Frances

by W.D. Valgardson

Frances lives in a beach town on Lake Winnipeg, the center of Manitoba’s Icelandic community. Her family has lived in the town since Icelandic immigrants settled there in the late 1800s. One day Frances finds an old journal. The entries are written in Icelandic, and the pages are torn, moldy, and blurred. Yet Frances can’t bring herself to throw it away. At the local old folks home, Frances finds a cranky, ailing man who agrees to help her read the journal. A friendship grows between them as the story of the journal unfolds. It’s a tale of love, hardship, scandal, and a group of mysterious stowaways — the story of Frances’s great-great-grandparents. Frances digs into her past and uncovers more than one family secret. In the end, Frances learns to use the past to navigate a future that will take her full circle — back to the land of her ancestors. “A splendid addition to the numerous intergenerational stories and many other fine books in which characters explore their family trees.” — School Library Journal

172 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2000

About the author

William Dempsey Valgardson (born 7 May 1939) is a Canadian novelist, short story writer, and poet. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Gimli, Manitoba, he completed his BA at United College, BEd at the University of Manitoba, and his MFA at the University of Iowa. He was a long-time professor of writing at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

His writing often focuses on cultural differences and involve irony and symbolism. His short stories involve normal people in normal situations, yet under certain circumstances, lead unusual and surprising lives.

Valgardson has won numerous awards and accolades, including the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for The Girl With the Botticelli Face (1992) and the Books in Canada First Novel Award for Gentle Sinners (1980). His short story, "Bloodflowers", was included in Best American Short Stories 1971.

Reviews

[Lori Bamber · Rating 4 out of 5]

So warmhearted ...