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A Circle on the Surface
It’s 1943. Enman and Una Greene are newly married. Each is haunted by their respective pasts, and each harbours secrets. They have hopes of a happy life together—though they have little idea how to create such a life. Enman brings Una to his childhood home in rural Barrein, Nova Scotia, where he hopes they will stay. Una is restless and feeling increasingly trapped, and longs for the city life she once had. Una meets a mysterious man, and then a body washes up on a beach. There are rumours of German sailors roaming the dunes. When the Greenes receive the news they have been waiting for, and that Una is convinced will save her and her marriage, she she begins to unravel in ways neither is prepared for. From critically acclaimed and bestselling author Carol Bruneau comes an achingly honest portrait of a marriage in a time of war—and an examination of how it is that we come to know ourselves.
357 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 30, 2018
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52 people want to read
About the author
Carol Bruneau
15 books29 followersCarol Bruneau is the author of nine books: three short fiction collections and six novels, including Brighten the Corner Where You Are (Fall 2020) and A Circle on the Surface (2018.) Her first novel, Purple for Sky, won the 2001 Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and the Dartmouth Book Award. She lives with her husband in Halifax.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 2, 2018
Perhaps Carol Bruneau's best novel yet? Better than Glass Voices even? This reviewer says "yes!" A Circle on the Surface is a finely written and cleverly edited novel of Edman and Una Greene, living (or trying to live) in the fictional Nova Scotian village of Barrein, where Edman grew up and where Una finds herself confined in by at every turn. Very likeable east coast characters and a prominent male protagonist that you cannot find fault with (as Una herself discovers) make this my favourite CB novel to date. Due out this fall, I was supplied with an ARC by Nimbus for the purposes of this review.
Full review: http://bit.ly/circleonthesurface
Full review: http://bit.ly/circleonthesurface
January 26, 2025
Beautiful writing, a sad setting, during WWII, small town Nova Scotia.
A marriage, a war, an unveiling.
A marriage, a war, an unveiling.
February 26, 2023
This novel takes places in the fictional town of Barrein Nova Scotia during World War II. It is the story of a war time marriage, floundering in a small, isolated, rural community where its inhabitants wait out the war, fearful the Germans are lurking in the waters on the coastline of the peninsula soon to come ashore and invade their country. Like other marriages during wartime, the marriage of thirty-seven-year-old Una and forty-five-year-old Enman was a hasty affair, brokered without much thought. The newlyweds soon discovered they hardly knew each other before embarking on what was supposed to be a lifetime commitment.
The novel opens in 1956 as Enman Greene waits for his twelve-year-old daughter Penelope to finish her piano lessons. It is her birthday and he is taking her out for fish and chips to celebrate. It is also the day he has promised himself he will tell his daughter about her mother, a past he has kept to himself until now. The novel then reverts back in time to Halifax in 1943 and tells the story of how Enman and Una met and after a two-week courtship Enman proposed.
Before meeting Enman, Una was a teacher who had been fired after a one-night dalliance with the science teacher at her school. Unknown to Una, he was married and when the affair became known, he was reprimanded and Una lost her job. Enman worked at the Bank of Nova Scotia and was doing well, mentored by Andrew the manager at the branch, who also became his friend.
They met on a Halifax street and after a whirlwind two-week courtship, they married and settled down in a small apartment. Shortly afterwards, their life was interrupted when Enman was called to return to his childhood home in Barrein, as his mother was ill and required care. Enman promised Una the move would be temporary, but he resigned his position at the bank and they gave up their apartment.
When they arrived in Barrein, they moved into his mother’s small cramped two-bedroom cottage without running water, Enman took a position as a bookkeeper at the local boatyard at half the pay he got at the bank, and Una took care of his ailing mother.
Una was not happy caring for her husband’s elderly mother or with small-town living. She was a teacher not a nurse, but reluctantly accepted the role, hoping it would not last long and they could return to the city. She was used to having a job, the convenience of public transportation and nearby shops, and the endless possibilities for entertainment with nearby restaurants, movies and plays. In Barrein she had to worry about the spotty availability of water, use the outhouse, live in the cramped surroundings of her husband’s old home filled with is mother’s knickknacks and deal with the prying neighbours, gossips who watch her every move. Not being Barrein born and bred, she is automatically shunned by everyone, not that she sees any of them as potential friends. She is bored with nothing to do and escapes to the beach, her solace and refuge from their prying eyes and the medicinal smells of the sick room. She’s swims and suns herself, frustrated by the feeling that life is passing her by, as every day feels the same and there is nothing to look forward to.
