Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 27, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Editor Morley Walker / 697-7307 email Mwalker free press my Ca books sunday free press cd �7 Winnipeg july 27, 1997 do likable Way to spend an evening with . An evening with . Mitchell by . Mitchell Mcclelland amp Stewart 261 pages $30 reviewed by Harry Rintoul a Winnipeg playwright in the pantheon of Canadian writers . Mitchell stands alone. Since the publication of has seen the wind in 1947, few writers have etched their Persona so indelibly into the hearts and minds of readers and critics. No other writer in the last 50 years has moved As freely and skilfully through the genres of novel essay radio drama stage and live performance. Mitchells new Book contains 31 of his Favourite performance pieces. Each is introduced with a explanatory paragraph stating where and when each piece originated. There Are the excerpts from his novels you would expect hilarious scenes from the vanishing Point and How i spent my summer vacation and stronger More emotive scenes from has seen the wind and roses Are difficult Here and the evocative chapter body language from since Daisy Creek. In one of two letters addressed to Alberta Premier Ernest Manning father of reforms Preston Mitchell satirically addresses the Alberta governments attempt to pass anti Hutt Erite legislation. In the other Mitchell praises the Alberta censors for Banning books like the Catcher in the Rye while complaining his own books were failing to Benefit from the publicity. Mitchells letter became appropriate in the 1970s and 1980s when has seen the wind was banned by school boards in British Columbia and new Brunswick. Mixed in with the old favourites Are several new pieces which have not been published before. There Are seven pieces written in the Early �?T60s, dealing with Mitchells recollections of his childhood written in the Early 1960s. There Are selections from Jake and the kid and according to Jake . Mitchell a towering figure in Canadian literature. And the kid Mitchells classic tales of the fatherless kid and the Salt of the Earth farm hand Jake. Heard in the 1950s As a cog radio drama then published As collections of Short stories both won the Stephen Leacock award for Humour. The last selection is without a doubt one of Mitchells finest pieces of writing the poetry of life his last speech delivered in 1996 to the writers Union of Canada annual general meeting in Winnipeg which moved Many in the audience to tears. An evening with . Mitchell is a Welcome addition to the already outstanding body of work from one of this country a Best writers and is a fitting tribute to Mitchell at 83, no longer performs his works in Public. Bestsellers based on sales at Mcnally Robinson booksellers As of july 21 hardcovers 1. Its just Prairie. Ron Richardson. Regional photography. $34.00 2. Boom bust and Echo How to profit from the coming demographic shift David foot with Daniel Stoffman. Business. $29.95 3. Simple abundance. Sarah ban breath Nach. Inspiration. $22.95 4. Unnatural exposure Patricia Corn Well. Mystery. $34.95 5. Fall on your Knees Anne Marie Macdonald. Canadian fiction. $29.95 6. Into thin air Jon Krakauer. Memoir. $33.95 7. Martha Stewart just desserts Jerry Oppenheimer. Biography. $31.00 8. The gift of fear Gavin Debecker. Memoir. $30.95 9. Promise cities Naomi Wolf. Women a studies. $29.95 10. The partner John Grisham. Fiction. $34.95 Trade paperback 1. Canoeing Manitoba a Rivers John Buchanan. Outdoors. $14.951 2. Summer of my amazing Luck Miriam Toews. Canadian fiction. $16.95 3. Songs in Ordinary time Mary Mcgarry Morris. Fiction. $17.99 4. Scenic secrets of Manitoba Bill Stilwell. 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A those Are my glamorous Mug shots a the woman explains to her Nephew a in Case i forget i am a or was a or in Case somebody Ever found me dead and its a disturbingly memorable Little anecdote in a Book filled with them. The pulitzer prize winning author of Independence Day 1995 turns out prose As deftly As anyone writing today you re unlikely to forget either the scenes he paints in such telling detail or the dislocated characters he presents with such painful clarity. Knight Ridder newspapers pretend you done to see her by Mary Higgins Clark Simon amp schuster 318 pages $34 the word a a gripping is often used to describe Many Good suspense novels but its one that simply does no to come to mind for Mary Higgins Clarks 15th and latest novel. Perhaps that wont matter to her avid followers. Done to misunderstand. Numerous ingredients of a compelling mystery Are Here. Clarks powerful suck you right in beginning is Only a bit More than two pages and does indeed lure you in. Her language is direct and easy making the Story a Quick read. Knight Ridder newspapers curious title unfolds in engrossing novel first blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of women by Erie Mccormack Viking 272 pages $25 _ reviewed by Adelia Neufeld Wiens a Winnipeg freelance writer before you can like this Book you have to forgive the author for his hideous Choice of a title. Never mind that it makes perfect sense by the time you reach the end. Its still a difficult title a politically incorrect hard to remember and terribly puzzling. This Enigma is one of the things that makes this novel so wonderful. A recent article in saturday night Magazine described the scottish born Ontario academic Erie Mccormack As a the thinking persons Stephen its no Surprise then that Mccormack has chosen a title which has echoes from the 16th Century. First blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of women is what the englishman John Knox called his treatise against government by women. But Mccormack came to Winnipeg from