Refuge

by Merilyn Simonds

To whom do we offer refuge – and why?

After a life that rubbed up against the century’s great events in New York City, Mexico, and Montreal, ninety-six-year-old Cassandra MacCallum is surviving well enough, alone on her island, when a young Burmese woman contacts her, claiming to be kin. Curiosity, loneliness, and a slender filament of hope prompt her to accept a visit. But Nang’s story of torture and flight provokes memories in Cass that peel back, layer by layer, the events that brought her to this moment — and forces her, against her will, to confront the tragedy she has refused for half a century. Could her son really be Nang’s grandfather? What does she owe this girl, who claims to be stateless because of her MacCallum blood? Drawn, despite herself, into Nang’s search for refuge, Cass struggles to accept the past and find a way into whatever future remains to her.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Book Club

312 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2018

About the author

Merilyn Simonds is the author of 18 books, including the novel The Holding, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, and the Canadian classic nonfiction novel, The Convict Lover, a finalist for the Governor General's Award. In 2017, Project Bookmark Canada unveiled a plaque to honour the place of The Convict Lover in Canada’s literary landscape.

Simonds’ short fiction is anthologized internationally and her books are published in the UK, Europe, Asia, Canada, and the United States. In 2012 she published The Paradise Project, a collection of flash fiction hand-printed on an antique press with endpapers made from plants in her garden. The experience of producing the collection in both a digital and book-arts edition is the subject of Gutenberg’s Fingerprint: Paper, Pixels, and the Lasting Impression of Books. Her most recent publication is Refuge, a novel set in Mexico City, New York, and eastern Ontario.

Simonds writes a blog—Books Unpacked—on her website merilynsimonds.com. She shares her life with writer Wayne Grady. They divide their time between Mexico and Canada.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Canadian author Merilyn Simonds is a new author for me, one I was not familiar with, even though she has written sixteen books. I’m glad to have discovered her now with this beautifully written story. It is told from the point of view of 96 year old Cass MacCallum’s present day in 2001, a solitary existence on her island in Canada. She takes us to her childhood and moves seamlessly back and forth in time until we get caught up on her life. The youngest of nine daughters, inquisitive about the life around her, encouraged by and learning from her father, inheriting a love of nature, of life forms, of science and of observation, she becomes a nurse. Introspective for most of it as it is from Cass’s perspective , we consider her life over almost a century from Canada to Mexico to New York and back to Canada. It’s the arrival of a young Burmese woman who believes that her grandfather was Cass’s son that has prompted this self assessment, reminding Cass of losses, of things she tries not to think about. While this is introspective, Cass has not lived an uneventful life. There are wars, political upheaval, research on the polio vaccine, crossing paths with artist Frida Kahlo, falling In love, leaving Mexico alone and pregnant for New York. We come to know her life with her son, her regrets, her coming to terms with her age and all that happened in her life.

In many ways the powers of observation, of science of knowledge are front and center, but it is what the heart knows that ends up mattering the most. Simonds tells us that the inspiration for the story is from a friend. “My dear friend Ellen Stafford planted the seed for this novel in her dying hours. Ellen wrote all her life, but only began to publish in her eighties. Many of her memoirs remain in manuscript form.” I wasn’t clear from the note whether the story is Ellen’s story and not clear about what is true, but I was held from the beginning to the end.


I received an advanced copy of this book from ECW Press through Edelweiss.

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 40%

I really wanted to like this book. It has the common (these days) novel structure where there is a storyline in the present and a storyline in the past. And of course these storylines connect. In this case the old woman we see at the cottage whom receives an unexpected visitor is the young woman in the past story. However the majority of what I read kept us firmly put in the past which was fine by me.

Boring
The thing is however, Refuge is really boring. At some points it's brilliantly written and very exciting; but there are too many pages of describing parks, streets or the average day is described over and over again. I just don't care to know what it was like to have lunch in Central Park everyday.
Additionally, Merilyn Simonds does far too much telling and not enough showing. I didn't need to be told about New York City; I'd rather have had it shown for me. Describing the walks our lead gal takes is just dull. However had it been showing me what our lead gal saw as she walked the city that may/would have been different.

Just didn't care
The other major factor for my not finishing Refuge was that our lead gal as an old woman is kind of awful. And I get that there are probably reasons that would come out as the story progressed; but I just couldn't stand her. I also had a hard time with the future scenario that some girl just shows up on her secluded residence doorstep. It just didn't make a lot of sense to me. These factors contributing to me not caring about our lead gal or the mystery visitor. And honestly past that there are no more characters really worth investing effort in.