Meanwhile Enman finds it relaxing being home and away from the hectic pace of the city. He quietly settles into his old life and begins drinking again, a habit his friend Andrew at the bank, helped him to keep out of his life. Enman and Gregory had been in the war and both were on a tanker that was struck by enemy fire near the Halifax harbor. Most of the crew lost their lives, including Gregory, but Enman was one the few who got away on a life boat. His legs were badly burned and he has scars on his shins which continue to itch and bother him, but living through that horrific event has left him with nightmares. He has dreams of men enveloped in flames, thrashing in the water and screaming for help. Alcohol helped him deal with the horror of those visuals, the guilt he felt at surviving and the loss of his friend. His passion for music also calms him. He plays the violin and listens to records, but Una has little patience with either the alcohol or the music.
When Enman’s mother dies, Una is ready to pack up and move back to the city but soon realizes, Enman has no intention of returning to Halifax. He believes if she just gives Barrein a chance she’ll come to like it too. She knows if she insists on moving, it will end the marriage so she focuses on the idea of a child. It is late in both their lives to start this process but they work hard to get things going. After several months failing to make progress, they visit Dr. Snow and Una begins tracking her daily temperature, Enman has his sperm tested and they use whatever tips the doctor suggests.
Forced to be patient, Una’s breaks up her boredom, frustration and restlessness by continuing her trips roaming the isolated beaches and swimming. She is careful, after hearing the many rumors and reported sightings of unknown strangers on the beaches, possibly enemy soldiers. Others report strange noises at night coming from the sea and a battered leather jacket with a swastika has also been found. With proof the enemy is hovering somewhere, the neighbors are fearful that enemy soldiers are close and often look out to sea wondering how many are out there. On one of her trips, Una spots man on the deserted beach and although fearful, she is also intrigued and would like to have someone to talk to. When he motions her over, she goes to this young, muscular, good-looking man who speaks little English, yet in an unexpected way, the encounter breaks the tedium of her day. It also changes her life and her marriage.
As the weeks go by, Una feels betrayed by Enman’s desire to stay in Barrein which adds to her loneliness and frustration. The tone of the narrative becomes melancholy as Enman misses his mother, longs for the company of his friend Andrew, continues to drink and remembers the experience of his alcoholic father, determined not to repeat it. He is also uncertain how he can help Una who remains listless and sorrowful, especially when their attempts for a child remain unfulfilled.
When Una finally becomes pregnant, events don’t happen as they both hoped. Una, constantly nauseous, becomes depressed and does not improve after the baby arrives.
This novel is largely driven by Una and Enman who tell their stories in alternating voices. Bruneau has skillfully crafted each, so readers are drawn to and sympathize with both of them. There is a small cast of other players, some of them wildly colorful, such as the dirty, foul mothed bootlegger Bart Twomey, his slow witted childlike niece Hannah and Win Goodrow, once Enman’s teenage girlfriend but now his next-door neighbour. But Bruneau carefully presents them as a backdrop, keeping the focus on the drama unfolding in Una and Enman’s marriage.
This was a very good read. The writing is excellent, especially Bruneau’s descriptions of the ocean, the beaches and Enman’s memories of his horrific experience when his tanker was hit by the Germans. However, I admit I did feel robbed not having a sense of Una’s final experience after following her so closely for most of the book.
The novel ends as it began, with father and daughter eating fish and chips in Halifax. In his own way, Enman has reconciled with his past, realized he did not know Una very well but believes he has learned something from their marriage. Troubled marriages are not uncommon and marriages during war time are often tenuous. Una was a city girl who loved a busy life and he was a country man glad to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. They were incompatible, hardly knew one another and expected their relationship could be saved if they had a child. The experience taught Enman something about himself, about love, life and the mistakes he made. It has also given him Penelope, who has proved to be the light of his life.
The novel opens in 1956 as Enman Greene waits for his twelve-year-old daughter Penelope to finish her piano lessons. It is her birthday and he is taking her out for fish and chips to celebrate. It is also the day he has promised himself he will tell his daughter about her mother, a past he has kept to himself until now. The novel then reverts back in time to Halifax in 1943 and tells the story of how Enman and Una met and after a two-week courtship Enman proposed.
Before meeting Enman, Una was a teacher who had been fired after a one-night dalliance with the science teacher at her school. Unknown to Una, he was married and when the affair became known, he was reprimanded and Una lost her job. Enman worked at the Bank of Nova Scotia and was doing well, mentored by Andrew the manager at the branch, who also became his friend.
They met on a Halifax street and after a whirlwind two-week courtship, they married and settled down in a small apartment. Shortly afterwards, their life was interrupted when Enman was called to return to his childhood home in Barrein, as his mother was ill and required care. Enman promised Una the move would be temporary, but he resigned his position at the bank and they gave up their apartment.
When they arrived in Barrein, they moved into his mother’s small cramped two-bedroom cottage without running water, Enman took a position as a bookkeeper at the local boatyard at half the pay he got at the bank, and Una took care of his ailing mother.
