Wedding dinners by a lake. Wakes and funerals. Everything and nothing, but described thoughfully, deeply. Not pretentious or ponderous, it just kind of is. Like life.… (more)

A Good House tells the story of the Chambers family from 1949 through 1997, and follows the waves of their births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. It is set in a fictional small town northwest of London, Ontario toward Lake Huron, but could really be set in any small town in North America. Just substitute "going off to university," with "going off to college," and "Muskoka chair" with "Adirondack chair," and the book could be set in the US.

What I enjoyed most about this novel was Burnard's unique writing style where she packs a wealth of information in each sentence, and then packs her paragraphs with these full sentences. In doing this, she creates nuanced, rounded characters and tells a story without a lot of action. What she achieves on the page reminds me of the folk art landscape painting where every element is given equal weight and importance. And like folk art painting, Burnard's book is interesting and worthwhile, but it's not fabulously sophisticated high art either. However, it was good enough to win the 1999 Giller Prize, and that says something.

Recommended for: I think this would appeal to the reader who enjoys books by Carol Shields and that sort. I loved Burnard's packed sentences, but others might find them tedious. It is an impressive first novel.… (more)