In 1956, Dell Parsons' family came to a stop in Great Falls, Montana. His father, Bev, was a talkative, plank-shouldered man, an airman from Alabama with an optimistic and easy-scheming nature. His mother Neeva - from an educated, immigrant, Jewish family - was shy, artistic, and alienated from their father's small-town world of money scrapes and living on-the-fly. It was more bad instincts and bad luck that Dell's parents decided to rob the bank.
They weren't reckless people. In the days following the arrest, Dell is saved before the authorities think to arrive. Driving across the Montana border into Saskatchewan, his life hurtles towards the unknown, towards a hotel in a deserted town, towards the violent and enigmatic American Arthur Remlinger, and towards Canada itself - a landscape of rescue and abandonment. But in this new world of secrets and upheaval, he is not the only one whose past lies on the other side of a border.
©2012 Richard Ford (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd
"One of the books of the year"
Yes, it's beautifully narrated. The narrator has a beautiful voice which is soothing and natural. The book itself, in terms of its prose, is also beautiful.
It's an endearing, though stark, story of a very human family struggling with bad parental decisions and the triumph of hope over adversity. The prose descriptions are sensational.
It's his voice. It has a wonderful timbre and he is very natural - he makes the odd mistake which simply adds to the experience of listening to him
It has to be Dell. He is a credible character who wants to do the right thing but he is thwarted by adults in his world.
This book has wonderful prosaic descriptions of people, landscapes and life. A great book and one that brought me so much pleasure.
"Poor Canada"
No
Characters were unlikable. Too structured, and frustratingly repetitive.
at least half the book. Not enough scenes about the scenery...very desolate descriptions...bit like the characters, but way overdone.
worst book Ive read in a while. - most of the bookclub members agreed too.
"Too much attention to detail; not enough to plot."
Canada is the story of the fate that befalls Dell, the protagonist, and his twin sister after their parents are imprisoned for robbery. The first half of this beautifully-written novel depicts, with increasing tension, the family's history until the parents' arrest; the latter half, in which the story is buried under description, illustrates Dell's life in Canada. This novel would have been much stronger if, in the second half of the book, Mr. Ford, as he did in the first half, had made the landscape a minor character and developed a compelling plot.