Canadian Author Challenge — April: Margaret Atwood & Michael Crummey

April Authors:

Margaret Atwood
Michael Crummey

Back to general thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/209622

Photo from: https://tanishiblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/autobiography-of-a-leaf/

Photograph by Christopher Wahl

Margaret Atwood bio coming up

Photo: Tyler Anderson/National Post

Michael Crummey bio coming up

Please tell us what you plan on reading this month and share your impressions on what you've read!

Sorry for another delay this month. Health problems getting in the way of things. Don't have time to post author bios right now, but will do so asap.

  

I plan on reading/listening to Atwood's The Year of the Flood, book 2 in the MaddAddam Trilogy, having read Oryx and Crake and much enjoyed it last year, against my expectations, as I've grown weary of dystopian fantasies. But then, Atwood helped create the genre in the first place, so you know she has got to be doing something right. As for Michael Crummey, I've had Galore on the listening stacks since last year, when I saw several strong recommendations for it, so that's a must for me this month, but I'll probably also read Sweetland as it was apparently a contender for the latest Canada Reads edition and I've already borrowed it from the library's OverDrive collection.

Hi Ilana,
Sorry to hear about the health issues. So very draining, I know.

I have hit a bit of a bump, reading-wise I think. I can't seem to settle on anything and seem to be jumping around a lot. For this month, I will skip Atwood altogether as I am not a fan at all. The only book of hers I ever liked was Alias Grace, read wonderfully on audiobook by the terrific Elizabeth McGovern. She is otherwise just not my cup of tea.

I tried Sweetland and just couldn't get into, either. Sigh.

>6 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. That's middle age for you; when it's not one thing it's another, but then I consider myself lucky in so many ways that I feel guilty to harp on health issues... except they DO keep getting in the way of things, don't they?

Sorry to hear you're not keen on our author pairing this month. Have you read The Robber Bride? It's among the first novels I read by Atwood and I absolutely loved it in my early twenties, many years ago now... and definitely looking forward to revisiting it. Also, Michael Crummey came to my attention because of Galore, as I mention above, which came recommended by several LT members. Otherwise, you might pick up another featured CAC author. Finally, you can just read whatever the heck appeals to you, obviously; I'm a great one for picking up whatever suits my momentary fancy despite all the planning I do.

I have already completed my CAC book for the month. I went to the library yesterday and picked up Atwood's The Journals of Susanna Moodie and read it last night. It's one of her earlier poetry collections, and it appealed to me because it tells the story of a real 19th century Canadian settler.

>1 Smiler69: Is there meant to be a photo in this post? I see an enormous white blank space in the message above where you have listed the authors, and I get a constant "loading page" symbol on the thread.

ETA: Ah, now it's there. Must have been another of those LT glitches...

I think I will take down a collection of Atwood's short fiction for this month's challenge. Trying to read exclusively from what is already on my shelves...

I'm going to read an early Atwood, either Lady Oracle or Bodily Harm; both have been on my shelves for decades.

No need for apologies, Ilana. Sorry the health issues are asserting themselves right now.

I've put a couple of Crummeys on hold at the library: Galore and Sweetland. He's totally new to me so I'm looking forward to reading him.

>8 cbl_tn: That was fast! I haven't read any of Atwood's poetry yet. But then again, I have to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate poetry, which doesn't seem to happen very often. Maybe someday...

>9 laytonwoman3rd: Please let me know Linda if you have problems loading this page again. It's possible the first image (if that's the one you're referring to, of the maple leaves?) is slowing things down. If so, I will replace it.

I applaud you for sticking to your shelves... I really should do the same but somehow not motivated enough to make that resolution yet!

>10 kac522: I haven't read either of those books yet. In fact, have a lot of her work to discover still. I think I've read The Handmaid's Tale maybe four times by now, obviously a favourite of mine, but somehow that keeps me from reading her other stuff, doesn't it? :-)

>11 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen. There always seems to be something keeping me from being functional, but I know this is an understanding crowd, which is why I thought it would be ok to take this challenge on as an organiser. Not sure I'd take on this kind of responsibility in RL, because I don't think people would be so tolerant of how unreliable I tend to be thanks to ongoing health issues.

