Granta 141: Canada

Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #141

by Catherine Leroux (Editor), Madeleine Thien

From Canada's global cities to its Arctic Circle - from the country's ongoing story of civil rights movements to languages under pressure - the writers in this issue upend the ways we imagine land, reconciliation, truth and belonging, revealing the histories of a nation's future.

Margaret Atwood, Gary Barwin, Dionne Brand, Fanny Britt, Douglas Coupland, France Daigle, Alain Farah, Naomi Fontaine, Dominique Fortier, Krista Foss, Kim Fu, Rawi Hage, Anosh Irani, Falen Johnson, Benoit Jutras, Alex Leslie, Alexander MacLeod, Daphne Marlatt, Lisa Moore, Nadim Roberts, Armand Garnet Ruffo, Chloé Savoie-Bernard, Anakana Schofield, Paul Seesequasis, Johanna Skibsrud, Karen Solie, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Larry Tremblay.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Short Stories, Poetry, Anthologies

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2017

About the author

Catherine Leroux est née en 1979 non loin de Montréal, où elle vit aujourd’hui avec un chat et quelques humains. Elle a été caissière, téléphoniste, barmaid, commis de bibliothèque. Elle a enseigné, fait la grève, vendu du chocolat, étudié la philosophie et nourri des moutons puis elle est devenue journaliste avant, de publier La marche en forêt. Finaliste au Prix des libraires du Québec, ce roman d’une grande humanité a charmé le public et la critique. Le mur mitoyen est son second roman.

Reviews

[Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to rate an anthology? There were pieces in here that really wowed and others that were seriously bizarre. Most were just okay.

[Susan Emmet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A phenomenal collection of poetry, photographs, fiction, memoir and so much else. The focus is often on language and Canada is full of languages. How can language capture the nuances of translation, of native dialect, of mixing of old and new (Cajun and French and English), of the wilds, of ancient traditions, of recovery of history, especially that which is unquestionably disturbing.

I was especially drawn to the work of Rawi Hage, Douglas Coupland, Kim Fu, Lisa Moore, Naomi Fontaine, Alexander Macleod, Daphne Marlatt, Chloe Savoie-Bernard, Anosh Irani and Larry Tremblay.

I think the editors captured the size and scope, the vastness, that is Canada.
A wonderful anthology!

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, poetry, images etc. focused on Canada and Canadians, guest edited by Catherine Leroux and Madeleine Thien. Language is a key topic in Canada:

The land has sixty unique Indigenous language dialects, and, according to census data, more than two hundred languages reported as a mother tongue or home language.

It is hardly surprising, then, that

Language becomes its own landscape in this issue of Granta. Language falls apart, twists, reformulates, shatters and revives itself

It is an interesting collection to read. I found the articles translated from French into English to be the most powerful and stimulating and once again found myself wishing my French language skills were better and would allow me to read the original.

And thanks to Douglas Coupland for the following quote taken from a short essay introducing a set of images of Canadianness

My mantra since Brexit has been 'Democracy needs morning-after pills'...

[Neil Kenealy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Granta always has a theme and sometimes a country is a theme. Examples are Japan, India, Canada, Pakistan. They’ve also done collections of writers from a country – recent examples are Brazilian and Irish writers. There is a difference when the theme is a country because Granta tries to give as representative as possible a selection. It’s like taking a slice through the country and examines the fossils in the rock. The result is hopefully similar to what you get when you visit a country and experience lots of different things – some good some not so good. It’s the same with this collection – some needed a bit more concentration and inside knowledge than I had.

There are two editor's one French-speaking, one English speaking. The pieces written originally in French had a barely detectable different feel to them. Canada's story is told by those who came from away and those already there. The Native American stories were certainly different and the most interesting of the collection. The collection captures the vastness of the landscape diversity of culture and languages.

The best pieces were Mangilaluks Highway, Swimming Coach, Fjord of Eternity, Logomorph and How to Pronounce Knife.

Mangilaluks highway is the story of three boys who ran away from a residential home for Inuit boys in 1972. They were trying to get home but it was a dangerous journey. Then the story followed the survivor Bernard's life with some violence, drink and AIDS and eventual redemption.

Swimming Coach by Anish Irani is an homage to the joy of swimming. Great story of how life turns out different than expected and everything is clear when you're forty. 

Fjord of eternity Lisa Moore is a very good story about private investigator couple checking out false claims for insurance. 

