Sunday September 27th Howard Norman, The Almost Canadian

Sometimes a gift can come to you completely out of the blue and change your life forever. I’m sure the cantankerous senior librarian I once worked with was quite oblivious to the fact that he had given me something truly and absolutely wonderful one day through the simple recommendation of a book. This book was The Museum Guard by Howard Norman. From here, I zealously ploughed my way through his entire fiction repertoire without looking back.

It’s hard to actually pinpoint what it is about Norman that makes him so readable, but confirmation came to me, one day, that I’m not alone in my admiration. I was in a quiet little book store in Hobart, Tasmania, in search of a copy of The Bird Artist for my own collection, and the store owner shared with me how he had enjoyed reading it so much that he refused to read any of Norman’s other titles. He just wanted to keep that one book in isolation from anything else and not risk being disappointed. I know for a fact that he wouldn’t have been, but as an established fan, I knew exactly where he was coming from.

When I first started reading Norman’s novels I assumed he was Canadian, an easy mistake to make as his novels are all set in Canada. He is so at ease with the Canadian landscape and its people that it’s difficult to remember sometimes that he is, in fact, an American. Norman’s lengthy periods living here, though, have rewarded him with a profound empathy for the very essence of Canada.

Basically, there would be three reasons why I enjoy Norman’s writing so much. First would be his fascination with Aboriginal culture. After working with a number of Cree in Manitoba on a fire crew, he set about to change the direction of his life. This resulted in a devotion to Aboriginal languages and the translation of an array of poems and folktales. TBPL has two of these: one in our non-fiction collection, Northern Tales: Traditional Stories of Eskimo and Indian Peoples; and the other in our children’s collection, Trickster and the Fainting Birds. We also have Who-Paddled-Backward-With-Trout, which is an original children’s story. These all have beautiful illustrations and present the stories in a wonderful format for both children and adults.

Norman refers to the Aboriginal culture and way of life extensively in his earlier novels as well. In Fond Remembrance of Me is interesting in that it explores the stories of Noah’s Ark from the perspective of the Inuit culture, a somewhat different and entertaining approach to the traditional telling.

His first book, The Northern Lights is set initially in Northern Manitoba amongst the Cree and then concludes in Toronto. Whenever I’m walking on College Street in Toronto, I can’t help but be reminded of this story, as it revolves around a fictitious movie theatre located on this street.

My second reason would be a shared interest in ornithology. Howard has an extensive knowledge of Canadian birdlife and they are used as a literary tool in a number of his writings. Devotion draws a subtle correlation between a bevy of swans and the protagonists of the novel, depicting similarities and distinctions between their lives and behaviours. The Bird Artist, too, focuses largely on a young man, Fabian Vas, and the ongoing development of his talent as a bird artist. And similarly, in My Famous Evening, Nova Scotia Sojourns, Diaries and Preoccupations, a personalized travel guide of sorts, Norman gently weaves his extensive knowledge of bird life into the dialogue along the way.

The third reason would be Norman’s characters. Mildly odd and eccentric they are immediately intriguing. With a craftsman’s ease, Norman intertwines their idiosyncrasies into seemingly ordinary, even mundane, lives. But it is through this normality that Norman sustains an authenticity about his characters – a believable balance. They are simultaneously extraordinary and credible, and the reader is easily compelled by their foibles, habits, and complex relationships.

If you’re interested in trying Norman’s novels, I would recommend The Bird Artist, The Museum Guard, or The Northern Lights first. For a review of the first two, visit TBPL’s Best of the Backlist blog.

Rosemary Melville, Library Technician