The Umbrella Mender

by Christine Fischer Guy

Much is undecided. The doctors talk over me, debating the possibility that I’ll speak again.

Though a stroke has left her mute, the story Hazel has to share is unforgettable. As a talented nurse in the early 1950s, she went to Moose Factory to help fight the epidemic of tuberculosis that was ravaging the indigenous peoples of the north. Each week the boat brought new patients from the Nunavik region to the little hospital. It was a desperate undertaking, fraught with cultural and language difficulties that hampered the urgent, sometimes reckless, efforts of the medical staff. Hazel is soon distracted from the tensions of the hospital by an enigmatic drifter named Gideon Judge, an itinerant umbrella mender, who is searching for the Northwest Passage.

From her own hospital bed, the older Hazel struggles to pass on to her grandniece the harrowing tale of her past in the north, including the fate of Gideon and the heartbreaking secrets she left behind. With arresting characters, a richly drawn setting and impeccable prose, author Christine Fischer Guy weaves a story that lingers long after the book is closed.

Genres: Canada, Fiction, Historical Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2014

About the author

Christine Fischer Guy’s fiction has appeared in journals across Canada and has been nominated for the Journey Prize. She reviews for the Globe and Mail, contributes to Ryeberg.com and themillions.com and teaches creative writing at the School for Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto. She is also an award-winning journalist. She has lived and worked in London, England, and now lives in Toronto.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love historical fiction about nurses, in part because I find the history of medicine fascinating, and also because nursing was one of the few opportunities women had, historically, to lead a life that was both adventurous and respectable (not that I don't like reading about disrespectable women too!). Having loved books like Julia Gregson's Band of Angels, or Mary-Rose MacColl's In Falling Snow, I was looking forward to The Umbrella Mender, the story of a nurse working in a TB sanatorium for Cree and Inuit patients in Moose Factory in the 1950s. I did really enjoy that aspect of the story. Christine Fischer Guy has done a lot of research and included a wealth of medical detail. She also does a great job of evoking the time and place. But I could not get behind the love story here. Hazel, the nurse whose story this is, meets an umbrella mender; to call this his trade is generous. In reality, he's clearly mentally unbalanced, a bit stalker-ish, and obsessed with two things: birds, and a crackpot idea of crossing the Northwest Passage, despite his total lack of relevant experience. He's fleeing from a middle-class life in Minnesota, which is alluded to but never described clearly - his father is an evil capitalist, he has been institutionalized for insanity at times. If any sensible woman met this guy, every rational instinct would scream AVOID, but Hazel is irresistibly drawn to him. I wasn't buying it. I found myself wanting to know more about the Cree and Inuit patients, the doctors, and the other nurses, and instead this crackpot guy kept intruding himself in the story.

[Paul Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Umbrella Mender" by Christine Fischer Guy. Superb writing. Strong main character (nurse in a TB hospital) and secondary character (the umbrella mender). With an interesting and intriguing supporting cast. Not straight time-line narrative, but not overly complex. Story unfolds slowly at times, but it unfolds and takes your from a dynamic prelude to a strong and satisfying conclusion. Definitely for fans of literary works, not genre fiction... And did I say the writing was superb? Not a cliche or worn phrase in site!

[Evonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well written book. Some of the imagery is so beautiful I marked it with sticky tabs to use in writing lessons later. The voices used - alternating 3rd and 1st persons - are distinct and clear - I can hear the intonation in my mind as I read. The characters are consistent and complex. The setting - such a key component of this story - is described beautifully, and became a living character. It's a good book.

It reminded me very much of Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel - an old woman whose voice is taken from her relives key moments of her life. Same same.

Foolish, impulsive love; the stress and tension of mental health questions; impossible odds against a plague; ambition and competence; the constrictions of social norms for women; the possibilities offered by living on the very edge of civilization where foreign cultures meet ... good themes, all tangled together.

But I didn't love it. I appreciated it, but it never struck any chord that spoke deeply to me.

[Eva Stachniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is always a pleasure to read a book of which I have heard so much for a long time. CFG is a writer/friend and I've heard her describe the process of writing this novel, the difficulties, the joys, the usual writerly frustrations.

The result is a moving, beautifully crafted tale of love, loss, and dreams, some realized and some never fulfilled. Hazel, the nurse who went north to Moose Factory to help fight the epidemic of tuberculosis among the Cree and Inuit peoples is a strong, complex character. It is easy to trust her point of view, follow her thoughts, her reflections on the complexities of the world she faced.

A beautiful book I've enjoyed reading.

[Nora Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Umbrella Mender by Christine Fischer-Guy is a stunning novel that is both uniquely Canadian, yet universal in its themes. The author's use of language is dramatically poetic without being banal. Based on real events, it depicts a poignant slice of Canadian history - the devastating effect of tuberculosis on our First Nations people and the desperate struggle of the few who tried to save them in the 1950s. The story centers around a young nurse's experiences, in particular her fascination with a wandering tinker, the umbrella man. This book is destined to become both popular and significant, as it captures a part of our history with the art of a gifted story-teller.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this novel with interest and enthusiasm. The setting of a TB clinic treating vulnerable indigenous people of all ages with the then new streptomycin was interesting. The geographic properties and climatic adaptations necessary for survival were also interesting. My
interest continued until the ending. After reading the ending it made me feel like I wasted my enthusiasm. I never had a reaction like this to a novel - extreme disappointment. The only justification for me would be that the story was true. If that were the the case I would say that
this was a well written book. I have not been able to ascertain whether that was the case.

