Perdita by Hilary Scharper – Blog Tour

On April 16, 2013, Simon & Schuster Canada will be launching this wonderful debut novel from Hilary Scharper – Perdita. In support of the launch, I am happy to host Scharper on the first stop of her Blog Tour. Before we get into the interview, I would like to share a bit of background on the novel and some information about Scharper.

From the book’s description:

“After a love affair that ends in tragedy, Garth Hellyer throws himself into his work for the Longevity Project, interviewing the oldest living people on the planet. But nothing has prepared him for Marged Brice, who claims to be a stunningly youthful 134. Marged says she wants to die, but can’t, held back by the presence of someone she calls Perdita.

Garth, despite his skepticism, is intrigued by Marged’s story, and agrees to read “her” journals of life in the late 1890s. Soon he’s enthralled by Marged’s story of love, loss, and myth in the tempestuous wilderness of the Bruce Peninsula. He enlists the help of his childhood friend Clare to help him make sense of the mystery.

As Garth and Clare unravel the truth of Marged and Perdita, they discover together just what love can mean when it never dies.”

Early reviews have compared this novel to some literary heavyweights: Jane Eyre, Rebecca and Possession, in particular. I am a great fan of these works so was quite excited to read Perdita.

This novel very skilfully weaves together the themes of love and loss while bringing to life the strength, beauty and power of our natural world. Scharper has coined the term “eco-gothic”, an emerging literary form, to describe the style of her writing. In our Q & A session (see below) Scharper happily addressed my questions about this genre.

Hilary Scharper spent her summers as a young girl on the shores of Georgian Bay where she developed a deep love of its natural beauty. Later on, she studied anthropology at Yale University and eventually became interested in peoples’ stories about their relationships with the natural world. An anthropology professor at the University of Toronto, Scharper teaches wilderness and cultural approaches to nature.

Perdita will appeal to many readers and I feel it is a wonderful crossover book – a novel that will be a great treat for both mature YA readers and adult readers alike. The story moves back and forth in time and will hold appeal for those who enjoy historical fiction. As well, Scharper includes some very interesting mythology in her storytelling – I found this aspect of the novel fascinating. While I live in Ontario and have a good familiarity with the Bruce Penninsula, and really enjoyed being able to relate so well to the settings in Perdita, I feel readers who may not know as much about the area will gain a beautiful appreciation for this special place.

You can read the first chapter on Scribd.

So, without further ado, the Q & A session:

Literal Life: Your new novel, Perdita, may be an introduction for many readers to the concept of ‘eco-gothic’ as a literary form. Can you explain what this term means to you?

Hilary Scharper: Through the eco-gothic, I’ve tried to blend my love of the Gothic genre with my love of wild nature. As result, I do not treat nature as merely a backdrop or setting, but rather as an active and indeed central player in the narrative. I also like to think that the eco-gothic recognizes and engages with the fact that “we” are indeed at a moment of great ecological change and transition, and that some of our biggest challenges are in the area of human relationships with nature. Our imaginations are going to be key in this endeavor, and novels such as Perdita pick up on the challenge of getting us to explore those aspects of ourselves that seek out a deep interconnectedness with the natural world.

LL: For you, how do ‘eco-gothic’ and magical realism differ as genres?

HS: The novel has elements of both genres and these feed off one another throughout the story. In some respects, Garth Hellyer as the “modern” historian experiences magical realism, while Marged Brice (and the mystery surrounding her age as well as the figure of Perdita) conjures up the gothic. The wildness of Georgian Bay, however, and the moody unpredictable, natural landscapes of the novel are distinctly gothic—they do not represent an intrusion of magical elements into a convincing reality, but reflect something much more metaphysically complex and (for me) vibrant. The gothic doesn’t just “play” with our sense of reality—it lays claim to it in distinctive and often haunting kind of way. I wrote on this topic recently for The National Post.

LL: I know the Bruce Peninsula region of Ontario holds a special place in your heart and it made for a wonderful setting for Perdita. Are there other settings you can think of that would work well for future eco-gothic novels? (Will you continue writing in this genre?)

HS: I think there are an almost infinite number of settings for the eco-gothic—since it is about a unique connection to nature, not about specific places. The Bruce Peninsula and Georgian Bay are my own eco-gothic settings, but it’s my hope that readers will recognize their own distinctive connections. These may include the light at a particular time of year, the sound of migrating birds, a walk along the waterfront, an early morning fog, or the first smell of snow in the backyard. In my next novel, I take the eco-gothic into Toronto’s “Cabbagetown” and explore how the library of a famous literary father and a mysterious linden tree in the backyard come together in the life of a young woman named Katherine Harris. In this next novel, I explore an urban eco-gothic and the various kinds of wild nature found in cities.

