Don Gillmor

This novel is built on a rather far-fetched premise—a reasonably well-to-do middle-aged married woman breaking into homes and sometimes stealing items. However, I appreciated Gilmor’s accompanying social commentary about the current state of affairs. I found the book both absorbing and entertaining.

A zippy read (therefore a good Booker contender according to Stella's jury from a couple of years ago). Funny too, with some good zinger lines. The story was pepped up with a world-weary cynicism. I hugely enjoyed the funny and withering character details and observations of relationships -- they reminded me of Margaret Atwood, and that combined with the subject matter of overwhelming family debt, made me wonder if Atwood's book [b:Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth|3428252|Payback show more Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth|Margaret Atwood|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328772265s/3428252.jpg|3469132] played any role in the genesis of the idea for the book. I think older readers will appreciate it more -- the anxieties are of the later middle-aged. The younger ones aren't thinking of this stuff yet
There's added resonance for those readers familiar with Toronto. show less

Kanata is a fictional work based on the lives of explorer and cartographer David Thompson and his descendants. The novel starts with Thompson's journey from England and his exploration of western Canada, but it is the story of Michael Mountain Horse, a history teacher descended from Thompson's illegitimate son, that takes up most of the book.

The scope of Kanata is huge, covering two centuries, dozens of characters and several countries. Interspersed among the episodes from Thompson's and show more Mountain Horse's lives are glimpses from the lives and thoughts of Louis Riel, John A. Macdonald, Norman Bethune, John Diefenbaker, and other historical figures.

This book conveys Canada's history, but it is nothing like the Canadian history I learned in school. We see all facets of our heroes. At times, they are brilliant, courageous, arrogant, forward-thinking, indecisive, and in some cases, near psychotic. Kanata is an ambitious attempt to show how this great country was formed. Whether Gillmor is deemed successful or not, one cannot say anymore after reading this book that Canadian history is dull. show less

A zippy read (therefore a good Booker contender according to Stella's jury from a couple of years ago). Funny too, with some good zinger lines. The story was pepped up with a world-weary cynicism. I hugely enjoyed the funny and withering character details and observations of relationships -- they reminded me of Margaret Atwood, and that combined with the subject matter of overwhelming family debt, made me wonder if Atwood's book [b:Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth|3428252|Payback show more Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth|Margaret Atwood|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328772265s/3428252.jpg|3469132] played any role in the genesis of the idea for the book. I think older readers will appreciate it more -- the anxieties are of the later middle-aged. The younger ones aren't thinking of this stuff yet
There's added resonance for those readers familiar with Toronto. show less