Strange Heaven

by Lynn Coady

Strange Heaven is tearfully hilarious, as funny and appalling as real life. Bridget Murphy, almost eighteen, has gone to Halifax from industrial Cape Breton, had her baby, and given it up for adoption. She’s apathetic, the doctors decide, so they transfer her to the psych ward of the children’s hospital. There, she’s cooped up with five seriously disturbed teenagers and a flock of wan children.

Sent home for Christmas, Bridget faces domestic uproar. Her grandmother, Margaret P., raves and prays from her bed, banging the wall with her bedpan. Bridget’s kind-hearted parents, Robert and Joan, also take care of Robert’s mentally handicapped brother, Rollie. Joan’s efforts to keep the lid on are no match for Robert’s wild profanity, Margaret’s dementia, and Rollie’s efforts to join the fray.

Bridget’s boozy friends, her whining ex-boyfriend, and the family chaos make up a “strange heaven” in which her apathy starts to lift. Her vague plan to hibernate at home forever is off. Whatever she does, her drifting days are over.

Genres: Canada, Fiction, Canadian Literature, Novels

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Lynn Coady is an award-winning author, editor, and journalist. Her previous novels include Saints of Big Harbour, which was a national bestseller and a Globe and Mail Top 100 book, and Mean Boy, a Globe and Mail Top 100 book. Her popular advice column, Group Therapy, runs weekly in the Globe and Mail. Coady is originally from Cape Breton Island, NS, and is now living in Edmonton, Alberta.

Reviews

[Teresa Mills-Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh joy! Oh joy! Oh joy! What a delicious book ... I am not one for taking too seriously what is written on the flap cover of a book but the quote from Quill & Quire was spot on: "A stellar first novel ... both nightmarish and laugh-out-loud funny." I couldn't contain my laughter even when out in public, waiting for the metro to arrive. I think my deeper appreciation for the author's writing style and gift of how her characters' conversations flowed stems from having lived and worked in NS and having met so many people from the region Coady is describing. Amazingly authentic.

I love having just experienced two back-to-back satisfying reads ... which were right some good!!

[Melissa Somerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this woman. Maybe it's an east coast love. She perfectly captures, with super dry wit, life in a small town Nova Scotia. Drinking yourself stupid on rum and coke in your parents living room during a winter storm, knowing everyone's business in your town and trying to keep yours undercover, the apathy and numbness that can come from being trapped in a situation and lots of swearing. I really love the female voice she gives to her story. Her main character is full of failings, naive and dulled by the strains of small town life but still kicking with a wicked sense of humour and a stubborness to do her own thing despite the pressures around her.
I think I'd like to have a drink with Ms. Lynn Coady in real life. I bet she'd be very funny.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I missed the point of this book. It never really went anywhere or came to any conclusions or any real end point. If it wasn't my book club selection, I never would have finished it. I'll be interested to see if anyone there liked it more than I did.

[Emmkay · Rating 3 out of 5]

*trigger alert - lots of vomit and poop and various other bodily substances* Interestingly enough, ‘bodily’ auto-corrected to ‘holiday,’ which is fitting as much of this novel is set around Christmas time. Seventeen year old Bridget Murphy is in a psychiatric hospital in Halifax after giving birth and giving the baby up for adoption. She’s low-key and apathetic, but not much trouble, and eventually she’s released to spend Christmas with her family in Cape Breton. She doesn’t want to fall back into the pointless partying and drinking and relationships she was in before, and which she can see more clearly now, but staying home also reminds her of why she went out. Bridget’s a great character, and I felt trapped with her. Oof.

[Mouse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNFd this book back in highschool. Maybe it was just the wrong time for me to read it but I remember it not being funny at all and the story being incredibly confusing.

