Cherry

by Chandra Mayor

Set in the Winnipeg skinhead scene of the early 1990s, Cherry is an unsettling account of a woman’s negotiation of violence, memory, and identity.

Mayor deftly employs the technique of pastiche to craft her story: newspaper articles, notes, photographs, letters, and even appointment slips are used to signify the multi-layered nature of her narrative.

Cherry is a punk rock bricolage, a poetic novel, a loss of innocence story, and an ode to the city of Winnipeg.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Feminism, Queer

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2004

Reviews

[Pooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yikes. This story set in the mean streets of Winnipeg, apparently in the "skinhead scene" of the 1990's (I've never really paid enough attention to conclude we had a skinhead scene per se, but now that Mayor has brought it to my attention, I can certainly say, it's not a scene, I'd want to be a part of). The story is told by a young woman (teenaged likely) who is part of that scene, trapped in a world of drugs, violence, poverty and violence. I noticed that she does not give us her name (and I'm not sure whether we are to take her name as being Cherry, the title of the book or not) but even her abusive boyfriend does not refer to her by name (only "Baby") in the apologetic letters he writes to her after beating her up.

It's an ugly ugly story and frighteningly, Cherry (or whatever her name) becomes pregnant and decides (this time) to keep the baby. Neither she nor (and especially not) her murderous boyfriend is equipped to give this child anything like a good life. The end of the story gives us the faintest of hope that she may be able to escape the sort of life she leads - but only the faintest of hope.

And while I said this is an ugly story, the language of it is not. I actually loved reading the book for the language of it. I've never read any of the author's award winning poetry, but feel that I might just have to. The imagery throughout this book is startlingly vivid. The narrator describes Winnipeg as "hold[ing] you in its grey asphalt arms as you stumble home from the all night cafe, over bridges with railings like shattered teeth" and her own body after a night out, "blossom[ing] purple like an insomniac morning glory."

Being from Winnipeg, I could easily picture the seedy apartments on Langside and Ruby and the numerous other inner city streets upon which the narrator temporarily resides, as well as the welfare office near the Sals on Sherbook. It's definitely not a book I'd send to anyone wanting to know what life is like in Winnipeg because it is all too accurate.

[Sarah-Jean Krahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering the recent failure of the Greyhound bus corporation, the Greyhound's symbol of hope in this tiny, tender patchwork of young women's bruises and badges of abuse, is all the more poignant. One of the main criticisms of the shut-down of all the rural routes and virtually all routes entirely has been that it denies the most vulnerable of people a means of transportation. Chandra Mayor's account of the turbulent life of the girlfriend of a neo-nazi in Winnipeg, Canada, can remind us of the utterly crucial issue of movement and the barriers to it, the questions of who decides who can move where and when. From the river walk along the legislature that steadily marches gay prostitutes into the downtown core as the neo-nazis brutally murder them first by the river, then in downtown alleyways, to the purple-eyed runaways and former foster daughters who must now try to run from their explosive, misogynist boyfriends, movement is essential to life, as Mayor captures eloquently in Cherry.

[Jenn (Jenn’s Bookshelf) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book.... was terribly difficult to read. It should come with trigger warnings on the front cover, for sure. The style was interesting, and I was relatively intruigued, but I really hated it. I gave it two stars just for the writing and the content, because it is important to highlight these kind of issues in literature, especially Canadian Lit. Thank god it was as short as it was, because I wouldn’t of been able to finish it if it was any longer.

[Zico · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dark, depressing and poetic. I started it with a load of prejudices; most of them were justified. The unusual structure of the novel is not for me, but it fits the plot to perfection. I live in Winnipeg, yet the city described in the book felt from a parallel universe. I would give it one star but will add another for the memorable intro / outro.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

not all books need to be easy to read with easy to swallow subject matter. this gave me a lot of feelings, memories, vivid recollections and a sense of relief that my experiences in the local music scene didn't take the same serious turns for me as it did for our heroine. Scenes set in music bars, were like reviewing my memories from a birds-eye view but without rose coloured glasses on.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A glimpse of Winnipeg that only barely overlaps with my own experience. The prose poetry was variable but the opening poem, “Departure,” is exceptional.

[ECBW · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have purchased and rehomed this book 18 times since it was released. Just last week I bought another copy from Venus Envy. You want real? You want visceral? If you can handle it, read this book.

[Rosie]

A poem that became a novel...a very beautiful and searing rendition of the skinhead scene in Winnipeg. I loved it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

awesome book that takes place in good old winnipeg and at my old high school

[Bill Brydon · Rating 1 out of 5]

empty pseudo punk

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark story with beautiful writing. I absolutely loved this book.