Her role might sound wonderful to the likes of you and me, but she has grown weary of it and wishes to escape her lonely urban life. Any evidence that an ancestor had performed any acts other than working and praying was usually destroyed. The Canadian tradition was, she had found, on the whole, genteel. Lou dug and devilled in library and files, praying as she worked that research would reveal enough to provide her subject with a character. Describing her job is one of the first moments I stopped to note down the beautiful precision of Engel’s writing: Lou is a librarian in Toronto, though her role seems to encompass archivist as well. When it turned out to match the club year, it was a no-brainer to pick up. When it was reprinted by Daunt Books this year, I got a copy (and it was another recommendation, really, because Daunt are so flawless in their choice of reprints). Because of him, Bear has been on my horizons for a while. You probably know Dorian’s brilliant blog, or have encountered him on Twitter – and he has written a wonderful article about this novella. It’s definitely true of Dorian and Bear by Marian Engel. I think that’s probably true of me and Miss Hargreaves. Someone talks about a book with such passion, and perhaps often, that they and the book become united. Some bloggers and books are inextricably linked.
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