And while finding reviews and interviews is now super easy, I can't for the life of me recall whether I've read Richard Ford before. In addition, I've learned from my former coworker John that I might have had dinner with Richard Ford at David Schwartz's house may years ago, perhaps in 1990. My first thought was "I had dinner with Richard Ford and didn't read his book? How rude!" and then I remembered how often that happens at conventions. Plus I was young.

And that was a good thing. Our friend Carol had been telling us for years how wonderful Canada was, and unlike the Bascombe novels, it was a stand-alone. It's the story of a teenage boy, Dell Parsons, whose life is interrupted when his parents Bev and Neeva fall on hard times and try to rob a bank. He's separated from his twin sister Berner, very different from him but still his only friend of any sort, when she runs away after their parents are apprehended. He's sent away to a small town in Saskatchewan, only to be placed in another precarious situation. Camped at a lodge for hunters, owned by the brother of a friend of his mom's, he's left alone with Charley Quarters, an eccentric Metis (French-Indian), only to be eventually pulled into the orbit of Arthur Remlinger, who has a secret past. And as you've guessed, things don't go well.

Several critics noted a change in style for Ford on Canada. Dell Parson, the teenage protagonist of Canada, is a quiet introspective observer desperate for normality, very different from Frank Bascombe. To me, Canada seemed like an interesting blend of storytelling styles, Southern gothic and Western sweep.
And now, I must warn you there are spoilers ahead!

For the most part, the in store lit group was quite enthusiastic about Canada. Juli was swept up in the sense of place, the desolation of the landscape, as was Linda. Gail loved the writing and would stop to admire sentences. Jo, who was hesitant at first, thought it was incredible. And while Joyce found it slow going at first, once Dell started having more contact with other people, her view changed. I found it interesting that we had a very different opinion from Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times, who loved part one of the book but was disappointed with part two. The group as a whole preferred the Saskatchewan story.

Here are some topics we had fun discussing:
--Dell's obsession with bees. The social structure he didn't have? The quest for normality?
--Dell seeing life through glass and mirrors, a motif that reflected his life action plan
--The odd dynamic of Dell's parents, Bev and Neeva. Why did Neeva commit the crime? Why didn't she leave?
--The philosophy of the novel--one mistake can change your life forever
--Dell's survival skills
--The exaggerated nature of several characters in the story, notably Charlie and Arthur
--Why exactly did Neeva leave Dell in the care of Mildred, who previously had very little presence in the story?

International jackets shown are for the British, Italian, and German versions of Canada, and in one case, Kanada. I looked at several more and they all follow the same bleak formula. The British version is the only one with the Canadian maple leaf; the European jackets tended to implied bleak landscapes. I thought the Germans picked a better photo than the Italians.
Our upcoming in-store lit group discussions, both at 7 pm:
--Monday, October 5: Helen Oyeyemi's Boy Snow Bird
--Monday, November 2: Brian Morton's Florence Gordon.
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