What鈥檚 the best Canadian novel ever? A couple of weeks ago I bemoaned the fact that not one Canadian novel had made a list of the best 100 novels of all time. And I asked for your ideas.
You came through. I was deluged with suggestions. So here are some of your nominations 鈥� from high-school students to a 91-year-old with an eye for a great read. You guys know your CanLit.
Allison Vanleeuwen, on behalf of the students of Claremont and the English department:
鈥淭he students of Claremont Secondary prefer Yann Martel鈥檚 Life of Pi to any other Canadian novel in our library.鈥�
Jon Blair:
鈥淚鈥檇 like to nominate Robertson Davies鈥� Fifth Business.
鈥淚鈥檝e been re-reading it now for 43 years. The narrator, Dunstan Ramsay, is heroic and the winner of a Victoria Cross, but what makes him so fascinating is his penetrating eye for human behaviour.
鈥淪till, making lists of 鈥�;the 100 best books of all time鈥� is kind of inane, anyway, unless one is conversant with every language from Finnish to Urdu to Welsh.鈥�
Jean Freer:
鈥淚鈥檓 a huge fan of many Canadian authors. Margaret Laurence and Mordecai Richler are favourites. Choose one? Richler鈥檚 The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.鈥�
James A. Rogers:
鈥淣ow that I am 91, it is rare indeed for me to be writing to the press. But I couldn鈥檛 resist your invitation for nominations for books to be included in the best 100 Canadian novels. Particularly since I doubt you鈥檝e heard of my choice.
鈥淚t is The Rock in the Water by Bill Conall, published in 2009. It鈥檚 got humour throughout, plus some lovely phrasing.
鈥淎 truly delightful book.鈥�
Patricia Thornton:
鈥淢ay I submit a rare gem of Canadian literature? It is called The Lark in the Clear Air by Dennis Sears.
鈥淏riefly, it is the story of a young Alberta lad who, after being tragically orphaned, transports some horses to the east. There, he searches and finds an irascible uncle who farms in a mythical setting in northern Ontario.
鈥淚f you have not read this book, I promise you a Great Canadian Novel.鈥�
Sandy O鈥橰eilly, now in Victoria, lately of Shanghai:
鈥淗ow can you choose a 鈥�;best鈥� book? Impossible to my mind. Isn鈥檛 the book you are most engrossed in at the moment the best one?
鈥淚 loved Who Has Seen the Wind, Barometer Rising, Where Nests the Water Hen, Lost in the Barrens, The Stone Carvers, William Kinsella, Stephen Leacock, Mordecai Richler, Jack Hodgins, Evelyn Lau, Thomas King, Davies, Callaghan, Stuart McLean, Gail Bowen, William Deverell, David Richard Adams (though his books are dark, they are marvellously written).
鈥淎nd you never even mentioned Timothy Findley.
鈥淭oday I am in love with Louise Penny. She writes mystery novels. Sometimes her prose takes you to another place. It is so lyrical and evocative.鈥�
Meg Scoffield, Port Alberni:
鈥淰ancouver Island on its own suggests names like Jack Hodgins, Esi Edugyan, Lorna Crozier.
鈥淏ut to name just one for 鈥�;best of,鈥� for me it would have to be Alistair MacLeod for No Great Mischief, a masterpiece of a novel that took 10 years to write. The language is pure; the story of the Scots settlers in Cape Breton so much part of 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 history. The characters stay with me like people I know and care about.鈥�
Shirley Johnson:
鈥淚 think for pure delight, I鈥檇 go with Robertson Davies鈥� Deptford Trilogy.鈥�
My thanks for all your suggestions. Carol Shields, Margaret Laurence and Margaret Atwood also received many nods.
So too did Lucy Maude Montgomery. Perhaps Anne of Green Gables should be our iconic Canadian novel. Our Tom Sawyer. A compelling novel of time and place. And beloved around the world. Not a bad thought. Keep reading.
听
Ian Haysom, Global news director 乌鸦传媒, divides his week between Vancouver and Central Saanich.
