Unison
There’s a construction worker belting out a song on the site next door. The notes came in through my window so I opened the door to hear them. Outside it is pelting a hailstone-ish sleet and his notes curved around and out from the building into it. It might well be the most perfect unison of note and weather I have ever heard.
The lyric he sang was something like “whatchuwawnt” with a reggae sound. Reggae and snow on a Tuesday who knew?
Georgia Straight: Malarky selected as a best book of 2012
This week’s Georgia Straight contained some pretty wild and cheery news.
In the Georgia Straight Best Books of 2012 round up an extraordinary occurrence (by my standards anyway) three different critics chose Malarky as one of their picks in the same article!
Thank you to Brian Lynch, Michael Hingston and Alexander Varty for the thoughtful reflections on Malarky. Much appreciated.
Was also glad to be beside Karolina Waclawiak‘s novel How to Get Into the Twin Palms published by the dynamic Two Dollar Radio and Leanne Shapton’s Swimming Studies, which has to be a serious contribution to what Lidia Yuknavitch (another swimmer: see her Chronology of Water) termed “a literature of the body” during our panel discussion at Wordstock — The Portland Writers Festival.
Here are the three extracts:
Malarky
(By Anakana Schofield. Biblioasis)
In her debut novel, the Vancouver-based writer rolls out a fully realized marvel of a character, one who seems like she’s been there all along, waiting to be written into story form. Our Woman, as she’s named here, belongs to the settled ways of the Irish countryside—until her world is capsized by the hidden sexual lives of her husband and her son. Schofield has fashioned a truly memorable figure, clear as day from the opening pages of this raw, sad, funny book, and yet consistently surprising. (Brian Lynch)
Malarky
(By Anakana Schofield. Biblioasis)
Great fiction takes risks. That’s why descriptions of a classic and an utter fiasco can sound so similar. And yes, in theory, the debut novel by Vancouver’s Anakana Schofield is far from a sure thing: it’s an obsessive, voice-driven novel about a grieving Irish housewife that runs along irregular timelines and lingers at unusual places. It also never, ever apologizes for itself. More importantly, it all works. Joe Biden may have done more to repopularize the word malarky this year, but Schofield’s electrifying novel will leave a much longer impression. (Michael Hingston)
Malarky
(By Anakana Schofield. Biblioasis)
I laughed, I cried, and I’m not kidding. The immensely gifted Anakana Schofield’s vivid study of a middle-aged Irish housewife’s nervous breakdown has a huge heart and a fierce brain; Malarky is, by a wide margin, the most memorable fiction I’ve read this year. Our Woman invents some dubious remedies for her diabetes, not to mention her sense of shame and loss over her husband’s philandering and subsequent death; nine out of 10 doctors would not prescribe fruitcake and sex with strangers. But sometimes cures can take curious form, in life as in this extremely delicious novel. (Alexander Varty)
Gerry Gilbert
I was just thinking in the last half hour of a Gery Gilbert poetry book from the Gronk series called May 1931. Maybe 3 years ago I made a video reading a bit of it one night. I was v tired when I recorded it, but when I couldn’t recall the name of the poetry book I went hunting for the video. Lo there it was! The book captured and not just the title and details and poems recorded but my long gone candy stripe couch for posterity. Who knew Gerry Gilbert would imprint my candy stripe couch to digital pixels along with providing me with a weather treasure. Rock on Gerry whereever you may be now — resting peacefully I hope.
*
Did you feel that chilly wind today? What an arctic gust she was! Lordy! The weather data insisted 6 or 4 degrees but it was so cold I find that measurement did not capture the experience. Science bedamned. It was fecking freezing and I had my arctic parka on.
Warmth
Dear friends,
Here is a blast of warming for you all during these darker winter days. Today we have a wind warning for overnight, but the world is quite still and almost a tad pulpy looking out there. Wherever you are I hope you enjoy this collaboration. I especially appreciated the hilly twinkles in the piece Pendulum. On an off beat note, I did wonder how the Mr Fain fiddler manages to play all those notes in such a restrictive jacket and how he doesn’t overheat. I wrote many parts of my novel Malarky listening to Metamorphosis 4 on repeat. I wonder if you can hear it under the prose.
I send you all my best Winter warmth and gratitude for your warm support throughout the year for Malarky. AK.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_jDwx9TYo4&w=560&h=315]