Alison Pick
Author of Far to Go
About the Author
Image credit: utoronto.ca
Works by Alison Pick
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Pick, Alison
- Birthdate
- 1975
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Guelph (BA|Psychology)
- Occupations
- novelist
poet - Relationships
- Davis, Degan (husband)
- Short biography
- Alison Pick (born 1975) is a Canadian novelist and poet. She has published two novels and two collections of poetry.
Pick was born in 1975 in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in Kitchener. In 1999 she graduated from the University of Guelph with a B.A. in psychology.
Her first book was written while living in Saskatchewan at a Benedictine monastery, then at a cattle ranch, and then in Saskatoon.[1] She currently lives in Toronto with her husband, writer Degan Davis, and their daughter.[2]
The title section of Pick's poetry collection Question & Answer won the 2002 Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award for Poetry[3] and the 2003 National Magazine Award for Poetry.[4] The book itself was short-listed for the League of Canadian Poets Gerald Lampert Award for best first book of poetry, and for a Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award. Pick also won the 2005 CBC Literary Award for Poetry - Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Places of residence
- Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada - Map Location
- Canada
Members
Discussions
Far to Go by Alison Pick in Booker Prize (October 2011)
Reviews
Politics and religion, the two topics you should never bring up at the dinner table. It's impolite to discuss these two things because there are so many opinions, all very personal and deeply, often unconsciously, held. And arguing against or even just questioning someone else's choice is seen as confrontational or judgmental. Yet so many people these days are skeptics or searching for a spiritual fit for themselves or their families that they might in fact welcome a conversation to help show more them find their place. Author Alison Pick certainly needed to discuss her feelings and desires and questions after she uncovered the family secret of her paternal grandparents' shift to being publicly Canadian Christian from their beginning as Czech Jews fleeing in advance of Hitler's domination of Europe. She did ultimately have those needed conversations, documented in her emotional memoir, Between Gods, as she makes the choice to convert back to the Judaism of her beloved grandparents.
Starting with the newly posited idea that trauma and sadness can in fact be passed down genetically to descendants, Pick looks to uncover the roots of her dark and swelling depression. Her father has suffered over the years, as has her grandmother, but there's more to it than that. When she discovers the truth of her grandparents' lives, that they were Jewish and chose to leave their homeland as Hitler gained power but were forever tethered to the family members who didn't emigrate in time and died in the camps, she has found a focus or a cause for the smothering, debilitating depression she feels. In her inward searching, she starts to realize that she is incredibly drawn to many of the tenets and ideas of Judaism and in fact feels the closest kinship to those family members who are still Jewish. She's newly engaged, moved across the country, starting a new job, and writing a difficult novel when these feelings of displacement send her looking for a place of belonging and for her very identity.
She struggles as she tries to walk the searcher's path, agonizing over her feelings and carefully considering the choice she's making, its impact in her own life, and the way that her choice ripples into other loved ones' lives as well. Pick joins a conversion class in her quest to know deep down who she is. She does a lot of emotional digging and shares that with her readers. She includes bits from her therapy sessions, conversations with her fiance, her own internal musings, discussions with the Jewish acquaintances, later friends, who loom large in her life, and the painful questions and concerns from her sponsoring rabbi. Pick is honest about the road blocks she faced: the worry over converting if her fiance decided not to convert with her, her father's support of her but his own initial disinterest in the process, her hard-faced realization that Judaism is not defined by the Holocaust and how that changed her perspective, the shock that her own Jewish heritage didn't ease her way into the faith community, and her own uncertainties. Her journey to Judaism was long and not easy, in fact, the community's reluctance to embrace her solely because of her upcoming marriage to a non-Jew, their active pushing her away instead of welcoming her, was painful to witness. The struggle to become her own most authentic self was intense and her time lost "between Gods" was hard to witness but fascinating. Fans of memoir and religion, those who enjoyed Lauren Winner's Girl Meets God, a very different conversion memoir than this one, and those curious about others' spiritual decisions will appreciate this well written, soul searching, readable account of Pick's deeply personal and satisfying journey. show less
Starting with the newly posited idea that trauma and sadness can in fact be passed down genetically to descendants, Pick looks to uncover the roots of her dark and swelling depression. Her father has suffered over the years, as has her grandmother, but there's more to it than that. When she discovers the truth of her grandparents' lives, that they were Jewish and chose to leave their homeland as Hitler gained power but were forever tethered to the family members who didn't emigrate in time and died in the camps, she has found a focus or a cause for the smothering, debilitating depression she feels. In her inward searching, she starts to realize that she is incredibly drawn to many of the tenets and ideas of Judaism and in fact feels the closest kinship to those family members who are still Jewish. She's newly engaged, moved across the country, starting a new job, and writing a difficult novel when these feelings of displacement send her looking for a place of belonging and for her very identity.
