Fiction 1

Letters in Canada 1978 Once again our readers will note some changes among the reviewers for 'Letters in Canada.' We welcome into our ranks two Maritimers: Ronald Huebert, our new reviewer of 'Drama: from Dalhousie University; and Emera 5tiegman of 5t Mary's University, who takes over the section on 'Religion.' Our thanks and appreciation go out to the two long-time contributors to University of Toronto Quarterly in these areas, Alexander Leggatt and Willard G. Oxtoby. Gilles Girard of Laval University is the new critic in charge of 'Theatre: replacing another veteran of the journal, Laurent Mailhot, whose columns, too, were much valued. (B.-Z.S.) Fiction 1 / R ,P. BILAN On the whole this has been another lean year, and, looking over this year's batch of first novels, I am struck by a common feature of the books that perhaps helps to explain the dearth of good fiction. All of the novels and stories are technically - and, for that matter, in every other way as well- extremely conservative. One probably should not expect a beginning writer to be a radical experimenter with language or forms, but one might expect some experimentation. Instead, a continuous narrative line, strict adherence to realism, and a single point of view are the order of the day. Canadian writers in general - and this group certainly - are an extraordinarily cautious lot, and their unwillingness to take risks impedes the development of new fiction. All is not gloomy, however, and the exceptional dominance of women writers in our culture continues with the appearance of Ann Copeland's At Peace, Aritha van Herk's Judith, and Joan Barfoot's Abra. While all these books follow the pattern by being technically conservative, they are set apart fram the other first works by their superior artistic command and by the greater maturity of their inquiry into human experience. And Barfoot's book deserves special praise: skilfully crafted, it adds something new to that exploration of women's experience that we find at the centre of the work of Laurence, Atwood, Munro, and others. UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY, VOLUME XLVIII , NUMBER 4 , SUMMER 1979 0042-0247/79/0800-0313 $00.00/ 0 © UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS 1979 314 LETTERS IN CANADA 1978 Ann Copeland's AI Peace (Oberon, 164, $6.95) is a modest but definite achievement. In these seven stories about life in a convent Copeland does not attempt a great deal- often very little happens and most of the stories are written in a minor key - but what she does attempt she handles extremely well. The intelligence evident throughout the stories, apparent in the play of tone and the sprightly style, makes all of them enjoyable, but it is Copeland's capacity to create distinctive, even idiosyncratic, characters, and to capture feelings of friendship, that gives certain of her stories their particular distinction. The two best stories in this collection, 'Jubilee' and 'At Peace: show clearly Copeland's gift for characterization. In 'Jubilee' there is a moving presentation of the loss Sister Gertrude feels when, about to celebrate her golden jubilee, she learns of the decision of her younger friend, Sister Paula, to give up being a nun. Both women look with a somewhat ironic eye at the convent world around them, and Copeland is especially convincing in imagining the older woman'5 consciousness and reflections. And these reflections provide a good example of the quality of Copeland 's prose: 'Once, the religious community had been considered family . And the other? Mother, father? Luminous dust at memory's rim: a sudden flare, then shadow. She would see them all before long.' The title story, told from the point of view of a woman who has left the convent (a figure suggesting Sister Paula at a later stage in her life - now marriedand perhaps standing for the author herself), is mainly a fond and lively portrait of a sister known simply as 'Barney.' Barney, almost Dickensian in her cluttered, disordered, and comparatively colourful life, stands in sharp opposition to the other nuns. The critique of convent life gently hinted at in many of the other stories is explicit and harsher here, for all the life is associated...