Scan barcode
A review by ridgewaygirl
His Whole Life by Elizabeth Hay
3.0
Elizabeth Hay's new novel tells the story Jim and his mother Nan during his early adolescence. It's a time of change in their lives, beginning with a summer spent on an Ontario lake as Jim enjoys his last summer of childhood and his mother decides whether or not to stay in her marriage. At the same time, Canada is preparing for the second Quebec referendum, and Nan's feeling about her family are entwined with her feelings about Canada's future.
This isn't a book were a lot happens. It's entirely domestic in scope, exploring families and forgiveness in families, which is usually exactly the kind of book I most enjoy. And the writing is very fine. Nonetheless, this book never really captured my attention; I was always turning pages and counting chapters. It never felt real to me. It did, however, capture the tension of that referendum vividly, with Canadians on both sides feeling passionately about the issue.
This isn't a book were a lot happens. It's entirely domestic in scope, exploring families and forgiveness in families, which is usually exactly the kind of book I most enjoy. And the writing is very fine. Nonetheless, this book never really captured my attention; I was always turning pages and counting chapters. It never felt real to me. It did, however, capture the tension of that referendum vividly, with Canadians on both sides feeling passionately about the issue.