Village Squire, 1976-10, Page 32ABOUT BOOKS
Enchanted Summer
an enchanting book
BY ELLEN STAFFORD
Gabrielle Roy won recognition with herfirst
novel, The Tin Flute, set in working-class
Montreal, a sensitively written portrayal of a
girl's dreams versus the harsh realities of her
existence in the pre-war Depression.
Since then she has written several fine
novels: The Hidden Mountain, The Cashier,
among others. All are available in- paperback
in New Canadian Library editions published
by McClelland and Stewart.
Her latest book, Enchanted Summer, is not
a novel, but a collection of personal
observations. No trenchant opinions here, but
a linked series of small adventures in the
Quebec countryside -- a walk with a cat
following querulously; another expedition, to
escort an old lady to the stream where she
used to wade as a small girl. Accompanied by
the small dog Tontine, also in her old age,
they witness a moment when the old lady of
the present meets and merges with the child
of the past, a moment close to the end of the
old cousin's life, And to the death of the little
dog also.
Ms. Roy's writings have always had an
incandescence, and an awareness of the
beauty and sadness of life, the continuity of
experience. She is a writer for those who can
join her in her delicate explorations of a
moment in time. Translated by Joyce
Marshall, Enchanted Summer is 7.95,
published by McClelland and Stewart.
In The Far Side of the Street another
well-known Canadian writer, Bruce Hutchi-
son, reminsces about his past as newspaper
man. Here the account is not always probing
and serious, sometimes robust and hilarious.
As a journalist of exceptional acclaim and
privilege, he is able to shed light on the past
of our country as well as his own life. He calls
himself an "impartial spectator" which may
seem a far cry from much of today's
journalism: he was in fact at the heart of his
country's history in the years of his career,
and dose to the seats of the mighty as well,
although his involvement with the political
scene did not divorce him from his beloved
west -coast wilderness. He stayed uninvolved
with the hectic socializing that can accompany
newspaper work, and proclaims that "a good
privy, symbol of the outdoor life, stood far
ahead of any office job on the mainland."
The author was -- and is -- of course not a
_backwoodsman by any means but his
30, VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1976
determination to retain some control over his
way of life sets him apart and makes his
memoirs a refreshing change of pace from
many. The Far Side of the Street by Bruce
Hutchison, $15.95, MacMillan.
Lifelines -- the Stacey Letters, edited by
Jane Vansittart, tells the story of the fight for
survival of a "remittance man" from London
England, who settled with his wife and family
in Quebec's Eastern Townships. There he
and his wife experienced probably more than
the usual run of hard luck and hard work, all
of which he chronicled in letters home to this
father. George Stacey seemed to live only as a
result of the hope that played so large a part
in his daily life -- hoping for money to pay his
debts, to invest in mills, he was forever
doomed to disappointment.
Poor George: even a routine day is apt to
involve him in calamity,for one letter begins
in his writing and continues in that of a
daughter, for "Papa had written this far when
he had occasion to go into the kitchen.
Eugene had opened the trap door to the cellar
to go in search of potatoes..." And so George
ended up in bed. "he had bruised every bone
in his body..." and so life goes on. Meantime
the children received "serviceable presents.
historical books" ...Poor George was never
forgiven for the errors of his youth: an
advance of 200 pounds was sent with many
restrictions as to its use: "the erection of a
grist mill ... which at your death will belong to
your children, and for no other purpose
whatsoever". After his wife's all too typical
death in childbirth, pressed to divide the
property among his children when the
youngest became of age, he protested at last:
"Possibly I may not live for 10 years more,
but should I survive that long it seems hard,
not to say cruel, that I am to be left a beggar
and without land at all, at a time of life when I
should not be able to earn my own living, as a
younger man might. After all the trouble and
work I have had in beginning, keeping and
improving this property, it seems a bitter
blow and a most unfair and heartless
business." Fortunately his children did not
behave as did Lear's two eldest: they agreed
that he should have a life -interest in the
property and that it would not be sold in his
lifetime. Shortly after this episode the letters
end. Lifelines - the Stacey Letters 1836-1858,
Collins, 11.95.
Ellen Stafford is owner of Fanfare Books in
Stratford.
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