Conclusion
A book like Refuge needs to be based off solid, relatable characters. With so few points of interaction that last longer than a few chapters with our leading lady we really need to connect with her. That's not to say she has to be nice but she does need to make sense to the reader. For me this connection was missing and it ruins the whole experience of Refuge because I just didn't care what happened to our leading lady in her life. I also believe Refuge needed a strict editor to cut down on all the telling of scenery that happens. I barely tolerate that type of description in my favourite book (LOTR) of all time; therefore, it's highly unlikely I'll tolerate it in anything else.

For this and more of my reviews please visit my blog at: Epic Reading

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like other readers, I was reading only a chapter or two of REFUGE a day. The writing is lush, sensual and evocative — I didn't want to rush it. Until last night, that is, when I was still reading hungrily at 2:00 in the morning. It's a beautifully crafted literary novel, both historic and contemporary — a masterpiece of a work — and also a deeply compelling mystery, a novel that will haunt me for some time to come.

[Laurie Mackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rare is the novel I must read, from beginning to end, in one sitting. Merilyn Simond’s Refuge one of those few gems. Now on my third reading, I still have immense difficulty in closing the pages.

There I met ninety-six-year-old Cassandra McCallum, haunted, cynical, and fiercely protective of her self-imposed isolation. Enter Miss Nang Aung Myaing, a purported twenty-three-year-old Burmese refugee. Suspecting that Myaing’s email is yet another scam, Cass deletes it only to receive a second. And this one contains the hook: the name of Cass’s son, Charlie O’Brien — Nang Aung Myaing’s grandfather — and from him she has a gift. Against her better judgement, Cass invites the woman to her island home on the outskirts of Newbliss. So begins the journey of two women; one determined to establish her right, by blood, to remain in Canada, the other furiously and reluctantly drawn into memories she’d rather let alone.

Seemingly a free-spirited rebel who has never “fit the mold”, McCallum, it soon becomes apparent, is running away from as much as she is searching for. Nang Aung Myaing’s arrival on the island and her assertion of kinship bring Cassandra face to face with her past. In alternating McCallum’s back story with the conflict of the present, Simonds skillfully, and without misstep leads her readers along a path of growth and acceptance to an unsettling climax.

Seldom have I found myself so deeply engrossed in a story, its reality. Largely, that sense of stems from Simond’s very believable characterization and a compelling story-line dotted with historical and photographic references and works. Even with her frequent sparks of humour and Cassandra McCallum’s “free-spirit” refusal to bend to convention there remains a thread running through her story that I found unutterably sad, yet Simonds has created a character to admire; a woman with courage and indomitable strength.

[Penny (Literary Hoarders) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps more towards a 3.5 stars. The beginning was the strongest and the best for me, I was really sucked into it and was enjoying it tremendously. Then it started to wander and sadly, I really didn't like the ending. :-(

[Rissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Refuge ⭐️

Where to start... the writing was very descriptive and at first that was beautiful but then it became too much.

I think it had potential to show the power and strength behind those that have suffered but since I read We Are Not Refugees recently this just seemed bland in compassion.
Cass our protagonist is a strong character but she is also very much weak and terrified.

She had beautiful statements but that didnt seem to fit in the story. Theyw ere just there to fill space.

There were contradictory statements
“How old are you?” The right after
“I remeber the day you were born”
If you remeber the day she was born you should know how old she is. She shouldnt seem to be stranger if the man supposedly knows her so well.

Thank you so much to ECW press via netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of Refuge by Merilyn Simonds. This will be released on September 4, 2018
All opinions are my own.

[Emily Ferko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down, and read it in two sittings. Cass is a badass and I want to live in her cabin and her memories forever.

[Julia Keizer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refuge is the type of book that you never want to put down, never want it to end, but you can't stop reading it. I stayed up late into the night reading and losing myself in the amazing journey and life of Cass.
It reads just like you would think an elderly ladies mind would be. Drifting from a colorful past and come slamming back to the present. Recalling memories she wants to leave behind, even if they are the most loving and beautiful memories tainted with loss.

It was an amazing tale of Cass Maccallum's life from the very beginning with her father bringing her into the world. She was born on a Canadian farm and traveled to Mexico after becoming a nurse, then to New York. It decribes her romances and her fears. Her many losses over the years. The twist is finding something she never knew she had in the form of a refugee near the very end of her life, when she is content with her solitude

I loved the acknowledgments at the end where it gives additional reading about the non fictional people she added into the story so if you are interested you can read more about them.

With richly descriptive passages and a photographic element that I was happy to find inside this gem of a novel you will not be disappointed.


*I would like to thank #NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this review in exchange for an honest review.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read some of the other reviews and thought I would add my thoughts.

It is because the book is written from two different angles that it kept me engaged and engrossed. Simonds made me want to follow the connections and think about how the characters were all connected to each other.

I kept the book on my bedside table and read it as slowly as I could make myself read it (but I admit to not being able to not read the ending, once I got within spitting distance of it!), b/c the language was rich and descriptive and vivid.