[Ramona Jennex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the debut novel (1998) and I am looking forward to reading more books by Lynn Coady.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been on my Canadian books to read shelf since forever. Chose it at random to read while a book on hold came available and to counter my big ongoing read, Barkskins. Strange Heaven was Coady's debut novel. Put me in mind of film Juno or Marion Bridge. I liked it a lot. Captures the essence of Cape Breton circa 1998. Years may have changed and leaped ahead but some things like teenage angst, teenage pregnancy, depression, and normal dysfunctional family life goes on every day and is always current. Coady gives us a great character in 17 year old Bridget Murphy. We meet her in the Children's Hospital where she is recovering from, as they like to call it, The Experience, aka, the birth, the giving away of the child, the dealing with all that...Life is forever changed for Bridget. Her take on it all is at times hilarious, sad, and rarely happy. But she has some sharp moments of how she does not want to be, the drinking with her so-called friends, getting together with her ex-boyfriend, the boredom of her life in general. She wants a purpose and sets about getting that together.
The Murphy family life is so darn authentic, could not help but think of CBC's priceless long running 22 Minutes skits. Dialog is hilarious, read so many parts to my husband who gave me the stink eye to be quiet.
True moments like this with old Margaret P. 'Margaret P was almost 100. The last people to remember Margaret P. on earth would be people who knew her as a series of leaks that needed stopping up.' pg 157
The friends, Heidi, Steve, Chantal are not such good friends for Bridget. Great to drink or hang with, but...Bridget sees them all, and her very small town in a new light now that she herself is so very different. Coady brings them all to life in a way we can all relate to.
Bridget's dad and uncle provide some delicious ranting about everything, pretty much, that ails the town, young people, the world in general. Great big piece on pg 121 from Bridget's dad, " I've never bought into that psychiatric-free-love-save-the-seals horseshit, and I'm not about to now. Blame everything on the parents..." Underneath all the loudness, the bluster, the chaos that is Bridget Murphy's home, it is her strange heaven as she puts it, she sees how selfish she has been and this is a big thing for her to see.
So glad I pulled this excellent book from my shelf to read.

[Kayla Ogden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good coming-of-age novel that isn't written for a YA audience.

Having just finished this book, which is Coady's first novel and published in 1997, what is left rattling around in my mind is the ways in which people respond to you when you are quiet. The main character, Bridget, has been through a traumatic experience at 18 years old. After spending some time recovering in a psych ward she ends up back in her family home at Christmas time.

She's with all the same people she used to be with, doing all the same things, but she's a different person now. It may be Depression or just growing out of things, but she finds she's apathetic toward life in her small town. She wants nothing to do with the melodrama amongst her boozy social group. No one can get a rise out of her. It's really a pleasure to read the ways in which her family members, friends and acquaintances respond to her indifference. When a person is blank we tend to project onto them even more.

What do the people in our lives want from us? What happens when we grow?

I also must mention that this is a especially funny read. A few times this passage has popped into my head and I just can't help but laugh: Bridget is reading a note that another patient at the psych ward has left behind:

"And another scrap read: IF I COULD GROW MY HAIR AS LONG AS RAPUNZEL THE FUNNIEST FUCKING THING IN THE WORLD WOULD BE TO ASK SOME ONE TO CLIMB UP IT AND THEN CUT IT ALL OFF BEFORE HE GOT THERE."

[Josie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I "liked" this book. I think I decided a while back to get more involved in Canadian Fiction as I am a huge Heather O'Neill fan. This book from the reviews sounded like I was on the right track, but didn't come close. Maybe she's just too good and I should stop trying to find more authors like her?
Anyway, I did enjoy this novel (once I got over the comparing factor) and it contained one of my favourite themes - a slightly unhinged young main character in a psych ward! Whats not to love!?
The writing at times became what I can only describe as 'vague', and although I get that this was intentional, it really became confusing in parts.
Overall a good debut novel by an author I would look for again, but in the hope that their 2nd novel was a bit stronger.

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. During the first chapters I felt like I was aboard a runaway train, hurtling to some unknown somewhere and about to go off the rails. I had no idea where the narrative was headed and was lost among several characters and some weird dialogue. No wonder. I was on the psych ward of a hospital struggling to get my feet on the ground and figure out what was going on.

Bridget Murphy is a seventeen year old girl from Cape Breton who delivered her baby and gave it up for adoption. Following the birth she appeared depressed, apathetic and withdrawn and was admitted to 4 South, the psych ward of the children’s hospital for rest and time away from home. She stayed there for four months and shared time, space and dialogue with her fellow patients including Kelly and Maria starving young girls who were both anorexics, Mona a pathological liar on the run from her wealthy father and Byron an attention seeing egomaniac who stuck to her like glue and wouldn't leave her alone. Byron believed he had read every book ever written, that he spoke four languages and that Bridget was amazed by his intellect and overwhelmed by his charisma.