She struggles as she tries to walk the searcher's path, agonizing over her feelings and carefully considering the choice she's making, its impact in her own life, and the way that her choice ripples into other loved ones' lives as well. Pick joins a conversion class in her quest to know deep down who she is. She does a lot of emotional digging and shares that with her readers. She includes bits from her therapy sessions, conversations with her fiance, her own internal musings, discussions with the Jewish acquaintances, later friends, who loom large in her life, and the painful questions and concerns from her sponsoring rabbi. Pick is honest about the road blocks she faced: the worry over converting if her fiance decided not to convert with her, her father's support of her but his own initial disinterest in the process, her hard-faced realization that Judaism is not defined by the Holocaust and how that changed her perspective, the shock that her own Jewish heritage didn't ease her way into the faith community, and her own uncertainties. Her journey to Judaism was long and not easy, in fact, the community's reluctance to embrace her solely because of her upcoming marriage to a non-Jew, their active pushing her away instead of welcoming her, was painful to witness. The struggle to become her own most authentic self was intense and her time lost "between Gods" was hard to witness but fascinating. Fans of memoir and religion, those who enjoyed Lauren Winner's Girl Meets God, a very different conversion memoir than this one, and those curious about others' spiritual decisions will appreciate this well written, soul searching, readable account of Pick's deeply personal and satisfying journey. show less
“I wish this were a happy story”, this tale begins. It’s a good warning. This is the tale of the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Nazis in early WW2. Patel and Annaliese Bauer, their son Pepik, and nanny Marta are all shown adapting or not to the creeping evil that washes over their country- the gradually increasing restrictions, the enclosing sense of panic, the compromises one and all make- including the narrator of this story.
It is so well done! Though most of the characters were show more unsympathetic, I could not help but feel for them all, tied as they were to a doom so all-encompassing.
Throughout the book there are excerpts from the family letters, unfailingly ended with a postscript of their name, date of death, camp where killed.
I have been aware of the tragedy of Ww2 all of my life, I even lived in Germany for some time and was vaguely revolted by the way the fruit trees were so fertile (all that blood meal?). But this story affected me quite strongly and it is for that reason I highly recommend it. It is far too easy as time goes on to forget the inhumanity that occurred (and to be fair, is still occurring, with different victims and perpetrators). Sometimes a good story brings it all back, reminds us of how close we dance to a similar situation as fascism returns, as prejudice creates violence, as we watch it go by without comment. This story is a good, involving, and thought-provoking slap upside the head.
The ending has surprises but it will be the characters that pull you on.
Definitely worth a read. show less
It is so well done! Though most of the characters were show more unsympathetic, I could not help but feel for them all, tied as they were to a doom so all-encompassing.
Throughout the book there are excerpts from the family letters, unfailingly ended with a postscript of their name, date of death, camp where killed.
I have been aware of the tragedy of Ww2 all of my life, I even lived in Germany for some time and was vaguely revolted by the way the fruit trees were so fertile (all that blood meal?). But this story affected me quite strongly and it is for that reason I highly recommend it. It is far too easy as time goes on to forget the inhumanity that occurred (and to be fair, is still occurring, with different victims and perpetrators). Sometimes a good story brings it all back, reminds us of how close we dance to a similar situation as fascism returns, as prejudice creates violence, as we watch it go by without comment. This story is a good, involving, and thought-provoking slap upside the head.
The ending has surprises but it will be the characters that pull you on.
