Tuesday, April 12, 2016

His Whole Life

At first glance everyone in this novel appears to be on a guilt trip. The protagonist we follow in His Whole Life is Jim whose family is visiting his uncle, his mother's brother, who lives in Lanark south-west of Ottawa, Canada, Jim's family lives in New York City. Jim and his mother, Nan, move back to the winterized log cabin to live when the owners die leaving Jim's father behind in New York. Most of the action, such as it is takes place in Jim's mind.

This is a Canadian novel despite its part-time location in NYC and Quebec Separatism and Referendums work their way into the storyline. The story follows Jim from age 8 to 17. Somehow as much as I enjoyed reading it this book was tough going.




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