LL: You will be celebrating the launch of Perdita on April 25th at Massey College in Toronto. In honour of your novel, you have said you will be wearing ‘eco-gothic attire’ and have invited others to join you by doing the same. Can you tell me what you will be wearing?

HS: The actual wording on the book launch invitation states that I will be “venturing” eco-gothic attire. I chose “venture” deliberately because I want to share the spirit of adventure underlying this novel. The gothic isn’t primarily about rational thought categories and controlled settings—it’s also about going “off-leash,” so to speak, and having a bit of fun. That being said, I will be wearing a long, hunter green velvet dress—romantic gothic couture designed by Rose Mortem. I asked Rose to combine the sleeves of her “Aislinn gown” with her “Calista Hooded faierie gown.” She did a gorgeous job and lined the hood with black lace. I’m still looking for my shoes…

LL: As well as being a novelist, you work as an Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Toronto. Does this work feed into your creative life and does it make historical fiction a natural fit for you as a writer?

HS: My work as a cultural anthropologist absolutely feeds into my writing—although I find writing fiction much more difficult than academic prose. I think the historical sensibility of the novel comes more from spending the last four decades of my life reading “classic literature.” To capture and convey a different historical time period is very much an act of imagination, but it also comes from steeping oneself in the language and cultural voices of a period. As an anthropologist, I’ve been very attuned to the different manners, customs and sensibilities conveyed in 19th century novels. As a result I’ve tried to situate my historical characters in a “natural” and convincing flow of settings and experiences.

I would like to thank Hilary Scharper for her time, and Loretta Eldridge, at Simon & Schuster Canada, for facilitating this interview.

Edited to add:

Continuing on the Blog Tour, in support of Perdita, Ms. Scharper visits the following blogs to talk a bit more about her debut novel:

April 15th: Historical Novel Review

April 16th: Browsing Bookshelves

Stray Love, by Kyo Maclear

Where do we belong in this world? If we aren’t even certain about our own origins, how can we possibly make our way in this world without a foundation of support and love? Especially “How?” if the person trying to figure this out is an eleven-year-old boy?

In beautiful, poetic prose Kyo Maclear takes on these questions in Stray Love, her second novel. For her young protagonist, Maclear tries to help make sense of a world that is determined to judge, label and put everyone in a tidy, little box. Marcel is neither black nor white. He is someone who is seemingly without parents and just wants to fit in. Finding the answers to these important questions is a lifelong search for him.

From the book’s description:

Born of an adulterous affair in London, England, Marcel is ethnically ambiguous, growing up in the racially charged 1960s with a white surrogate father named Oliver. Abandoned as an infant, Marcel is haunted by vague memories of his bohemian mother, and is desperate to know who his real parents are.

When Oliver is promoted to foreign correspondent, he leaves Marcel in the care of his ill-equipped friends, including the beautiful Pippa. The world is being swept by a wave of liberation—coups, revolutions and the end of colonialism. While Oliver rushes toward the action, Marcel is set adrift in swinging London, a city of magic—and a city where he can never quite fit in. Just when it seems they will never be reunited, Marcel is sent to join Oliver in Vietnam. But by the summer of 1963, the war is escalating, and Oliver is finally overwhelmed by his doomed love for Pippa. When Marcel eventually uncovers the shattering truth about his mother, his entire world is rearranged.

Now, as his fiftieth birthday approaches, Marcel is asked to take care of his friend’s eleven-year-old daughter, Iris. Prodded by her sharp-eyed company, he reflects on his own bittersweet childhood and the experiences that have shaped his present.

Using non-linear prose that moves from Marcel’s present to his tumultuous past, we are treated to a heartfelt examination of identity. The novel is populated by characters of mixed heritage who seem lost in their lives and in their loves. As a boy, Marcel is older than his years. Though loved by a makeshift collection of emotionally damaged caregivers, he is not truly anyone’s first priority. But Marcel is able to compartmentalize, has a talent for drawing and a devoted friend in Kiyomi so is able to escape from his life. At least for brief moments of time.

“Kiyomi had taught me the word. Moggy, she said, was a slang word for “cat”, but it was also a name for mongrels. “I am a moggy”, she said, “because dad is Scottish and mum is Japanese.” According to Kiyomi, moggies were half-ghost. Moggies cannot walk down the street or into a room or watch a movie without looking for themselves. When will I appear? was the question on the lips of most moggies.