Definitely worth a read. show less
What happens in Prague is the heart of the story, which I won’t tell you about in fear of spoiling it for you, and this book suddenly turns into a constant thriller. To say that this book is a page-turner is the understatement of the year. I was up all night reading this book in one night, sick with worry, grieving for characters and the fate I was expecting them to have. Not even I could imagine what was going to happen to them next, and I fancy myself a great predictor of books and show more movies. Prepare to be terrified, and arm yourself with plenty of tissues, because this book takes you everywhere. Far to Go should be read by anyone who enjoys not only historical fiction, but good books in general, as Pick really knows how to tell a story. show less
I chose to read this book because it was long-listed for the Booker Prize this year.
It was with some misgiving that I began reading. Here are my shameful thoughts presented to you in all honesty..."Not another book about the Holocaust...How many do I have to read?" My Jiminy Cricket conscience tells me - "Never enough". After all, I only have to read the stories, don't I? And perhaps it might be a good idea to tell them to my children - even though they are well beyond bedtime stories. And show more this is not the stuff of bedtime stories.
Do you wonder, as I do, how memories/history will change once our slim connection with the past evaporates? As the generation before you dies and you are pushed to the front line? What orders should you give ? What philosophy should you bequeath to the next generation? My children perceive me as ancient, of course. The way I perceived my mother as ancient. The 1940s to my young eyes were so funny and old-fashioned in terms of dress and hopelessly romantic love songs (think "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when"). And yet they were only 30 years ago when I was a teenager. Now my kids are close to 20. It's hard to imagine that they must see the 1970s as funny and old fashioned. What must they think of WWII and the Nazi atrocities? It must seem very far away and hard to believe.
And so, yes. Reading Far to Go wasn't easy - and yes, to a degree, we all know how it will end. But I didn't know about the Kindertransport. So it is a story from a different angle. And the angle is further fractured and complicated by the author's own connection to the tragedy which she chooses to present at this point in time in a fictionalised form.
It is a story about making difficult decisions. About trying to read "history" as it happens. About deciding what to pack. About sacrifice.
It is ultimately a story about identity. And what is identity but a jumbled up mass of stories that people have told you about yourself or you have told you about yourself. What if someone questions your identity? What if your identity becomes dangerous to own? What if you thought you were something and then you are told years later that in fact you are something else? How does that change you? Which bit of you is real?
It is a good story. And one that leaves many questions. The best kind really. show less
It was with some misgiving that I began reading. Here are my shameful thoughts presented to you in all honesty..."Not another book about the Holocaust...How many do I have to read?" My Jiminy Cricket conscience tells me - "Never enough". After all, I only have to read the stories, don't I? And perhaps it might be a good idea to tell them to my children - even though they are well beyond bedtime stories. And show more this is not the stuff of bedtime stories.
Do you wonder, as I do, how memories/history will change once our slim connection with the past evaporates? As the generation before you dies and you are pushed to the front line? What orders should you give ? What philosophy should you bequeath to the next generation? My children perceive me as ancient, of course. The way I perceived my mother as ancient. The 1940s to my young eyes were so funny and old-fashioned in terms of dress and hopelessly romantic love songs (think "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when"). And yet they were only 30 years ago when I was a teenager. Now my kids are close to 20. It's hard to imagine that they must see the 1970s as funny and old fashioned. What must they think of WWII and the Nazi atrocities? It must seem very far away and hard to believe.
And so, yes. Reading Far to Go wasn't easy - and yes, to a degree, we all know how it will end. But I didn't know about the Kindertransport. So it is a story from a different angle. And the angle is further fractured and complicated by the author's own connection to the tragedy which she chooses to present at this point in time in a fictionalised form.
It is a story about making difficult decisions. About trying to read "history" as it happens. About deciding what to pack. About sacrifice.
It is ultimately a story about identity. And what is identity but a jumbled up mass of stories that people have told you about yourself or you have told you about yourself. What if someone questions your identity? What if your identity becomes dangerous to own? What if you thought you were something and then you are told years later that in fact you are something else? How does that change you? Which bit of you is real?
It is a good story. And one that leaves many questions. The best kind really. show less
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- Rating
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