A Splinter in the Heart

by Al Purdy

Al Purdy’s only novel, A Splinter in the Heart , is an unforgettable coming-of-age story that unfolds against the real-life tragedy of what came to be known as the Trenton Disaster. Set in 1918, it tells the story of sixteen-year-old Patrick Cameron and the events that will change him – and the Ontario town in which he lives – forever. Over the course of one summer and fall, Patrick finds love with a girl whose betrayal he cannot foresee, confronts the death of his beloved grandfather, and comes to terms with a neighbourhood rival. All the while, his hometown of Trenton lives precariously in the shadow of a dynamite factory, a sinister reminder of the Great War, which brought such prosperity to the town. Vivid with character and event, and evocative of time and place, A Splinter in the Heart is a moving portrait of a young man’s journey into adulthood in an era of change.

Genres: Canada, Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Alfred Wellington Purdy was one of the most popular and important Canadian poets of the 20th century. Purdy's writing career spanned more than fifty years. His works include over thirty books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four books of correspondence. He has been called the nation's "unofficial poet laureate".

Born in Wooler, Ontario Purdy went to Albert College in Belleville, Ontario, and Trenton Collegiate Institute in Trenton, Ontario. He dropped out of school at 17 and rode the rails west to Vancouver. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Following the war, he worked in various jobs until the 1960s, when he was finally able to support himself as a writer, editor and poet.

Honours and awards Purdy received include the Order of Canada (O.C.) in 1982, the Order of Ontario in 1987, and the Governor General's Award, in 1965 for his collection The Cariboo Horses, and again in 1986 for The Collected Poems of Al Purdy. The League of Canadian Poets gave Purdy the Voice of the Land Award, a special award created by the League to honour his unique contribution to Canada.

Al Purdy died in North Saanich, B.C., on April 21, 2000. His final collection of poetry, Beyond Remembering: The Collected Poems of Al Purdy, was released posthumously in the fall of 2000.

On May 20, 2008, a large bronze statue of Purdy was unveiled in Queen's Park in downtown Toronto.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met Al Purdy when I was in my last year of high school, not long before he died. Hearing him read some of his poetry, and speak about the craft of writing had a tremendous influence on me. A Splinter in the Heart, his only novel, draws from many of the same themes and images common to his poetry, but in a different form. I wish he had written more novels!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Canadian poet Purdy's only novel. The focus is the dreadful explosion at a Trenton, Ontario munitions plant on Thanksgiving, 1918. This work I'm sure is quite meaningful to those who have generations of history in Trenton. Highlights: the author's familiarity and knowledge of the sensibilities of the place in its time; the historical context. (he was a local boy). Purdy's focus on our serious and introverted young hero Patrick Cameron kept me engaged - his character developed and matured throughout the course of the novel via interactions with his grandfather, a neighbour boy, his first love, and the town "fool" who lives in the dump. Lots of minor characters spice up the story, but perhaps a bit too many...This short read piques my curiosity about Trenton's local history.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A completely Canadian coming-of-age story that recalls historic events as well as personal ones.

During the summer and fall of 1918, 16-year-old Patrick Cameron matures and gives hints of the man he will become. He suffers losses and gains love, while striving to become his own person.

What really interested me here was the catastrophe that happened in 1918 in Trenton, Ontario which is quite near where I live. I was unaware of it and will now look into it further.

Following the 1917 Halifax explosion and taking place during the Great War, this story evokes a time of great upheaval in the world.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like reading poetry.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel has a very slow lead up to its explosive climax, but the height of the action is intimately connected with the rest.
Patrick Cameron is a lovely protagonist: intensely thoughtful, yet inarticulate in important ways, good but always scrutinizing himself. It was always a little jarring when the narrative perspective shifted away from him. He reminded me of a friend from high school, and I can picture the kind of student I will recommend this book to.
The Trenton Disaster, which I had never heard of, was really well handled. The book's secondary characters are well drawn and so familiar.
Marketed as a "coming of age story," I was reading it with the hope of teaching it, but I think many teenagers would find it overly slow, verging on dull. However, there were two moments that made me laugh out loud in the metro:
1. "The ten-year-old Chester was a horror of a child. If his forefinger wasn't in his nose, it was up his ass."
2. "'A bowel movement in the morning. Every morning. That's very important, a bowel movement.' Dr. Johnson's eyes grew distant, as if all the bowel movements of the world were flushing through his brain."

On the whole, the book feels very well constructed, and will probably stand up quite nicely on a second read.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first learned of this novel by way of a stage play adaptation that will premiere this summer at a theatre not far from the story's geographical setting. I was completely ignorant of the British Chemical explosion of 1918 in Trenton, Ontario, and the book cleverly weaves bits and pieces of first-hand accounts of the incident into this fictionalized re-telling.

It's a somewhat similar coming-of-age tale to Dennis T. Patrick Sears's The Lark in the Clear Air only Al Purdy avoids somewhat less than family-friendly descriptions of sexual encounters (it gets about as racy as boys catching glimpses down girls' blouses) and puts more energy into exploring the imagination and inner drama of his protagonist Patrick's 16-going-on-17-year-old head. In this regard, it offers quite a fascinating range of teenage reflections: on death and loss, relationships with friends and family, his dissatisfaction with his own abilities and prospects in life. All of this is laid out against the backdrop of the inevitable disaster which spells change for everybody, much of it unwanted but inescapable.

[Aras · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://electric-pages.livejournal.com...

[Magdelanye · Rating 4 out of 5]

review pending