I finished this read several weeks ago now and it is still sitting with me. I have delayed posting my review only because I am feeling a huge responsibility to do justice to both the novel and Maclear. But today, I just want to get something published here, to share my love of this wonderful book.

Each year I find a very small number of spectacular works of fiction that, for whatever reasons, seem to fly under the radar. I think Stray Love is such a book. So, do yourself a big favour and get your hands on a copy of this novel. (Even better, visit a local independent bookstore to purchase a copy! The trade paperback edition of Stray Love became available as of March 11th.) As it has with me, I think you will find the beauty and heart in Maclear’s novel. Marcel will take up space in your heart and, I hope, you will discover a new favourite author.

Ru by Kim Thúy

Ru: A Novel by Kim Thúy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We lost power for over 24 hours, thank to Super Storm Sandy, so I decided to re-read this beautiful book.

Kim Thúy’s novel, Ru was shortlisted for this year’s Giller Award. Released in its original French in 2010, it won the French-language Governor-General’s Award that same year, and has secured foreign rights in 15 countries. (Though according to a rep at Random House Canada, I have been told a U.S. publication date has not been established.) The English translation has been crafted beautifully by Sheila Fischman. While I was reading, I sensed the tenderness and integrity Fischman brought to this project. (But I would now like to read Ru in French!)

Ru is a fictional memoir told in beautiful vignettes that weave us through An Tinh’s escape from Vietnam to her time in a Malaysian refugee camp to her new life in Canada. The novel begins with a note on the meaning of ru. In French, it denotes a small stream or a flow – of water, blood, tears or almost anything else. In Vietnamese, ru means a lullaby.

The opening that follows, gives us a good idea of what’s in store:

I came into the world during the Tet Offensive, in the early days of the Year of the Monkey, when the long chains of firecrackers draped in front of houses exploded polyphonically along with the sound of the machine guns.

I first saw the light of day in Saigon, where firecrackers, fragmented into a thousand shreds, coloured the ground red like the petals of cherry blossoms or like the blood of the two million soldiers deployed and scattered through the villages and cities of a Vietnam that had been ripped in two.

I was born in the shadow of skies adorned with fireworks, decorated with garlands of light, shot through with rockets and missiles. The purpose of my birth was to replace lives that had been lost. My life’s duty was to prolong that of my mother.

I love the form this book takes and feel that the way Thúy tells us this story fully captures how we remember events from the past. Our recollections help form the big picture but it’s the snippets of memory, of moments along the way, that fit together like a puzzle and create the full portrait of a life. Even in its entirety life can be messy but whole, disjointed and connected at the same time. But from the chaos and uncertainty, physical and moral strength and endurance can emerge and sustain us.

Prior to the Giller Awards gala event, Thúy did a quick Q & A session with CBC Books.

I would suggest you take a few minutes to watch this video of Thúy, as she talks about writing Ru and the immigrant experience. Thúy has become my new favourite person. She’s bright, funny and quirky. Around these parts, we call that adorakable!

Read her book; won’t you? It’s one of my most favourite reads of 2012.

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Various Positions by Martha Schabas

Various Positions by Martha Schabas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Writer Lynn Coady sort of sums this novel up perfectly, with her back cover blurb: “The ever-shifting fault lines between the sex lives and sexual objectification of teenaged girls are traversed with all the artful nuance and precision of the ballet itself…a gripping and unflinching novel.”

This is Shabas’ first novel and it is mostly tight. The first few chapters were overly detail-laden – every bit of minutiae, “I folded the paper back into the envelope” sort of stuff, is noted. This took away momentum very early on but by about page 60…it was worked out and the action and details being written about help propel the story forward.

This novel is fairly dark and twisty. I spent a lot of time in this world so can identify completely and while I felt a lot of the story was well handled, at moments, it felt like a characterization in a spooferific and clichéd way. Hence, the dreaded 3-star rating.

Shabas definitely has talent and I look forward to her next book. She is a bold writer.

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Joyner’s Dream by Sylvia Tyson

Joyner’s Dream by Sylvia Tyson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was so happily surprised by Tyson’s novel. Cynically, I did wonder how much weight her musical fame carried in securing a publishing path for Tyson’s first novel. Well, I was sucked right in, by page three. Joyner’s Dream tells the multi-generational story of the Joyner-Fitzhelm families.

I shall link to the Globe and Mail‘s review for now, until I compile my own thoughts. Though, I do disagree with the reviewers comparison – likening Tyson to Robertson Davies. !?!?!

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