Sunday, July 8, 2012

Frances Greenslade: Shelter

Frances Greenslade - photo by Shelley Banks
Frances Greenslade,
Regina, March 2012
Canadian writer Frances Greenslade was back* in Regina for the launch of her novel Shelter a few months ago.

Set in the Chilcotin in B.C., Shelter is the story of two sisters whose mother disappears — and the impact of those echoes and loss on their lives.

And yes, it's also about home, love and landscape, and realizing how little we really know about those closest to us for so many years — our mothers.

I'm a fast reader...
Shelter, by Frances Greenslade
However, I am very slow to get to the books I want to read...

I like to savour books as objects first, and anticipate the pleasure I'll get once I immerse myself in their pages.

And what fun it was to finally read Francie's internationally acclaimed book.

She's a great storyteller, and I loved the pitch-perfect voice of Maggie, her young narrator. Beautifully done!

(If you want to see for yourself, extracts of the novel are at Francie's site, and at Random House, her Canadian publisher. She also has a great book club guide.)

And as I write this, thinking about mothers and stories, I remember that my own mother lived for a while in Williams Lake, the town where the sisters in Shelter are billeted. Mom described it as a very wild place, perhaps more of an adventure than she, a young teacher from the prairies, was looking for! She was there 15 or 20 years before this novel takes place. I doubt much had changed, and I wish I could share this with her.   

Frances Greenslade - photo by Shelley Banks
That's my copy Frances Greenslade is signing...
Thanks, Francie!

* Ms Greenslade now lives, works and writes in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, but not so very many years ago, she lived in Regina, Saskatchewan, and joined us on Friday evenings for Writers Who Play Floor Hockey and Drink Bushwakker Beer. 

~~~~~


Monday, July 2, 2012

Connie Gault's Euphoria: Regina Cyclone

Euphoria, by Connie Gault
Euphoria - more than a tornado
I waited till this weekend to read Connie Gault's Euphoria, a novel set partly during the aftermath of the Regina Cyclone.

The timing was perfect.

It was the 100th anniversary of the Cyclone.  

I was alone, and could immerse myself in the story by this talented Regina writer.

And just days before I turned the first page, Regina was under its first significant tornado watch of the year.

The storm chasers came to town looking for funnel clouds and following storm cells across Saskatchewan's back roads. 

Seeing the footage on tornadohunter.ca brought it home to me how vulnerable we are to the weather on this wide open plain. 

Reading Euphoria, I could imagine wooden buildings constructed a century ago splintering under the wind, floors collapsing, roofs fleeing their foundations...

But Gault's novel is not about that storm. It's about promises, compromises and the stories people tell themselves, pivotal moments of change (including the cyclone), choices facing girls 100 years ago, a mysterious speechless child and the engaging character of Gladdie McConnell. And, yes, euphoria. And more. 

I sped through it in two evenings, and wished it was longer. Thanks, Connie, for an engaging read. 

~~~~~

Sunday, July 1, 2012

B.D. Miller: Boris Karloff and the Regina Cyclone

Photo courtesy
National Severe Storm Laboratory 
Regina playwright B.D. Miller's new work, Swept off our Feet: Boris Karloff and the Regina Cyclone, a full-length musical commemorating the Regina cyclone 100 years ago, opens at the Regina Summer Stage next week.

The play runs from July 10 through 14, 2012, at the Regina Performing Arts Centre, and features songs from the era.

(And yes, Boris Karloff really was in Regina when that massive tornado hit this (at the time, very new) city 100 years ago.)

B.D. Miller's play was commissioned by the Regina Summer Stage, with funding from the City of Regina Arts Commission. (He was also a runner-up for the recent City of Regina Writing Awards.)

The Performing Arts Centre is at 1077 Angus Street, Regina. For tickets or information, call 779-2277.

~~~~~

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