Loved it and will read it again (which is rare for me). As well, it made me want to get a copy of The Holding and read that again, b/c I remember the same story weaving in that book and I think I will revisit it.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cass MacCallum has had a life of ups and downs. At ninety-six, she has more or less made peace with it. She lives in her little house on her little Ontario island, waiting for her body to finally give out with age. But then someone from Myanmar starts to send her emails, claiming to be the granddaughter of Cass’s long-lost son. At the beginning of Refuge, Nang Aung Myaing shows up at Cass’s house with a request for help with her claim for asylum...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.

[Elainelangley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tapestry of a life is what Refuge holds.

From Cassandra's first musing, I was drawn into her narrative. It is beautiful. It is heart wrenching. It is representative of a woman's strength and desire to both persevere and disappear.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to be one of the first to hear what it means to both seek and offer Refuge.

[Olga]

I thought that "Refuge" started out strong with so much potential but after a few chapters (I think I got through 75 pages), I ended up shelving it. The problem (for me) was that there was too much jumping back and forth between the past and present, and I constantly felt taken out of the story. The narrator didn't grab me, though I tried to sympathize for her.

[Etain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has many layers, each one richer than the one before. I found it almost impossible to walk away from, and finished it in a couple of days. This is truly Historical Fiction at its finest. Yes, there is romance , but written without the sappy icing. The story is fascinating, and reaches deep into the spirit of family, heritage, and community.

[Jim Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finishing this book, I still cannot decide if I liked it. It (the story) turned a little odd near the end. There was also a lack of characters I liked, which is always problematic for me. Still, a solid three stars. Full review: http://bit.ly/refugereview

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been awhile since I opened a book that I had to force myself to read more slowly, to make it last longer. From the first few pages I knew I would feel a sense of loss when it was over. I was right. I finished it hours ago and though I know I was given enough, in the end, to satisfy, I still wish there were more.

The protagonist, Cassandra MacCallum, is so real I swear I know her—she’s a next-door neighbour; the one teacher/nurse/mother-of-a-friend I’ll never forget; the woman I helped with her memoirs; the “aunt” who wasn’t my blood relative but who watched me grow up and left an indelible mark. Cassandra—Cass to those of us who know her well, can be difficult, or seems so. It’s what we used to call “set in her ways”, polite-speak for cantankerous, stubborn, willful—and long past the age when better-behaved people have resigned themselves to the grave.

Yet despite all her crusty bravado, Cass is as difficult to dislike as her visitor, Nang Aung Myaing is to warm up to, at least initially. Not because Nang, as Cass insists on calling her, is particularly unlikeable—she’s simply unreadable. From behind Cass’s eyes we perceive a Pandora’s chest of secrets, intrigues only hinted at enough to get the spidey senses tingling. And despite Nang’s claim that she is a great-granddaughter to whom Cass owes a long-awaited acknowledgement of blood ties—and the country that goes with them—the expressionless voice, guarded looks and spare English of the young refugee give nothing away.

The historical sweep of this novel is impressive. In just 300 pages, the author deftly carries us through a complex life review, taking us from Eastern Canada to Mexico, New York City, Montreal and then back to where we started, in a rough-hewn cabin on an island far removed from the rest of the world (my kind of heaven). Amidst all this to and fro we are introduced to the search for a cure for polio, the Mexican Revolution of 1913, pro- and anti-communist sentiments in post-World War II America, the Burmese uprising of the late 1980s, and the development of photography as an art form throughout the latter half of the 19th century. We also get a glimpse into the life and character of one of the last century’s most famous and intriguing artists, a young Frieda (later, Frida) Kahlo. How all of this is so neatly and thoroughly folded into prose that sings off the page is a wonder, sustained page after page.

Simonds is a master of metaphor; so much so, that I used a record number of stickies to mark phrases and whole paragraphs so singular they need to be written down. For me, the novel turns on one of these, found in the last 60 pages:

“The photographs spilled across the blankets, onto the floor. Like pieces of a puzzle, she thought. One that confounded Carlos—how could it not?—although, looking down on the scattered, overlapping images, she saw them suddenly in a new way. Not as a sequence that begged to be ordered, but as a kind of mosaic, each print related to every other it touched, fragments of any number of stories…Not a linear record of a too-short life, but a composite that was whole, complete in itself; countless beginnings, no visible end.

One thing must be mentioned that readers, perhaps, will slip over, so intent are we on draining every word from the page; that is, the pages themselves. This is an extraordinarily wrought book for our times. I confess I squandered valuable reading time examining and admiring the visual cues, so beautifully rendered: a beetle for one time period, a moth for another, blank for yet another, the significance of each subtly revealed. And at the centre of it all, the bejewelled beetle of a living brooch. Images that stick, like the moths on a blank canvas, to forever bring to mind this beautifully told tale.