Scotland in 1966 to do his pad in English is not writing a diatribe against women. Not really anyway. It is More of a diatribe against those misconstrue the meaning of love and Trust. This is Mccormack a third novel and it continues in his characteristic gothic style mixing horrifying events with fantastic Story telling. Born in the scottish town of Stroven the novels Central character Andrew Hal night is familiar with sorrow. At birth Andrew has to be pried apart from his twin sister and each Bear Matching birthmarks on their chests. When his father acc Dently crushes the baby girl to death and commits suicide in the Wake of the horror Andrew and his Mother Are left alone. Andrewes Mother Dies when he is la and he is sent to live with his Only relatives on an exotic volcanic Island off Africa. On the Island of St. Jude Andrew witnesses his uncles murder at his aunts hand. Once again his life is shattered. Andrew is adopted by the warm Friendly Chapman family and it seems for a time that Andrew May in fact be Able to find love and normalcy. But when a tidal wave wipes out the entire Island and Andrew is one of the few survivors it seems Clear that everywhere he goes the result is horror and destruction. When Andrew finally grows up and settles near Toronto in the fictitious town of Cambe Loo we Are not surprised that he has a troubled adulthood. He searches for peace in drink opium sex and books. No matter How hard he tries to avoid the recurrent nightmares which feature a column of women in Long Black cloaks his melancholy very nearly paralyses him. The ending of the Book is Ever so satisfying. Andrew experiences a catharsis a very real rebirth and discovers that he has found the Paradise which he hardly dared believe in. This novel is so much More than a thinking persons thriller. It is a novel of imagination and the search for meaning in the face of tragedy. Mccormack has written a terrific engrossing Story to read this summer. Very Little special about this delivery by Roswitha Dudar a Winnipeg teacher librarian All right ladies hands up. How Many of you having reached your 50th birthday would be thrilled with the news that you were once again pregnant can you say prozac Amanda Robbins a widowed actress in potboiler Queen Danielle steels special delivery hardcover delacorte pres seems to have no real problems with this scenario. In fact she a darn cheerful about it. Lets Back track. Initially Amanda is convinced her life is Over and frankly her daughters like it this Way. Its sort of a tribute to their sainted but Dull father. Then she meets the Debonair Jack Watson just happens to be her daughters father in Law. As things heat up Between Amanda and Jack they need to find a Way to break the news to their children. Special delivery intertwines a number of stories and it soon becomes difficult to focus on the Central plot. There is a decided Lack of dialogue and the ongoing description of what each character is feeling becomes slightly monotonous. Generally steel fares better with her longer novels like Crossings. The horror and shame of Date rape Are the topic of . Writer Belva Plains secrecy hardcover delacorte press. Charlotte Dawes is Only 14 when she is raped by a Young family Friend. In their Small new England town things Are Best kept under wraps so no charges Are Laid against the boy. Unfortunately the assaults continue with other girls As the victims. When the perpetrator disappears Charlotte Hopes to get on with her life but finds it difficult to establish an intimate relationship or to enjoy her Success As an architect. Plain a master of family sagas does a Good Job of expressing the aftereffects of rape and delving into the mind of its victims. She loses momentum about Halfway through though with the addition of some unnecessary plot twists leaving secrecy with a weak ending. Those like a dash of mystery with their Romance should Check out ugly duckling by Iris Johansen paperback Bantam. Nell Calder is a Plain but happily married socialite whose world Falls apart during a terrorist attack. She survives but requires extensive facial surgery to Correct the hideous injuries she suffered. Thanks to a miraculous plastic surgeon she is turned into a stunningly Beautiful woman. Johansen knows How to Tell a Good Story and has a real Talent for describing the cloak and Dagger tactics of terrorism. This Book is Well Worth your time this summer. A Promise to her dying sister sees Hannah Gray escaping with her Nephew from the Iron listed Rule of her brother in Law in morning song by american Kimberly Cates paperback pocket books desperation drives Hannah to seek employment at Ravenscar Manor. The Job she accepts requires her to transcribe music for the master of the Manor Austen Dante is not exactly a Charm school graduate. Cates is a Strong writer includes a healthy dose of adventure in her books. Morning song is excellent Beach material not too taxing but not brain Candy of the cent Rya commemorative Book available october 1997 for $29.95 p us taxes shipping and handling. Net proceeds will be donated to Manitoba flood Relief Reserve your copy Nowa Beautiful hardcover Tabletop Book chronicling Manitoba a triumphant Battle with the red River in stunning full Colour photographs and illuminating text. Pre order form do not Send Money now name to address a phone mail to flood of the Century Box 1997, Winnipeg free press 1355 Mountain ave., r2x3b6winnipeg free press on the night table Sharon Baler Winnipeg actor Quot in a Reading when things fall apart by Pema Chadron. She san american Buddhist nun. And each chapter is a transcript of a different talk she s Given. Its All about finding peace in your everyday life about being Content with what you have. In a not a Buddhist but in a interested in its philosophy and ;