Crummey is new to me too, so we'll be discovering him together this month.

I'm hoping to audiobook both of these authors. Moral Disorder just came into the library. I've read lots of Atwood over the years, and some I've really liked (Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, Year of the Flood) others is just okay (Blind Assassin.

As for Crummey, I've requested Sweetland but there is still a bit of a list and I may not get to it in April, but probably May. He's a new author for me.

i will be very interested in following your comments on this thread and Ilana, as Ellen suggests, no need to apologize AT ALL about organizational issues. I'm sure we are all so happy that you are leading the way on this Canadian book challenge. I am slowing down on my reading this spring as we are doing a huge move after many years so there is MUCH to do and little reading time I'm afraid for a while but I will be very interested in following all the comments. I haven't read either Atwood or Crummey for ages. I would like to read Atwood's book(s) about writing.

Am reading The Handmaid's Tale and am a little more than half way through it. Must order the Crummey book of choice (forgot which one I picked and am too lazy to check right now) soon. THT is rather grim and depressing but I suppose that's to be expected given everything. Or maybe it's just me...

Both times I have been on this thread I get the large blank space in the first post. I plan to read River Thieves by Michael Crummey - no Atwood for me.

>13 Smiler69: Ilana, my favorite Atwood is The Robber Bride. I made a note to myself at the time (1995): I read the book, and then promptly opened it to the beginning and re-read the entire book, I loved it so much. I also enjoyed her early short story collections: Wilderness Tips and Bluebeard's Egg. I find her later works not as accessible for me, but I think that's because I'm just not that interested in science fiction/dystopian fiction.

Pictures (in post two and three) seem to be working fine here. So sorry to hear you've been unwell. Thanks for picking Crummey to read - I had not come across him before.

I really enjoyed Sweetland, the story of a man holding out against the forced purchase of an island settlement in Newfoundland. Wonderful evocation of an isolated place, and the customs of a small fishing community. I really cared about Moses Sweetland and his family, keen to find out what the flashbacks would reveal about the reasons for his choices.

Her daughter was trying to rehabilitate her lowbrow taste in reading material with what Queenie called "serious" books- literary novels, prize-winners, Oprah's picks. Sandra sent them down from Edmonton with encouraging notes scribbled inside the covers. Queenie never cracked a spine, but for the few written by Newfoundlanders or about Newfoundland. She took those on as a kind of patriotic duty, though it was a torture to get through them. They were every one depressing, she said. Or nothing happened. Or there was no point to the story. Half the books supposedly set in Newfoundland were nowhere Queenie recognised and she felt insulted by their claim on her life. They all sounds like they were written by townies, she liked to say.

I just checked my notes and I've read 19 Margaret Atwood books. She has a fabulously broad range -- not just novels, but short stories, poetry, essays, writing instruction, and children's books. I think there's even a cook book floating around out there. My favourite was The Robber Bride, followed closely by Alias Grace. I also think everyone should read The Handmaid's Tale -- it wasn't a favourite of mine, but I think it's an important book.

This month I plan to read Dancing Girls and Other Stories. I've owned Galore for several years and I hear it's excellent, but I'm not sure whether I can get to it this month.

I am not that far behind you Joyce! I have read 18 Margaret Atwood books and could probably find one or two new ones on the shelf. I worked in a bookstore at Toronto airport way back when and one day I turned to find her browsing her own books. I am still kicking myself for not having her sign something :)

I have also read 3 of Michael Crummey's book and it looks like I have The Wreckage on the shelf.

Enjoying everyone's comments and just want to mention I've changed the photo in the first post, which shouldn't give us further problems.

Finished The Handmaid's Tale this afternoon. Very interesting, but don't know quite yet what I think of it. Guess I'll have to do some ruminating.

Ooh, spring maple leaves - I can see those.

>24 Familyhistorian: That's the general idea, indeed! Only if I wanted to be factual, I'd only be showing buds, as the leaves aren't out yet... but maybe by the end of the month it might start looking like that photo around here (in Montreal, that is).