[Sharron Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've only recently discovered the work of this Canadian author. And I'm glad I have. Her recently published novel REFUGE delivers a compelling story whose central character, 96 year old Cassandra MacCullum, comes complete with all the curmudgeonly qualities and physical frailties invariably if unfairly ascribed to that age cohort. As memorable fictional characters go, Cass, for me, is right up there with Margaret Laurence's Hagar Shipley. She is not necessarily loveable but girded with decades of formidable life changing adventures Cass is clearly no pushover. Her heart and her mind are subjected to a profound reawakening when a 23 year old refugee claimant Nang Aung Myaing from Myanmar's Shan Province arrives in her life. Insisting she is the grand daughter of Cass's late son Charles missing in action at the tail end of world war II, Nang's desperate plight is palpable. With the issue of statelessness at its core, this is a complex story to tell and Simonds pulls it off with appealing, descriptive prose and the life of Cass imaginatively drawn. The use of the moth and the beetle graphic was a nice touch giving a visual cue to the story's current and past time passages.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it possible Nang is really Cass's granddaughter? Or, is she simply seeking assistance with immigration to Canada. But if she isn't, how did she find Cass, who is now 96 years old and living on an island? Simonds uses Nang as a way to tell an interesting tale of a woman who did not want to be bound. The story moves back and forth in time a bit but it's always clear what's going on. Cass lives in various places in the Americas but it's not until she lands on the island that she settles. Her relationships with her family and friends are both loving and challenging; this is especially true with regard to her son. This is her story, not Nang's, of which we only get a taste. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Simonds is a new author to me and I'm going to look for her in the future.

[Bigi Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am always delighted to learn about a Canadian author I knew nothing about. With 13 books under Simonds's belt, you would think the story line would hold together better. I would like to have had a deeper understanding of the 96 year old central figure Cassandra. I found the idea of a Burmese visitor finding her in her out of the way location a bit unlikely. More unlikely was the friendship she(Cassandra) apparently had with Frieda in New York. What was most intriguing to me was the way in which Cassandra's fixed ideas evolved as her newly discovered need for connection and became more apparent to her

[Oceantide74 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found Cassie’s father to be the only likable character. Cassie and May were not likable. So Cassie sent her son to her family’s farm during the summer to get out of NYC during the Polio epidemic. Why does that make her a bad mother? She did other questionable things but that wasn’t one of them. The whole Frieda relationship was random and felt her presence was forced hastily in the storyline. There were a few poignant passages. However, I found this book to be very frustrating to say the least.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. It was a slow burn, but I dig the historical fiction elements and learned a lot about polio (weirdly!) and q bit about Freida Khalo. I did get a little weary of the structure as I grew increasingly more interested in being in the present story (where a refugee from Burma comes to the 90-some year old narrator's cabin on an island claiming to be her granddaughter) but there was a really good shift by the end that was quite satisfying. Definitely a book worth checking out (and I want to hear ppls thoughts on the end!)

[Catniven · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart-felt rendering of a feisty woman’s life

Cassandra MacCallum is one of those characters who will live on and on in my head. Love her early years with her father and right the way through! A book about an entire life and all the little connections between now and the past that aren’t evident, without knowing one’s beginnings. A delicious read.

[Barbara Brydges · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and beautifully written novel that spans much of the 20th century in Canada, Mexico and New York City. Simonds could have done more to explain the son’s feeling about this mother though, and I found the ending disturbing - even though it was probably inevitable given the protagonist’s character. I will read more of Simonds work however.

[Caitlyn Aldersea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solid read until about halfway, then started skimming. Such an intriguing idea to explore what it means to belong. But the writing style was a bit boring for me, and I honestly couldn’t tell you much about what went on (in the parts that I didn’t skim). I wanted to love it, but just feel meh about it.

[Theresa Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful novel by Merilyn Simonds that moves back and forward in time to tell the story of Cass, who is closing in on a century of living. Reminded me of Stone Angel and other Canadian classic must-reads. Loved this book!

[Tab · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming story.
If you enjoy Mexican culture or spontaneous adventure, I recommend giving this one a read.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely independent and somewhat crotchety old woman, living alone on an island in Ontario, is visited by a young Burmese woman, who claims to be her great-granddaughter.

[Vicki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would rate zero if I could. Couldn’t stand it past page 13. Painful to read.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. No real story about the young refugee who arrives on the old woman's doorstep - just her reminiscences. The ending was meaningless.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many themes running through this book, many based on real events/people. Lots of good references in the Acknowledgements at the end of the book.

[Doriana Bisegna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel! I have a whole new appreciation for Merilyn Simonds and her writing. Beautiful story , beautiful writing! Couldn't put it down.