Some Great Thing

It's always fun to read a book set in your home town. Even though some of the places are called something else (like Polonia Park, which I am pretty sure is the Flood Bowl) there is enough description in the book for Winnipeggers to figure out what he means. Hill worked as a reporter in Winnipeg for the Winnipeg Free Press and that is obviously the genesis of this, his first novel.

Named after a great man, Mahatma Grafton was expected by his father to do some great thing. But in 1983 after getting a B.A. in History and French at Laval University and an M.A. in Economics at the University of Toronto Mahatma had no idea what that great thing would be. He returns home to Winnipeg to take a job as a reporter on the Winnipeg Herald (which show more Hill situates in the location where the Winnipeg Tribune building was located, not where the Winnipeg Free Press building was). Things don't go well for Mahatma at first. The city editor is a bigot and wants to change articles so they maximize sensationalism. Although Mahatma can write well he isn't given much scope to do so covering the criminal courts. He finally gets his teeth into the question of French Language rights which was erupting at that time. A diverse supporting cast of characters add a lot of colour to this novel. I particularly liked Hassane Moustafa Ali, called Yoyo by everyone, who was a Cameroonian journalist in Winnipeg on a fellowship. Yoyo writes about a white man on welfare for his Cameroon newspaper and makes him famous even though the Winnipeg papers consistently refuse to report on his story.

This book reminded me of a lot of Manitoba history about the French language crisis that I had forgotten. It is hard for us to believe, in this time when everyone wants their kids to learn French, that there was a time when people came to blows over the idea of the French language being used anywhere. One of the stories Mahatma covers is a brawl during a hockey game between an English team and a French team which results in a player's death. I don't think this was an actual event (at least I have no memory of it and I couldn't pull up anything on the internet about it) there certainly have been brawls in small town hockey arenas over race, religion and language. Substitute the French language with Muslim believers and you could have a book set today. George Santayana famously said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." show less

this was a good read, but i found the flow and continuity inconsistent and disjointed. as well, characters and storylines were underdeveloped in some cases. but the premise and characters were interesting and i was mostly engaged with the book and entertained. hill tried to cover a lot of ground here and while it didn't all come together wonderfully, it did help shine a light on many issues that are still problems today.

this is hill's first novel, and i liked very much seeing what his first outing as a novelist was like. i appreciate that the three books i have read from him (incl. The Book of Negroes and The Illegal) are all so different from one another. it's impressive when an author can do this and not always sound the same.

the show more "p.s." materials included at the end of the novel are terrific! show less

I could not resist buying the book when, at an airport bookstore, on my way to Winnipeg, I encountered it in a display of Lawrence Hill's works. I guess that the popularity of The Book of Negroes prompted HarperCollins to buy the rights and republish Hill's first novel.

I devoured the book on the plane ride and once at destination. Being in town on family business, I didn't have much time to visit Winipeg but it made me feel good to experience the city through the characters' eyes. There are many of them, and they are endearing for the most part. They were good companions on my trip.

The novel does feel like a roman de jeunesse, in that there are many autobiographical touches, but I am young enough (or think I am) to enjoy the stance. I show more am now curious to read Hill's later work.

If anything, there are perhaps too many stories happening within this single novel. I was hoping the author would remain attached to some of the unfolding events, but the plot moved on. I guess this adequately represents the journalistic world the author is describing: the media also quickly moves on once burning events start cooling off. This is also true for characters, some of whom have a vibrant presence (Chuck Maxwell) and then are forgotten.

Nevertheless, I grew attached to Mahatma, Ben, and Yoyo, and was disappointed to see them go when I finished the book. I look forward to reading more from Hill. show less