>25 Smiler69: There is a maple right outside my living room window and it just has buds on it now too (close to Vancouver here).

Surprisingly happy with The Blind Assassin after not liking very much the other 3 Atwoods I read a while ago (Surfacing, Alias Grace, The Handmaid's Tale of which the oldest, Surfacing, so far had been my favorite). Looking through the thread I see also totally contrary reactions. I guess I can say for myself that I like her writing style very much, but when it comes to plot prefer her close-to-RL novels over historical fiction and dystopean.

I did eventually get the original photo to load, but the sight of those bright green leaves is very appealing just now, with winter setting in a bit late here in NE Pennsylvania. I discovered a paperback copy of Surfacing on my shelves as well, and am about half way through it. It's excellent.

>26 Familyhistorian: I'm guessing the trees are dressed in full leafwear over in Europe—in the non-northern parts, that is.

>27 Deern: As you probably saw, I happen to be quite a fan of The Blind Assassin, and very glad I got my own Folio Society edition of it, which is gorgeously illustrated. I'd say what probably helped me appreciate that book was that I first read it in the context of a college class... some feminist theme (can't recall the exact name of the course), during which we read lots of great women's literature, including A Room of One's Own of course, which also remains among my favourites. I don't remember much, other than the fact that a few of the books we read really made a strong impression on me, and I guess the prof must have had a great approach to keep me interested! It's definitely a bleak story, but for the imagery alone, I found it gripping, and reading it all those years ago, when dystopian fiction novels weren't yet in the mainstream, I also found the worldbuilding absolutely fascinating. Besides which she's a great author, goes without saying.

>28 laytonwoman3rd: I eventually couldn't get the first picture to load at all, and couldn't see it on my iPad either. Glad you like that touch of green, Linda. Have added Surfacing to the wishlist; thanks for the BB, I guess! :-)

I own copies of Crummey's Galore and The River Thieves. I will be starting with The River Thieves and may try to read both books this month.

Good grief! Haven't found time and energy to complete this thread as I should have long ago. I'm also ashamed to say I've had to drop as many books as I've managed to complete this month (not a usual state of affairs). Unfortunately, Galore by Michael Crummey was the most recent addition to those that managed to defeat me for one reason or another. I think I'll have to tackle it in print or ebook at another time, because audio was definitely NOT the way to go. With a huge list of characters (which is included in the print version) and a story featuring several generations, I got to more than halfway through the story with no idea of what was happening to whom in relation to another. Very frustrating, and I can't fault Crummey for this; I'm having an especially hard time concentrating lately as I think having to train my dog Charley is proving rather demanding for all involved, besides dealing with health issues and constant fatigue.

>31 Smiler69: No worries, Ilana. You got the thread started and we are happily pursuing.

I was going to skip both these authors this month since I feel so behind on my reading challenges, but instead I picked up a book of Margaret Atwood's short stories Wilderness Tips at the library. I really enjoyed reading Stone Mattress: Nine Tales last year, so I've decided another book of short stories is in order - and that I can fit in a short story a day.

I'm also an Atwood fan but have read **only** about a dozen of her works; several of them were pre LibraryThing so don't show up on my list here.

>32 streamsong: ONLY about a dozen. Lol.

My review of Surfacing is up on my thread .The link will take you there. I enjoyed it very much, but was a tad disappointed in the ending.

>32 streamsong: I'm not sure what it is about putting up a couple of bios I find requires much brainpower or effort really. I'll try to do it tomorrow. Dragging myself around a lot lately, so any effort seems like too much effort, basically.

I really enjoyed Stone Mattress last year as well. Looking forward to your comments on Wilderness Tips, a title I've been curious about for some time.

>33 Nickelini: 'Only' a dozen books struck me as funny too! :-)

>34 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks for the review, Linda. Her first book was The Edible Woman, which came out in 1969, followed by Surfacing, in 1972, so close enough. I haven't read Edible Woman yet, but it's on the endless reading/audio pile...

only about a dozen books

Heehee. Well, there are several of you that commented that you had read many more. I just looked at Wikipedia to see how many she has published. It's hard to count since some are ebooks only but it's well over sixty. It also lists television scripts, drawings and libretti as well as non-fiction and children's books.

Holy cow that is one prolific lady!

I've told this story before. but in the early 70's when I was taking freshman English in college, I took a literature by women class. When the syllabus came out the first day of class, I was happy to see that most of the books were classics but not so happy to see one new young author represented. The book was Surfacing.

I'm about a quarter into Sweetland and I'm very much enjoying it.
Thank you, Ilana, for another LT introduction to a wonderful new-to-me author!

Sweetland was a real treat. I'll be reading Galore by Crummey in the near future. While I've liked most of the Atwoods I've read, Cat's Eye remains my favorite.

Sweetland isn't going to come in for me at the library this month, but I'm really looking forward to it now, whenever I get it.

I am listening to Moral Disorder, by Atwood, a collection of connected short stories, and I am really enjoying it.

I really loved Oryx and Crake last year, and was prepared to enjoy The Year of the Flood just as much this year, but sadly it didn't happen for me. I'll still move on to the third book in the trilogy eventually, but I doubt it'll be much before another 12 months at least. So many books from pre-dystopian novels to read by her still!

>37 EBT1002: Believe me Ellen, the pleasure is all mine, as I'm discovering Michael Crummey right along with you, this month! I've just got 100 pages or so left to go with Sweetland, and it's pretty much kept me captive from the beginning.

>38 Donna828: Donna, I'm glad I didn't let my disappointment with the audio version of Galore stop me from trying another of Crummey's books, because Sweetland is a real treat. I'll definitely go back to Galore, hopefully sometime this year (which is overbooked, like every year!)

Cat's Eye is yet another Atwood title I've had in the stacks for untold ages. I'll put you down in my tags as a recommender, if I haven't done so before already.

>39 raidergirl3: You know, I try to read the various challenge authors during the scheduled months, but it just doesn't work out a lot of the time, because so many books in general. I'm just happy when I DO get to them and end up making fun discoveries, which is after all the point of these challenges, in my view.

I finished Sweetland last night and I gave it four stars. Here are my comments:

This is an almost impossible book to review because it is so vulnerable to spoilers. The inhabitants of Sweetland, a desolate island off the coast of Newfoundland, are being offered large sums of money by the Canadian government to abandon their homes and relocate to anywhere else. However, in order for any to take advantage of the offer, all must take advantage. The reason for this contingent offer is never explained, requiring an early, conscious suspension of skepticism by the reader. If you can ignore the voice in the back of your head that keeps asking "but why?" then the novel will reward you generously for your persistence.

Moses Sweetland, from whose family the island seems to take its name, is the single holdout. He finds himself subjected to an odd mixture of tolerance and abuse as the rest of the island community members try to convince him to sign on. I'll say no more except this: this is a wonderful novel. The characters are quirky and richly believable. The scenery, in all its windswept and salt-encrusted beauty, is brilliantly evoked. And the narrative is engaging, even addictive.

Highly recommended.

Well, I didn't get through Dancing Girls by Margaret Atwood, but I'm going to continue to read a story at a time and will eventually finish. Short story collections can be challenging because the reader is constantly having to rebuild worlds. My problem was not only this, but the second story "the Man From Mars" was very long and incredibly dated. It made the whole thing pointless. I hope the rest of the stories are better.

Late, but want to count my Michael Crummey read - Galore. Enjoyed! 3.5 stars.

It took a while to get some Crummey audiobooks from the library. I just got Sweetland and will listen to it soon, but as a warm up, I found Hard Light:32 Little Stories which was only a little over an hour, but how delightful! They are less than short stories, just snippets really, but with the late Ron Hynes adding a fiddle lament between some stories, and read by the author and a female, I recommend it highly.

I think my favourite was 'Jiggs Dinner' which recounted all the parts that make it up, and how to cook it, including getting it started before church so it would be ready when you get home. A recipe has never been more poetic.

I can't wait now to listen to Sweetland!

>43 countrylife: Glad you enjoyed Galore. Any time is fine to read our featured authors.

>44 raidergirl3: Thanks for mentioning Hard Light. I wasn't aware of that collection before, and will add it to my wishlist.