Life on the ward was a combination of “adolescent speak” dialogue and nightmarish scenes of angst from this group of patients who were all tied together by their illness and their feeling of being misunderstood. There was something frightening about being in the same room with these people they were so strange. Bridget discovered the only thing expected of her was to act mad. She was thoroughly bored, but it gave her a respite from her dysfunctional family while she tried to figure out what her future life would be after her birthing experience.

With Xmas soon to arrive, Bridget is discharged and returns to the chaos of her home in the small town where she lives with her father Robert a woodworker who sees himself as an artist, her patient Mother Joan, her grandmother Margaret P. who is slowly fading into the dark world of dementia and her Uncle Rollie. Rollie is developmentally delayed and once attended a special school which he loved but which is now closed, so he spends his days at home with his extended family. Bridget also reconnects with her friends to find nothing much has changed. They are still sharing the drunken parties, fist fights and gossip they always have. They want her to come and hang out, gossip and get drunk like old times but Bridget no longer sees the point of getting “shit faced” and passing out in a snowbank. It all seems like foolishness. Her perspective has changed with her time away, but they haven’t changed at all, still locked in the same old pattern of drinking, fighting and making out. She realizes she feels indifferent to these friends and wants to distance herself from these people she has known her whole life, but they won't leave her alone. She is not sure what direction she should turn to next but is sure of two things: she wants something different and she has no use for Mark who fathered her baby but who continually whines and feeling sorry for himself as if he was the one who had the baby.

This was Coady’s debut novel and was shortlisted for the Governor General Award for fiction in 1998, an incredible achievement for a writing debut. Coady has never been able to connect with the patronizing bucolic versions of Cape Breton that rhapsodize over its sunsets, huge dark forests and rocky cliffs, wonders at its good people with their unique culture or moans over its sad dependence on unemployment insurance, welfare and booze. She grew up in Cape Breton, knows it well and wanted to present something quite different, less arrogant, more irreverent and funny. Her goal was to break the stereotypes and present the reality she herself has known and experienced.

Her writing is raw, raunchy and humorous and she describes many laugh out loud moments in the midst of her quirky irreverent family. They have strong connections and truly care for each other through all the experiences life presents them. Joan and Robert, Bridget’s Mum and Dad continue to care for Bridget’s grandmother Margaret P. who has macabre hallucinations and whose mind is quickly deteriorating as dementia takes its toll. Margaret spends her time in her room, surrounded by her religious icons, relics and pictures, confused and talking to her developmentally delayed son Rollie about dying. And when she needs attention, she signals the others by banging on the walls with her bedpan. Rollie is also lovingly kept at home and Robert has taken him in hand and helped him create religious wood crafts he sells to tourists.

Drinking, swearing and gossip are a big part of life at home and most of the time the family and Bridget’s friends are doing one or the other or all three at the same time , accounting for some hilarious, authentic and unhinged moments. But they are all lovingly portrayed with their unique ways, making Coady’s writing bold, daring, honest and even gutsy. It is a slice of life presented in an unvarnished, gritty and very real way.

As a reader I struggled at the beginning of the novel but advise those who like me considered abandoning the book, to just hang in. There are moments of real brilliance in these pages and it is also interesting knowing that although this is a book of fiction, much of what Coady has written comes from her own experiences.

[Marilyn Letts · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want laugh-out-loud, small-town Canada, maritimer this is 4 star. Somehow these very particular people are also easily and painfully representative of us all. One woman’s story told with wit, love, grace, and hope.

[Erin Moxam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Bridget Murphy who as a teenager gives up her baby for adoption and then finds herself in a psych unit with depression. I could have almost given this book a 4, but not quite. The best thing about this book is the extremely honest portrayal of people, warts and all, while still keeping those same people endearing for the most part - much like real people. I liked Bridget's family because they were real, and she was real. This is also a book about growing up in a small town, leaving that town, and then coming back and things don't look quite the same any more. This is a relatively short book, and worth picking up.

