It's Never Over

by Morley Callaghan, Norman Snider (Introduction)

Combining romance with the darker side of human nature, this novel opens with the hanging of an ex-World War I soldier for involuntary murder. The element of violence blends with a love story involving the late soldier’s sister, who seeks to possess the life of her brother’s closest friend, John Hughes. Hughes then finds himself drawn into the circle affected by the hanging, contemplating murdering the sister himself. Capturing the terror of a war abroad as it penetrates the tranquility of a small town, this tale illustrates how a man’s death can haunt those who endure his execution.

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Edward Morley Callaghan was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and TV and radio personality.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A glimpse back in time a hundred years to the life of young working people in Toronto. Back in the days of hangings at the Don Jail and dance pavilions at Scarborough Bluffs. Easy to read but lots to ponder.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Morley Callaghan's oft-overlooked It's Never Over offers a portal back in time to Toronto in the 1920s. Unlike Such Is My Beloved, which only alludes to being set in Toronto, this novel firmly situates itself in the city, with references to places and things you could walk past today. This makes the novel familiar to the modern reader and yet the daily lives of the characters are undoubtedly foreign (just think of those rent prices today - and the cost of eating out!). The novel is pretty slow paced but fraught with conflict, confusion, love, and loss. The way Callaghan structures his sentences is unlike any author I've ever read, and I don't recall his much later Such Is My Beloved reading like this one.