The Magpie

by Douglas Durkin

Craig Forrester is newly home following World War I, newly married, and newly mired in social upheaval. Will he choose complacency alongside his peers, or his personal moral code? Originally published in 1923, The Magpie is a social commentary turned novel about the disillusionment that developed after the war. Set against the backdrop of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, The Magpie offers an articulate and perceptive examination of the greed, hypocrisy, and intolerance of the 'decent' classes, the agrarian myth, the role of women in post-war society, and the evolution of moral codes.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2018

About the author

Douglas Durkin (1884-1968) grew up in northern Ontario and Manitoba. After receiving his BA he taught English in a number of schools and universities. In 1929 he moved to New York City, and from then on concentrated on his writing. He wrote most of his novels jointly with Martha Ostenso (who became is wife), composed several ballads with Carl Sandberg, and collaborated on a screenplay, Union Depot, with Gene Fowler. He also contributed short stories to Harper’s Magazine, Liberty, and Century.

Reviews

[Chelsea]

This was a blind pick at a local bookstore for my book club! I never would have read it otherwise! I thought this was a really good book, but it bored me half to death in some parts.
What I liked:
This book had a lot of depth and meaning to it. The writing in general was very good. I loved a taste of historic Winnipeg and life post WW1. I'm in awe that this book was written between the world wars, and the author had many predictions come to fruition pertaining to WW2.
What I didn't like:
The details on the Winnipeg Grain exchange. Just way too much detail for me on the inner workings of the whole thing. Parts of the story dragged a lot. Marion's character was really annoying but she served a purpose in the underlying themes of the story.

[Debbie Reads]

THE MAGPIE DOUGLAS DURKIIN BOOK REVIEW

HOLY FUCK! I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN DO THAT AGAIN! I practically read that book in 2 days but SPEED READ IT CUZ OF MY SEMINAR HOLY!!!! THAT WAS EXHAUSTING! My updates were literally pep-talks I’ve given myself. Idk what’s up with this semester but I just have not been doing the greatest but we persevere anyway. So this book is basically about post world-war I in Canada following Craig Forrester who has newly returned to Winnipeg (ALSO AYE WINNIPEG MENTION).
The book delt with class and labor issues and criag learning to reintergrate back to civilization and his delima to choose between upward mobility and being comfortable or his own ethics.

I find art as a critique of power to be really interesting and can tie this into Alistar Macleod’s “The Boat” and Beaton’s “Bodies of Art, Bodies of Labor.”
Anyways my thoughts aren’t really as coherent or clear. I should process what I’ve read but I just have a large amount of work but FINALLY FINISHED FOR MY SEMINAR! And I can’t wait to hear more about the story.

This book isn’t something I usually would read but in my opinion I am giving this a 2.5.

[Mrscuteness]

I was a tad confused about where Craig worked at first, I maybe missed where that was explicitly said, but the story line was good and the most engaging part was the relationship with Marion and the Lifelong connection with Martha who ended up being Craig's actual love.

[Jacques Poitras]

I loved this book. The plot petered out a bit at the end and went in a few unusual directions, like the author was trying to do and say too much. But it is a great and perceptive study of post-First World War Canada with some wonderful a-ha moments.

[Giselle Goguen]

A novel about post war disillusionment and the redemptive power of art. The story is set in 1923 but its themes and the powerful feelings of its vividly-drawn characters transcend the context of its time. I really enjoyed it.