Beyond Forget by Mark Abley

by Mark Abley

The author returns to his roots in the Canadian prairies and offers humorous anecdotes of people and places he visited and vivid observations of the landscape and wildlife of the area

Hardcover

First published February 12, 1987

About the author

Mark Abley is a Rhodes Scholar, a Guggenheim Fellow, a husband and a father of two. He grew up in Western Canada, spent several years in England, and has lived in the Montreal area since the early 1980s. His first love was poetry, and he has published four collections. But he is best known for his many books of nonfiction, notably Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages and The Organist: Fugues, Fatherhood, and a Fragile Mind.

His new book, Strange Bewildering Time: Istanbul to Kathmandu in the Last Year of the Hippie Trail, describes his travels across west and south Asia in the spring of 1978. Mark kept detailed journals during his three-month journey, allowing him to recreate his experiences from the standpoint of a much older man.

In 2022 Mark was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Saskatchewan for his contributions to the literary community.

Reviews

[Mikey B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

North of Saskatoon


I enjoyed re-reading this book on the travels of the author through Canada’s three prairie provinces – Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. I have spent time in all three provinces so was able to identify with much of this book.

This journey took place in the 1980’s so some things have changed (I bought it and read it way back then – long before the age of GR!). Calgary and Edmonton are larger – and there are likely more abandoned homes in the rural hinterland. As the author points out Manitoba is an anomaly, but displays the population disparities throughout Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba is the largest city with over 700,000 – and the second largest “city” in Manitoba is Brandon, with not even 50,000.




I got the impression that the writer was overwhelmed by the vastness of the land – and the lack of people. Driving for hours and encountering so few vehicles and so few towns can be bewildering. I enjoyed the historical anecdotes provided by author, Mark Abley. He also stays at and visits some of the dingiest hotels and bars throughout the prairies!

I became irritated at his constant negativity on “urban consumer culture”. For example, he slams the West Edmonton Mall over several pages. The mall, with its’ indoor amusement park and huge water park would be a paradise during those long, cold, dark Edmonton winters! Lighten up Mark Abley!



West Edmonton Mall


He visits a Hutterite colony and praises its' self-reliance and the lack of consumer goods. Does he not realize that the young girls he met there will shortly be married off to become baby machines? What type of education are they getting?

Anyhow I still liked this tour of the prairies. Forget is a small little town in Saskatchewan. He even went up to Churchill, Manitoba which he found unforgettable and other-worldly.

Page 104 – about Churchill, Manitoba

In all my life, I eventually decided, I had never seen such an odd little place. A town of the toughest individuals – many of whom are also tough-minded individualists – the modern Churchill is a government’s creation… It’s inhabitants – true believers in the north, its beauty, its way of life, its potential – seem to come from everywhere except the north… The town defies generalization. It reminds me of nowhere else. It is a true original.