Logomorph is a good story about rabbit and family life through the full span of caring and nurture. 

How to Pronounce Knife is a story of a child's awakening that her father who immigrated from Laos doesn't know as much as she thought. This is the best story because of how it's told.

The only author I knew from before was the queen of dystopia Margaret Atwood. The Martians claim Canada is cynical funny and dark. She nails an invented world. I'd be scared to share a house with her even though she would say: I'm just a writer it's not real. 

Le Cirque Rawi Hage is a great photo essay of circus performers at rest and before the show. This is what Granta does best.

Where is it that Hurts by France Daigle is an essay which is very similar to the discussion about the Irish language in Ireland. Acadians all along the east coast lost their territory and thereby lost their language. This essay is an exploration of the pain and complications of that loss of language and maybe a subtle loss of identity. There was a big deportation of Acadians around the end of the eighteenth century. 

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole I enjoyed this less than some of the most recent editions of Granta. Much of the writing was more experimental than I was in the mood for. The final story, 'Tshinanu' by Naomi Fontaine is worth seeking out for its description of an indigenous person preserving their language in an English speaking society.

[Hamuel Sunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outstanding survey of contemporary Canadian literature.

The highlights were Anakana Schofield's novel excerpt, Dionne Brand's poem, Madeleine Thien and Catherine Leroux's bilingual introduction, photos and text by Rawi Hage, and stories by Alain Farah, Anosh Irani, Alexander MacLeod, and Souvankham Thammavongsa. There was a lot good besides.

[❀ Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://ayearofbooksblog.com/2018/02/...

What is Granta you might ask? It is the “magazine of new writing”. Their website describes that “each themed issue of Granta turns the attention of the world’s best writers on to one aspect of the way we live now”. Founded in 1889 and named after a river flowing near the Cambridge University, it is a quarterly celebrated for its’ themed issues. Although it is categorized as a magazine, it is a really more like a book, an anthology or a collection of stories.

Thank you to Louise for sending me this gift. I have enjoyed the first issue with short stories, poems and photo essays by Canadian authors. Edited by Madeleine Thien (Do Not Say We Have Nothing) and Catherine Leroux (The Party Wall), I was moved by the first story, Mangilaluk’s Highway, describing the deadly trek of 3 boys escaping from residential school. One boy survived yet has spent his life wondering why?

Lagamorph was a curious tale of a pet bunny submitted by Alexander MacLeod. Parents can relate to the experience of a pet becoming their task and being much more work than initially anticipated. The scene with the snake will be forever etched in my mind!

Margaret Atwood submitted The Martians Calm Canada which accompanied an original drawing by the author. Her tale describes Martians accidentally arriving in Canada on their way to a musical in New York. They encounter mushrooms who describe Canada to the extraterrestrials. In true Margaret Atwood style, she comments on the current events through her writing.

Granta is a magazine, an anthology really, that shares a unique mix of storytelling by Canadian artists. A few of the entries were very creative head scratchers. I am not sure what to make of them and was happy that they were short but these were mixed in with some great writing.

Overall, Granta was a collection of writing to read a little bit at a time, to slowly enjoy and to appreciate the creativity of Canadian writers. I am looking forward to the next collection which is called Animalia.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Granta is a literary magazine out of Britain that I was unfamiliar with but picked up when I saw Madeline Thien was one of the curators of a Canadian themed month. Its a collection of short stories, essays and poetry around the theme of what is Canada, what is imagined, here, now. How to share a land etc. What is memory, who decides what stories are told. My favourite pieces included Alexander MacLeod's Lagomorph, Lisa Moore's The Fjord of Eternity, and Johanna Skibskrud's The Rememberer all short stories and Nadim Robert's Mangilauks Highway a beautifully written look at the impact of residential schools on not only the children but their communities. What a great snapshot of Canadian literature.

I will definitely continue to search out Granta.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tour-de-force, a subtle juggernaut of superb writing. Worth picking up solely for the very funny "The Martians Claim Canada" by the peerless Margaret Atwood, I also found the following pieces to be quite captivating, each in their own way:

Mangilaluk's Highway, by Nadim Roberts
The Rememberer, by Johanna Skibsrud
Lagomorph by Alexander Macleod

The above three are simply superb, but the quality doesn't end there. I also recommend these selections:

Swimming Coach by Anosh Irani
Bina by Ankana Shofield
The Blue Clerk by Dionne Brand
Cloud Seeding by Krista Foss
The Fjord of Eternity by Lisa Moore

[Rue Baldry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another mixed bag from Granta. I was disappointed by the first few things I read, but actually, overall, there are some solidly good reads in here and I feel that I now have a vague foundation of an idea about Canadian culture(s) and recent history and realise I didn't have that before, in spite of all the Margaret Atwood books I've read.