[Deborah Sowery-Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read about a pregnant teenager in Cape Breton who gives up her baby & is then incarcerated in the mental health facility due to her apathy. Part of the story takes place there & another part describes her family & life with friends. It's got all the craziness of family that many could relate to.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out grabbing my interest, then just petered out. No real story line, just a kid meandering alone through her confused teenage years in a family full of not-so-unusual chaos.

[Terry Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. So deep, so funny and so Maritime. The language was spot on, especially the swearing. I loved every page of it.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn Coady, you are a great author. This novel made me laugh out loud; a must-read for all Nova Scotians and those who have visited and felt connected to the culture and humour.

[Ronald Kelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being from Newfoundland, I have an affinity for east coast authors, I find that whether an author is from Newfoundland or Cape Breton, there is a tendency towards similar themes, outlooks and use of humour that makes for delightful reading. This novel fits in that mild, but I foo find myself with confused feelings about it. It is possible that I didn't like the book, which would be a failing of the author. However, it is also distinctly possible that I simply didn't like most of the characters, which would actually be a success for the author. The main character is a young girl from Cape Breton forced into a psychiatric ward, where she interacts with staff and patients, who, while clearly having their issues, are generally more normal than those on the outside appear to be. When she is released, she is sent back to her community where she interacts with her family and former friends. Other than the main character, who is very interesting and matures considerably over the course of this short novel, there is not a likeable character in the entire book. Every other character exhibits a combination of selfishness, self-loathing, denial, nihilism, ignorance, self-destruction and whininess - hardly a likeable character in bunch, which made the book equal parts fascinating and dreary. What I did appreciate most about the book was the humour, particularly to language and opinions of some of the town's residents and their loathing of outsiders (particularly people from the city) and their utter disdain and unhappiness with their own situation. I have seen that same contrary attitude expressed by many people the world over. My largest criticism is that the depiction of the sanity of the asylum versus the insanity of the "normal" outside world, is a bit of a well-used trope, which brings about a bit of predictability in the novel. In conclusion, I am left with confused feelings about this novel, as I think more about it my thoughts may change. I am certainly impressed enough that I have added Coady's other works to my reading list.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read "Mean Boy" a couple years ago and enjoying it, when I stumbled across this book by the same author I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately, I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as "Mean Boy." I just couldn't really get into it. I felt as though I would really like the main character, if only I could get to know her just a little bit better. The whole story just felt kind of flat, the plot wasn't really there, and the ending felt incomplete. It was an ok read, but probably not one I will read again.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by a Canadian author; and was a requirement for my English class.
I found it to be witty, intelligent, well structured and showing some insight into an apathetic person's life. It also shows two different families' struggles and how they dealt with what life threw at them.
A bit confusing from here and there, but in the end it made sense. A good read but it was an easy read, I enjoyed it.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Lynn Coady's first novel. It is the sad but funny story of 17-year-old Bridget who is in a psych ward in Halifax after giving up her baby for adoption. She dreads going back home to Cape Breton where her family's household is rather chaotic with a grandmother who is very religious and also suffering from dementia and her mentally challenged uncle Rollie. It is an impressive first novel, well written and also very funny at times. I am giving it 3.5 stars.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me. Reading this book was like sitting home at a kitchen table with my family. The language, the scenery, the people all spoke to me of life in small town NS. I love Lynn Coady and her ability to bring me home with nothing more than a single line of dialogue.

[Adam McPhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accidentally stayed up all night reading this. I loved it. It's about a girl who spends some in a psych ward after becoming pregnant at a young age, and her subsequent return home to rural Cape Breton.

[Jennifer Gyuricska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently it's an essay about teenage life on Cape Breton. Don't expect a resolution or a real feeling of understanding. If you're going to read it, go into it like you're a fly on the wall watching it all.

[Janet Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent, funny and full of a young but honest depth.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for anyone considering a relocation to industrial Cape Breton.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my latest review of Strange Heaven by Coady. It is posted on the Edwards Magazine Book Club site: http://ow.ly/2WOSY

[Alisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible.....that's all I can really say about it

[Dawn O'Rourke · Rating 3 out of 5]

i didn't get this one...

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about this one as I got started... and then looked up about 3 hours later to discover I was nearly finished.

[Annaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lynn Coady writes really good characters, and perhaps that's why you can continue reading this book about a character who often seems so apathetic. She writes a very different anti-hero.