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Night Travellers
Thirteen short stories; the author's first published book.
- GenresShort Stories
182 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
31 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Birdsell
18 books15 followersSandra Louise Birdsell (née Bartlette) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer of Métis and Mennonite heritage.
Sandra is the fifth of eleven children. She lived most of her life in Morris, Manitoba and now in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Sandra left home at age fifteen. At the age of thirty-five, she enrolled in Creative Writing at the University Of Winnipeg. Five years later, Turnstone Press published her first book, the “Night Travellers” and two years after, “Ladies Of The House”. Both are published in one volume as Agassiz stories.
Two events shaped her worldview and influenced her writing, the first when Sandra was six years-old. Her sister died from leukemia. That left a four year gap before her next older sister. She felt alone even surrounded by 9 siblings. Her loneliness led her to ponder nearby parks and rivers, allowing her imagination to be wild.
The second event was the massive flood of Morris in 1950. Her first three successful stories in “Night Travellers” are based on it.
She is a Mom of three children and Grandma to four. Her husband, Jan Zarzycki is a filmmaker.
Sandra is the fifth of eleven children. She lived most of her life in Morris, Manitoba and now in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Sandra left home at age fifteen. At the age of thirty-five, she enrolled in Creative Writing at the University Of Winnipeg. Five years later, Turnstone Press published her first book, the “Night Travellers” and two years after, “Ladies Of The House”. Both are published in one volume as Agassiz stories.
Two events shaped her worldview and influenced her writing, the first when Sandra was six years-old. Her sister died from leukemia. That left a four year gap before her next older sister. She felt alone even surrounded by 9 siblings. Her loneliness led her to ponder nearby parks and rivers, allowing her imagination to be wild.
The second event was the massive flood of Morris in 1950. Her first three successful stories in “Night Travellers” are based on it.
She is a Mom of three children and Grandma to four. Her husband, Jan Zarzycki is a filmmaker.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 31, 2019
My province, Manitoba, is the centre heart of Canada. Larger cities draw career transients and coastal immigrants. Manitobans are most often born here, with roots that inspire us to stay. We are rich in immigrant integration but family sponsors them. As someone who promotes and knows our province well, it was fun to learn new territory from Sandra Birdsell. The regions of Morris, Aggasiz, and Grande Pointe are closer to the US border than Winnipeg and were hit markedly by the 1950 flood our city shared. I was not born for a couple more decades and Sandra was little, with 10 siblings.
I liked discovering that “Night Travellers”, 1982, was her first book. It comprises 13 short stories. I recognized the one about the Grandma picking fruit, from a “Manitoba Stories” compilation. Sandra’s own book introduces the protagonist’s Dad, of Métis descent like her, who advises their town council about how to handle this flood. We appear to meet a few protagonists: the Mom, frustrated with her husband and managing a gaggle of children. They need money but do not do without. Her religious parents, career gardeners, are nearby. Because I found the Mom bitchy to her husband and the kids, I disliked her. I related to all but the eldest Daughter. She had my sympathy but not my approval of any of her choices. It reduced my grade, to close with stories about her. I will likely prefer the sequel about the girls grown-up: “Ladies Of The House”.
My favourite Daughter, perhaps an approximation of Sandra, was an artistic girl who was dismissed in youth. She was tenderly there for her Dad, in his ill health. These stories make an excellent, general tableau of the vast variety of personalities, cultural dynamics, and natural landscapes of our fair prairie province.
I liked discovering that “Night Travellers”, 1982, was her first book. It comprises 13 short stories. I recognized the one about the Grandma picking fruit, from a “Manitoba Stories” compilation. Sandra’s own book introduces the protagonist’s Dad, of Métis descent like her, who advises their town council about how to handle this flood. We appear to meet a few protagonists: the Mom, frustrated with her husband and managing a gaggle of children. They need money but do not do without. Her religious parents, career gardeners, are nearby. Because I found the Mom bitchy to her husband and the kids, I disliked her. I related to all but the eldest Daughter. She had my sympathy but not my approval of any of her choices. It reduced my grade, to close with stories about her. I will likely prefer the sequel about the girls grown-up: “Ladies Of The House”.
My favourite Daughter, perhaps an approximation of Sandra, was an artistic girl who was dismissed in youth. She was tenderly there for her Dad, in his ill health. These stories make an excellent, general tableau of the vast variety of personalities, cultural dynamics, and natural landscapes of our fair prairie province.
April 4, 2012
Rarely do I read a novel twice, but thinking I'd only read some of Birdsell in anthologies of Canadian women, I reread her excellent collection of short stories and enjoyed them. Not familiar with Sandra Birdsell, give her a read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews