Jane Urquhart's novel was not one I would have read on my own, but it was on my Canadian Literature reading list. Though her writing style is somewhat flowery, it is, for the most part, an easy read. It consists of three seperate parts, the second being tedious, especially in the beginning. When Urquhart writes about Mary or Eileen the story is much more interesting than when Liam is the main character (which is in book II).I loved the beginning, with the sailor dying in Mary's arms, and all the nineteenth century Irish villagers thinking he was her 'daemon lover' and that she's been 'away'. The Irish famine, however, never really hurt the way I think it should. It didn't feel 'real'. The emigration to Canada is interesting, especially when they finally reach their piece of land, and it's just one big scary forest, as the wilderness tends to be in Canadian fiction. They literally have to start from scratch when it comes to housing, etc.Luckily, they are helped by other immigrants, and it is clear that in Canada, co-operation is more important than 'rugged individualism' which prevails in American literature.Eileen, Mary's daughter, is at first much more interesting than she is later in the novel. She's almost as 'away' as her mother, Mary was, and lives in the forest more than in the house, it seems. She is not concerned with Irish identity, but that changes when they sell the house and go to the village. There she comes into contact with Irish nationalism, and falls in love with Aidan.Aidan, at first, seemed like a major weak point in the book. It is said that he expresses the famine, immigration and Irish repression through dance, and all who watch him are so incredibly moved. His plan is to go to McGee, an Irish-born politician (and historical figure) who has 'betrayed' the Irish revolutionary nationalist cause, and dance for him, so that he will understand. Thankfully, this does not set everything right in the world, but for a little while I feared that his little interpretive dance would convince a politician of his errors. The novel ends with an interesting journey through a town that is up to its neck in river, which comes with some very amusing imagery, and eventually a political meet in Ottawa, where things come to a close in a way that I rather liked. The book is about identity, ties to the homeland, but in the end, about how it's better to stay away from violent revolutionary ideals. Leave that to those crazy Americans in the south.The link between Irish and Native American culture that is sometimes expressed (a sort-of-similar belief in spirits and having their lands taken by the English, etc.) is at best tentative, and I think she could have chosen from a host of other cultures and done exactly the same. Some form of belief in spirits, harmony with nature and colonised by a European power. Can't be that hard to find a culture like that, right?Dr. Jason King's guest lecture on the book made it more interesting to me, but to reiterate all the points he made and everything we discussed in class would be too exhaustive. All in all, a good book for a class discussion on Canadian immigration literature, but for myself I'd rather read something else.
Away is the second of the Canada Reads 2013 books to arrive from the library, and after being somewhat disappointed by Lisa Moore's February, I was a little worried when I cracked this one open.I needn't have worried. This book sucked me in from the first page. On the one had we have Esther, an elderly woman living on the edge of the Great Lakes in a home that is apparently going to be overrun by an expanding quarry. And at the same time, we have the story of her great-grandmother, Mary, who changed completely after finding a beautiful dying sailor, washed ashore from a shipwreck that cast cabagges, silver teapots, and caskets of whiskey up on the shore of the island she lives on in Ireland. That story follows Mary as she marries, and how she and her family emigrate to the colony of Canada during the Irish potato famine (a time period where a number of my own ancestors came to Canada from Ireland for the same reason). From there, it goes on to Eileen, Mary's daughter, who gets pulled into events that end with the assassination of Irish-Canadian politician, D'Arcy McGee.The writing is almost poetry, and the story has aspects of pure whimsy, and I didn't want it to end. I also wanted to know more about the peripheral characters, like Exodus Crow and the Captains Shaunessy. If the book had been twice the length, I still would have been immersed.
Do You like book Away (1997)?
for me, the strength of this novel was in the middle section of the story. during this part, i was fully engaged and fell into the flow of the writing. the first and final thirds of the book, though, were just so-so for me. too many times during these sections i felt like ideas were being floated at the reader or moments of 'aren't i clever?' (through the use of language or how certain sentences were structured) were happening and it distracted me. i also didn't really feel there was a good flow in these sections and i remained detached from the story. when i read this book, back when it first came out...i was only so-so about it at that time, though more specifics are lost to me as it's been so long. i wasn't very excited to pick it back up as a re-read for the canada reads debates on cbc, but i was hopeful that i would like it more this time around - as with age sometimes comes broader perspectives. given that i was reading away in context of the canada reads debates...i wonder what my re-read experience would have been like were this not the case? out of the five books in contention...this is my least favourite and pales in comparison to my favoured novel, Indian Horse. as with the other books, there are shared themes but i think they are addressed better in the other books. (the ideas of loneliness, solitude, love, religion, historical moments in canada, etc...). i also think the appeal of away will be to a smaller audience. my top three books - indian horse, Two Solitudes and February - i highly recommend to all readers. this novel and The Age of Hope i would only recommend to certain readers.that's a lot of rambling...sorry.
—Jennifer D
While it took me some time to warm up to the book, I ended up becoming lost in Urquhart's lyrical prose and storytelling, which created a very enjoyable read. The beginning was slow and a little odd, it was a combination of folklore and magical realism - or perhaps a mental illness. Either way you look at it, it was an odd beginning of the book and an odd way to introduce the cast of characters. Despite an odd beginning, the author pulls it off, and pulls the reader into her lyrical writing style and storytelling. Once things picked up, there were many times the book was hard to put down, as I was well involved with the story. I enjoyed how Urquhart highlighted the immigrant experience when the book moved to settings from Ireland to Canada, especially when they initially arrived and the characters first nights living in their new home was rather haunting, Urquhart captured that experience perfectly. Even at the books more weaker points, I found myself lured in by the prose, which was stunning. Characterization had some issues, although I did enjoy the eccentric and flawed characters the book had, I didn't love them. They carried the story forward, but when I was finished reading the book, I wasn't left with a character who left an imprint on me. Also the first half of the book was rather unusual, and while it had some interesting folklore tied into it, I found it didn't tie into the rest of the story as well as it could have. Otherwise it was an enjoyable read, with lovely prose.Also found on my book review blog Jules' Book Reviews - Away
—Julie
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the historical backdrop both in Ireland and Canada. The introduction of the landlords was wonderful and added a lightness to what was otherwise potentially very dark. Especially since they were so oblivious and blind.The away bits were believable for me if you compare them to depression - which I have been told feels like you are away from yourself, your family and your surroundings. An interesting take and makes the whole story believable.Wonderfully written and a very good read. Dragged a bit here and there for me therefore no 5 stars from me (very few ever get the 5 star standard). This was however, very close for me and I would have given it 4.5.
—Shannon
