I. Am. Canadian.eh
Happy Canada Day!
Around here, it's not about the Barbeque--not a good idea on a eighth floor balcony--or the fireworks--that's the August Civic Holiday. Around here, it's all about the books.
Admittedly, a lot of occasions around here involve books. Birthdays, Christmas, the monthly arrival of the Scholastic catalogue (cut off for two whole months! sob)....a lot of opportunities for the book buying. But Canada Day is a little different.
Canada Day books give me the opportunity to ensure that The Ladies develop an appreciation for and pride in the literature of their nation. We have a tonne of books in our home. Books on shelves. Books in baskets. Books in boxes. Books on the bed and under the couch. It would be easy for really great Canadian authors to be overlooked in this avalanche of children's literature, and that would be a tragedy. So each year, I take this opportunity to celebrate my country by celebrating its literature.
Over the years, we've amassed quite the collection of Dennis Lee, Marie Louise Gay and Phoebe Gilman, among others. This year we're adding to our Marie Louise Gay collection by expanding the world of Stella with a Sam collection for Regan. While Sabrina still enjoys picture books, she's a full fledged reader now and to celebrate, she'll get her very first Classic Canadian Novel this year: Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
Some of it's prizewinning, some of it's not, but I hope either way, it serves to help my children realize that there is a wealth of wonderful literature in the world, some of it in their own backyard. It's a reminder I need too sometimes, so I include myself in this tradition as well. In addition to books for The Ladies, I treat myself to a new piece of Canadian fiction each July. This year I had been planning on The Penelopiad, but when I saw this, I just couldn't resist.
I've been a Gordon Korman fan since I could read, which coincides pretty well with as long as he's been writing. The Macdonald Hall Series, Bugs Potter, and Don't Care High all hold special places in my heart. As a child and young adult reader, Gordon Korman's world, filled as it was with crazed, improbable, hilariously funny situations, over the top characters, and plots that had just enough nuggets of reality to allow you to suspend disbelief and jump right in, rocked mine. But then I grew up and so did he. And as I struggled to find my place in the adult world, Korman seemed to be struggling to find his adult voice in the literary one. Sadly, as often happens with childhood friends, we lost touch. Until I saw him sitting on the shelf--in hard cover, no less---and decided to give our adult relationship one last try.
I'm so glad I did. I respect an artist's need to stretch and challenge himself, but the serious yet formulaic vein he's been working in for the past few years has really not beeen the best showcase for Korman's talents. Korman is a master of the fish out of water scenario. His most memorable stories often centre around a normal guy surround by capital C characters who constantly disrupt his life by sucking him into their zany antics. Leo Carraway, the Young Republican suddenly thrust into the world of a group of middleaged punk rockers on a comeback tour fits this mould perfectly, and takes it to the next level. Leo is not some boy caught up in high school shenanigans; he's a young man coming to terms with himself and living life as an adult for the first time, and his perspective on the events that take place reflects this. While the themes of self-discovery and personal growth through extreme circumstances are fairly whitebread in the world of young adult literature, the vehicle Korman chooses to tell his story is not. This is no tale of a wild and crazy band trip complete with accidental rockstardom and idiot jewel thieves or a story of a high school election prank run amok. In Born To Rock, the basic premise centres around the consequences of sex, drugs and rock and roll--or what happens when you find out that you're the product of a one night stand between your mother and the Angriest Man in rock and roll.
Heavy stuff, but told with that signature Korman style. It seems that after some false starts and experiments in other genres, Korma has finally managed to meld his comedic instincts with his maturity as a writer. Where he used to be manic, he's become wry. From the opening line, "The thing about a cavity search is this: it has nothing to do with the dentist," Born To Rock elicits smiles and chuckles, as Leo narrates the events that lead to this watershed realization. This is classic Korman, but it's a young adult novel with a grown up twist. The themes are more mature, the characters, even the minor ones, are fully fleshed out, and the plot, while returning Korman to his zany roots, doesn't demand nearly the suspension of disbelief as some of his earlier work. Like his original fans, Korman's talent has finally grown up.
So, even though he's not technically a Canadian writer anymore, I can't think of any other book, or author, that could have possibly made me as happy to be Canadian as this one did this weekend.
Comments
Happy Canada Day Solo Mom!
I too appreciate you love for literature and share that love with my son. What better gift to give to your girls than love for their Country and for the literature that is a product of Canadian authors.
ooh, thanks for the review of the Godon Korman book, haven't read any of his books in a very long time but this one sounds like it's worth picking up! Neat idea for a Canada Day tradition!
Yay for Canada!
HAppy Happy to you! ( Ok it is little late but so be it)
Love Canada
