Sunset Manor

by Richard B. Wright

Genres: Fiction

203 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Richard B. Wright was a Canadian novelist.

Born in Midland, Ontario, Wright attended Trent University, from which he graduated in 1970. He was the author of 13 published novels and two children's books. Many of his older novels were republished after his novel Clara Callan won three of Canada's major literary awards in 2001: the Giller Prize; the Trillium Book Award; and the Governor General's Award.

Reviews

[Moira Mackinnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Ormsby, retired Ontario high school teacher and a lover of fine music, has, after a recent stroke, finally accepted the necessity of moving into a retirement home. She chooses Sunset Manor but soon finds herself at odds with its director and other residents. A strong individualist, she bitterly resents the loss of memory caused by the stroke and is determined not to give up without a fight. This includes resisting the elevator music, television soap operas and sock hops organized by the management of Sunset Manor. In Miss Ormsby and her fellow residents, Richard B. Wright has drawn a witty and memorable portrait of elderly people all, in their own way, fighting a battle they cannot win and yet, by the very act of fighting, wresting a kind of victory.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining enough story concerning the residents of a seniors' home. The residents were drawn in rather broad strokes, but I did find them compelling and enjoyed their interactions. It does get you thinking about your own mortality, especially as one gets closer to the mid-point and you realize that you're getting closer to the end than the beginning. I liked it.