Finding Grace, a Parable

by Mary-Lynn Murphy

Fourteen-year-old Iris stops speaking after an unsettling event involving her older sister. She later marries; their daughter, Maggie, leaves home for Toronto at age seventeen, cutting off all communication with her parents. In a small logging town, Henry witnesses something that he keeps secret, at great cost. Grace, who possesses an unfettered curiosity about the natural world and a somewhat eccentric artistic aesthetic, fills the yard of her home with bizarre installations. It is Gracehe's musings about the natural world, human nature, and art that tie the threads together, reflecting the novelhe's themes of loss and possibility, the shortcomings of language, and the ways in which art and nature can help us to see ourselves more clearly.

Unknown Binding

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. The author is also a poet and it shows. Set in northern Ontario, the book weaves several inter-related stories told from different perspectives over several decades -- a young girl, Iris, who stops speaking after an upsetting event and doesn't regain her voice for years; her rebellious daughter who is unhappy and escapes to the big city; another young girl who is filled with joy and curiosity, fascinated with nature and art. The stories alternately have a sadness, a hopelessness, a gritty realism, heart, and a hopefulness to them.
One thing that I did find unsettling was jumping back and forth from the different perspectives between quite short chapters, particularly when you hadn't really figured it all out yet. In one way, it drew you into the story and wanting to find out how it all inter-related. And that would work well if you were reading this in one sitting. But I wasn't, and it got a little confusing. Didn't detract it from being an interesting and satisfying book, though.

[Tamara Ulisko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some passages so poetic they gave me author envy. Loved the characters too, although the switches from one POV to another were sometimes too sudden and frequent. Beautifully entwined nature metaphors & insights. Curious if this author has written more novels, as this is her first. I would definitely read another!

[Cheryl Landmark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Murphy is an author and poet who lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, which is where I live as well. Her love of words is very evident in this, her, first novel. It was beautifully written, and her characters were compelling and interesting.

I found the multiple POVs a little confusing and disjointed at times and wondered how they all connected together. It did become more obvious as the book flowed towards its conclusion, but there were still a few threads left unravelled. The changes from past tense to present tense and first person to third person were also a little bit of an issue for me.

Grace was by far the most interesting character for me--a young woman filled with wonder and curiousity, delighted with the world around her and unafraid to share her enthusiasm and knowledge with others. Maggie, on the other hand, was the exact opposite...more troubled, uncertain, and reticent, keeping herself and her emotions bottled up inside.

This is normally not my preferred type of book to read, but it was compelling enough for me to finish it in one afternoon. And, the setting of Northern Ontario, which is where I have lived all my life, was an instant draw for me. The descriptions of the rugged, stark beauty of the Lake Superior coast were vivid and bang-on.

Well done for a debut novel, Ms. Murphy!