[Marlene Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not imagine being closer to Moose Factory during the 1950's than while reading through the pages of The Umbrella Mender. Christine wove the island's history, geography, and cultural heritages together in a way that I could feel the emotional pain of each person in her story. A most compelling read. I look forward to her next novel.

[Tracy M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up from my library as a Canadian Lit read. I enjoyed the idea of new medical grounds ventured; professionals helping bridge gaps between medicine and the communities suffering with the maladies. I also appreciated that communications, the learning of another’s languages were attempted. The inclusion of activities to try and maintain a sort of normal humanity while they remained patients.

The part that dissuaded the full enjoyment though and the reason it took so long to muddle through lay solidly on the mentally unstable obsession the mender had with Hazel.

[Debbie Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story told from the point of view of a Toronto nurse who relocated to northern Ontario to help indigenous people suffering from tuberculosis in the early 1950's. Deals with issues of racism and cultural clashes. Also describes the dedication of a good nurse and doctor who try to see issues from the patient's viewpoint and help them.

I found the character development flat and was not really emotionally attached to any of them.

[Jennifer Morse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love discovering a new author and this debut novel did not disappoint. It is so well-written and I loved Fischer Guy’s writing style. This is a topic I knew nothing about and found it fascinating, disturbing,, astounding, sad and enlightening all at the same time! I highly recommend this book.

[Trish Feehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written novel that gives a fascinating window into how the TB outbreak was handled in Northern Canada in the 1950s. This impressively researched, evocative story follows a nurse who finds the courage to live life on her own terms.

[Geraldine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling novel featuring strong characters with human frailty, Indigenous people,North Canada,Tuberculosis,Nursing, 1950's

[Anne Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

why, why why cannot Canadian writers write something entertaining? why can American ones get to write something thrilling about sad subjects while their Northern cousins use soft shades to depict anything?The umbrella mender is not a bad book, but you would expect to be more thrilled by the life of a nurse in the 1950s, fighting TB in the north of Ontario, assisting mothers to give birth in bad conditions, treating patients who will die... and the feeling is missing! Margaret Atwood has damaged two generations of writers who want to do like her. Well, fist, no one reads Atwood if they don't have too, and she gets to be a bit ancient, no? You have all the settings in this book for a great novel, the story is interesting, and it badly lacks passion.Even a hawk flying around, and it flops, because the way it is told is cold, descriptive. You may feel what happens in the minds of the Indians women if you dig, but nothing is obvious. A woman gives birth to a breech baby and the midwife has to put her am inside her to get the baby out. what do we read?" the woman inhaled sharply as Ruth freckled arm slipped out of her and with it the baby.His skin was mauve and velvety."over here. Now" Ruth's words wee edged in icy fear. Her bloodied hands held the baby out to Hazel. "suction his mouth"
In such circumstances, it may be better to stay calm , but the reader feels as nothing major is happening.
The baby will be saved, and a few minutes later, "Ruth was not speaking, not to comfort the woman, not to give further direction". You think they would be happy, they saved him? but no, nothing. a while later, "that ought to do it, fifteen stitches."
It would be a beautiful story, though sad, with more feelings. And more details. I still don't know how many Indians had TB, or if the steptomycin really helped. Was 1951 a worse year than usual and why? Did she love the umbrella mender? I understand the book is symbolic, it shows nature against nurture -but still, why is he sure the baby's existence will kill him? From then, I don't get the meaning of it anymore. Gideon dies, accident, suicide or murder?
While she is pregnant, Wilcox proposes to her, but she can't accept. Ruth, he friend gets TB and leaves Mooses, then Hazel, the narrator, leaves too and wants to go to Toronto to give birth to the child she's carrying, but her water breaks during the trip and she decides to have the baby in a silo. The baby dies a few hours after being born.
Maybe someone with more romantic feelings will like this book better. I don't understand it, I don't know what you are meant to feel. You don't learn anything about TB, o about health, you hear nature is beautiful, but you knew it before...
Two and a half stars so that I may bring up to 3.

[Laura Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers so much--a gripping story told in the past and present following Hazel, a smart, independent nurse; the history and conflicts of treating the indigenous population of 1950s northern Ontario during a TB epidemic; the social constraints of medical protocol (not to mention men and women, and friendship generally) at that time; and the impact of an odd drifter who mends umbrellas. Loved.

[Penny (Literary Hoarders)]

A fine example of Canlit. I'm sitting on this one for a bit before I give a rating. Compelling and yet strange, especially toward the end.

[Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting time and place!

[Cheri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not even finish reading this book. I tried so hard but only felt more lost. The character development was poor and there was no flow to the story. Disappointing

[Kaileigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed all the medical tidbits and details about the fight with TB in the north. I did find the actual parts with the "umbrella mender" a bit confusing and slow sometimes though.

[Joanna Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is gorgeous and magical. It reads almost like poetry, and brings Canada's north country to life. It's also historically and medically amazingly well-researched.

[Karen Mckinnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning prose. Edging towards a 5 but need to sit with it for a while.