Una was not happy caring for her husband’s elderly mother or with small-town living. She was a teacher not a nurse, but reluctantly accepted the role, hoping it would not last long and they could return to the city. She was used to having a job, the convenience of public transportation and nearby shops, and the endless possibilities for entertainment with nearby restaurants, movies and plays. In Barrein she had to worry about the spotty availability of water, use the outhouse, live in the cramped surroundings of her husband’s old home filled with is mother’s knickknacks and deal with the prying neighbours, gossips who watch her every move. Not being Barrein born and bred, she is automatically shunned by everyone, not that she sees any of them as potential friends. She is bored with nothing to do and escapes to the beach, her solace and refuge from their prying eyes and the medicinal smells of the sick room. She’s swims and suns herself, frustrated by the feeling that life is passing her by, as every day feels the same and there is nothing to look forward to.
Meanwhile Enman finds it relaxing being home and away from the hectic pace of the city. He quietly settles into his old life and begins drinking again, a habit his friend Andrew at the bank, helped him to keep out of his life. Enman and Gregory had been in the war and both were on a tanker that was struck by enemy fire near the Halifax harbor. Most of the crew lost their lives, including Gregory, but Enman was one the few who got away on a life boat. His legs were badly burned and he has scars on his shins which continue to itch and bother him, but living through that horrific event has left him with nightmares. He has dreams of men enveloped in flames, thrashing in the water and screaming for help. Alcohol helped him deal with the horror of those visuals, the guilt he felt at surviving and the loss of his friend. His passion for music also calms him. He plays the violin and listens to records, but Una has little patience with either the alcohol or the music.
When Enman’s mother dies, Una is ready to pack up and move back to the city but soon realizes, Enman has no intention of returning to Halifax. He believes if she just gives Barrein a chance she’ll come to like it too. She knows if she insists on moving, it will end the marriage so she focuses on the idea of a child. It is late in both their lives to start this process but they work hard to get things going. After several months failing to make progress, they visit Dr. Snow and Una begins tracking her daily temperature, Enman has his sperm tested and they use whatever tips the doctor suggests.
Forced to be patient, Una’s breaks up her boredom, frustration and restlessness by continuing her trips roaming the isolated beaches and swimming. She is careful, after hearing the many rumors and reported sightings of unknown strangers on the beaches, possibly enemy soldiers. Others report strange noises at night coming from the sea and a battered leather jacket with a swastika has also been found. With proof the enemy is hovering somewhere, the neighbors are fearful that enemy soldiers are close and often look out to sea wondering how many are out there. On one of her trips, Una spots man on the deserted beach and although fearful, she is also intrigued and would like to have someone to talk to. When he motions her over, she goes to this young, muscular, good-looking man who speaks little English, yet in an unexpected way, the encounter breaks the tedium of her day. It also changes her life and her marriage.
As the weeks go by, Una feels betrayed by Enman’s desire to stay in Barrein which adds to her loneliness and frustration. The tone of the narrative becomes melancholy as Enman misses his mother, longs for the company of his friend Andrew, continues to drink and remembers the experience of his alcoholic father, determined not to repeat it. He is also uncertain how he can help Una who remains listless and sorrowful, especially when their attempts for a child remain unfulfilled.
When Una finally becomes pregnant, events don’t happen as they both hoped. Una, constantly nauseous, becomes depressed and does not improve after the baby arrives.
This novel is largely driven by Una and Enman who tell their stories in alternating voices. Bruneau has skillfully crafted each, so readers are drawn to and sympathize with both of them. There is a small cast of other players, some of them wildly colorful, such as the dirty, foul mothed bootlegger Bart Twomey, his slow witted childlike niece Hannah and Win Goodrow, once Enman’s teenage girlfriend but now his next-door neighbour. But Bruneau carefully presents them as a backdrop, keeping the focus on the drama unfolding in Una and Enman’s marriage.
This was a very good read. The writing is excellent, especially Bruneau’s descriptions of the ocean, the beaches and Enman’s memories of his horrific experience when his tanker was hit by the Germans. However, I admit I did feel robbed not having a sense of Una’s final experience after following her so closely for most of the book.
The novel ends as it began, with father and daughter eating fish and chips in Halifax. In his own way, Enman has reconciled with his past, realized he did not know Una very well but believes he has learned something from their marriage. Troubled marriages are not uncommon and marriages during war time are often tenuous. Una was a city girl who loved a busy life and he was a country man glad to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. They were incompatible, hardly knew one another and expected their relationship could be saved if they had a child. The experience taught Enman something about himself, about love, life and the mistakes he made. It has also given him Penelope, who has proved to be the light of his life.
October 14, 2018
In the opening chapter of A Circle on the Surface, it is 1956 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Enman Greene has taken his daughter Penelope to a fish & chip shop for her 12th birthday, intending to tell her the truth about her absent mother, Una. Enman’s life is filled with regrets, and subsequent chapters reveal the reasons why. The story Enman wants to share with his daughter begins in 1943. Against a wartime backdrop, Enman and his new wife Una have left Halifax and moved to the coastal village of Barrein in order to care for Enman’s mother, whose health is failing. Leaving a vibrant city to care for an old woman in a rural backwater does not sit well with Una, who worked for twelve years as a teacher (until being dismissed for committing an indiscretion) and who enjoys the city’s hustle and bustle, the abundant entertainments and the social life. She does what’s asked of her though out of a sense of duty and because she loves her husband, and because Enman has assured her it’s only temporary. Enman, on the other hand, does not mind leaving the dirt and noise of the city behind, and doesn’t particularly miss his job at the bank. Carol Bruneau’s psychologically probing and emotionally devastating narrative about the gradual breakdown of their marriage tells the story from the perspective of both Enman and Una. Enman’s mother dies, but Enman deflects Una’s questions about moving back to the city. His rationalization: he’s working, they have a place to live, and village life is less expensive than city life. But Una, left to her own devices, has little to do but take solitary walks on the beach, avoid the prying eyes of the locals, and stay out of trouble, though trouble eventually finds her. When Una determines in her own mind that Enman has deceived her and has no intention of taking her back to Halifax, she grows despondent, and, though pregnant, cannot muster enthusiasm for the baby or for motherhood. Enman himself knows he’s betrayed the woman he loves, and though he tries to maintain a positive outlook, as Una withdraws from him he takes solace in his music and indulges a weakness for booze. The novel that Bruneau has written is achingly raw, a sombre tale of two people drawn together under extreme circumstances but who are fundamentally incompatible, a fact that they are eventually forced to acknowledge but only after it’s too late. The period setting is evoked with great care—the level of detail is often astonishing—but never does it overwhelm the story. A Circle on the Surface refrains from casting judgement on its deeply flawed characters. Carol Bruneau lets her readers reach their own conclusions about Enman and Una and what might have been. The result is an outstanding example of understated, lyrical storytelling.
November 5, 2019
Carol Bruneau's A Circle on the Surface is mesmerizing: the details of WW II life in a small community ring true—as do the responses of the two main characters, Una and Enman, who are both sympathetic and flawed human beings, and the reader is gripped as the story see-saws back and forth between the calms and storms in their marriage. The revelation of secrets jolts the reader, and deepens the engagement. No wonder this graceful writer has won so many awards!
August 23, 2020
I was mesmerized by this story from the first page. Carol Bruneau crafted a story with a deep sense of place and time (wartime Atlantic Canada).
It is beautifully written novel shining a light what it was like to live in an Atlantic coastal community, with its societal and family expectations, during the time of the second world war. I appreciated I was reading a fictional story (relationship) that was well researched in the beliefs, history and events of the time period.
This book as so much to offer- water, gardens, community, music, relationships......
Brava Carol Bruneau!
It is beautifully written novel shining a light what it was like to live in an Atlantic coastal community, with its societal and family expectations, during the time of the second world war. I appreciated I was reading a fictional story (relationship) that was well researched in the beliefs, history and events of the time period.
This book as so much to offer- water, gardens, community, music, relationships......
Brava Carol Bruneau!
February 25, 2023
Carol Bruneau’s novels have a way of comforting and breaking me all at once. Every time. I am a sucker for her writing especially following the tales of real or fictional Nova Scotian’s. Her calm, steady pace of writing leaves me so wrapped up in not only the plot and characters but the landscape and geographic spread of the places she describes. Dare I say, I see myself in Una the way I saw myself in Maud (Brighten the Corner Where You Are) – I think this may be a gift of Bruneau’s writing and her ability to blur the line between the characters thoughts and your own.
November 15, 2018
This one didn't work for me, though I was interested in the setting, (Nova Scotia) and era,(1943-44). I couldn't connect with the characters and their issues. Great names though-- who wouldn't want to know about Enman and Una?
April 23, 2023
3.5/5, rounded up to 4. It's a good story about ordinary people - my favourite kind of story. The writing frustrated me at times, though, maybe more so because often it was truly excellent. But at other times, it felt like something was missing in the writing, or it lacked clarity.
March 28, 2019
Too much stream of consciousness and rather unpleasant characters for my liking.
July 4, 2019
I really enjoyed this novel and the characters. They were well developed and it was easy to see what motivated them. It was a great read.
July 29, 2020
I really enjoyed this novel--good thing as it was my pick for March Book Club. Interesting story of the plight of women in early 20th century. Guilt and secrets within a marriage.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews