Group Read, January 2020: The Diviners

Our first group read of the new decade is The Diviners by Margaret Laurence. Please join in the read and put any comments on this thread.

I will be reading this, probably starting in a few days after I finish Nana. I read one of Margaret Laurence's earlier books, The Stone Angel (not on the list) in 2019 and it ended up being one of my favorites of the year.

I think this book is in the same cycle/set of books but from what I gather they are related in setting, not through developed characters or plot.

I also will be reading The Diviners this month, but will probably not be starting it until around the middle of the month.

>2 japaul22: What a coincedence! I just picked up a movie on the shelf at the library that caught my eye called The Stone Angel. After reading your comment above, I looked it up and it is based on the Margaret Laurence book. I haven't read the book so will not be able to compare - I tried looking for The Diviners and my library system has not one Margaret Laurence book.

On Book Depository, The Diviners is called the culmination of the Manawaka cycle, which according to Wikipedia consists of The Stone Angel, A Jest of God, The Fire-Dwellers, A Bird in the House, and The Diviners. As you say, they are all based around the fictional town of Manawaka rather than particular characters. Still, for a completist like me, I'm not sure I can make myself read the last one first! :)

I just got my paperback in the mail. I'll probably start next week.

I hope to be reading this too. I ordered a copy from interlibrary loan, so it will be a while before it gets here.

I re-read this last year so I won't be joining the group this time. Margaret Laurence was born in Neepawa which is a small town in between where I grew up and where I live now. So she is a home town hero to me. As japaul22 said The Diviners is in the same cycle as The Stone Angel which is called the Manawaka Cycle. (In fact, The Diviners is the end of the cycle that The Stone Angel starts.) Manawaka is based on her birthplace of Neepawa and at first people in the town were quite upset with how Laurence portrayed the town. When she started to get famous the people of the town revised their impression and the house she lived in has now been made a museum.

>4 JayneCM: Don't worry about reading the books out of order. They deal with different people for the most part but all have a connection to Manawaka.

I have completed my read of The Diviners. I remember this book from years ago when my mother read it and I didn't think I would like it at all so I was surprised to find that I really did enjoy the read. I thought that the themes are still very relevant today and the author's writing was very accessible.

I'm finally starting this, a month late. Did anyone besides DeltaQueen50 end up reading it?

I read it, but also a bit late. I liked it a lot -- mostly because the characters were such rich, interesting people.

Just finished this and I loved it so much. I thought the way the flashbacks were handled was seamless - there wasn't the jarring jump back and forth that you see in so many books these days. I liked that it was an exploration of memory and had great characterization. So glad I finally got to this!