Highlights for me were: Mangilaluk's Highway, Lagomorph, Swimming Coach, How To Pronounce Knife, Cloud Seeding, The Fjord of Eternity and the photos in Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the pieces by Nadim Roberts, Alexander MacLeod, Alex Leslie, Fanny Britt, Dominique Fortier, Anosh Irani, Chloe Savoie-Bernard, Alain Farah, Souvankham Thammanvongsa, France Daigle, Lisa Moore, Naomi Fontaine. A few pieces were a little too. SF for me: The Rememberer by Johanna Skibsrud and Cloud Seeding by Krista Foss. Amused by Atwood’s piece about The Martians claiming Canada. And I must admit I simply did not get Dionne Brand’s The Blue Clerk.

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of these short stories and extracts from novels and feel I gained some small insight of what it means to be a Canadian. Previously I hadn't been aware of Canadian authors, apart from Margaret Atwood, but now I will seek out some of their work- from their background I think they will have very interesting stories to tell.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this as much as the other two Grantas I have read. The best were Nadim Roberts’ “Mangilaluk’s Highway,” a non-fiction piece about an Inuit boy who survived two weeks lost in the Arctic while his friends perished, and Alexander MacLeod’s short story “Lagomorph.”

[Debby Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of writings. Can't wait for the next edition to land in my hands !! Selling the homestead and moving into a nomad life caused me to take forever to read this, but the stalling was rewarded remarkably.

[P.D. Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of stories from Canadian authors. A diverse selection of styles too, and though there were a few I didn't personally connect with, on the whole, it was a very strong and enjoyable read.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The collection is very diverse but I found it uneven and not one of the stronger Grantas. A short story by Nadim Roberts is very powerful but much of the rest is slight

[Kathy Stinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few 5-Star pieces and 4s here but a number of 2s pulled my overall rating down.

[Roberto Iacobacci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best Canadian fiction and nonfiction I've read. Absolutely superb collection of great English and French Canadian authors. Highly recommended.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were better than others. I don't think these really represent the best that Canada has to offer though.

[Haleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked some, didn't like some.

[Garrett Zecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional issue that opens strong with two engaging pieces. Madeleine Thien's strong introduction in both French and English opens the issue with a beautiful nationalist tone. Then, Nadim Roberts' terrifying, honest, and brutally brave portrait of three Canadian residential school escapees (Bernard, Dennis, and Jack) and the repercussions of the country's decades of coming to terms with its mistakes, missteps, and reconciliations. Margaret Atwood's story about mushrooms communicating with a visitor from space was as beautiful as it was humorous. A spectacular issue from beginning to end, I will certainly bring this issue with me to the north and revisit it often.

[Meem Arafat Manab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nadim Roberts, Rawi Hage, Alain Farah, who else? Fanny Britt, Naomi Fontaine, ঠগ বাছতে গা উজাড়।

[Chris]

Another profound collection of writings. I appreciate the exposure to these writers to the North. Only one writer presented here, Margaret Atwood, had I read before. I will look for other works, particularly by Larry Tremblay, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Lisa Moore, and Johanna Skibsrud now, though.
This collection addresses the racist past of Canada. "Mangililuk's Highway" is an account of the horrors of Residential Schooling, recounting the insensitivity of the Euro-Canadian ruling class, the trauma of Mangilliluk, himself, and the wisdom of the Inuit elders. Falen Johnson's dialogue "Two Indians" recounts the subjugation of native peoples and the trauma of their diaspora. France Daigle writes of the stress of growing up Acadian, (another ethnicity, French-speaking, persecuted as the British conquered North America) in a bilingual society, where one is favored over the other, but what becomes apparent is other languages that are excluded.
Skibsrud's "The Rememberer" is a beautiful allegory for present society. I enjoyed the humor of Douglas Coupland's Canadian Pictures, and his description of them. Atwood's piece is slight, but humorous. The photo essays by Rawi Hage and Paul Seesequasis are fascinating.