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Ten Good Seconds of Silence
Short-listed for the 2001 Rogers Writers' Trust of Canada Fiction Prize and the Amazon.com/Books in Canada First Novel Prize
Lilith Boot's life changes forever the night she drowns the flowers in her parents' garden. Frightened by their daughter's odd behaviour, and her recent pronouncements of psychic visions, the Boots send Lilith to a Vancouver mental hospital. It is there that she becomes pregnant, giving birth after her discharge.
Years later, Lilith uses her visions to help Toronto police find missing children. At the same time, her own daughter, Lemon, struggles to distinguish herself from her quirky mother. Searching for her identity, she sets off across the country in search of the father she has never met. In the process, both Lilith and Lemon discover that they can never escape from the past - or each other.
This debut novel introduces an astonishing new voice to the Canadian literary scene. With fresh, inspiring language, and characters who steal your heart, Elizabeth Ruth weaves together an unforgettable story of loss and landscape of memory.
Lilith Boot's life changes forever the night she drowns the flowers in her parents' garden. Frightened by their daughter's odd behaviour, and her recent pronouncements of psychic visions, the Boots send Lilith to a Vancouver mental hospital. It is there that she becomes pregnant, giving birth after her discharge.
Years later, Lilith uses her visions to help Toronto police find missing children. At the same time, her own daughter, Lemon, struggles to distinguish herself from her quirky mother. Searching for her identity, she sets off across the country in search of the father she has never met. In the process, both Lilith and Lemon discover that they can never escape from the past - or each other.
This debut novel introduces an astonishing new voice to the Canadian literary scene. With fresh, inspiring language, and characters who steal your heart, Elizabeth Ruth weaves together an unforgettable story of loss and landscape of memory.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Ruth
13 books43 followersElizabeth Ruth is a writer, creative writing instructor and mother living in Toronto, Canada. Her first novel, Ten Good Seconds of Silence was a finalist for the Writers' Trust of Canada Fiction Prize, the Amazon.ca Best First Novel Award and the City of Toronto Book Award. Her critically acclaimed second novel, Smoke, was chosen for the One Book One Community program and named as a top-ten book of the year by NOW magazine. Elizabeth's third novel - Matadora, featuring a female bullfighter in 1930's Spain and Mexico -was published in April, 2013. Matadora is a novel about ambition, passion, politics, and art. NOW Magazine picked Matadora as #3 on their 2013 Must Read Books list. The National Post gave Matadora a stellar review: http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/04/...
In 2013, Elizabeth will also publish a Good Reads Books novella for adults with low literacy. Love You To Death is a Psychological thriller.
In 2003 Elizabeth edited an anthology entitled: Bent On Writing, contemporary queer tales.
Elizabeth is well known for her mentorship of aspiring writers. She teaches at the University of Toronto, and within the Humber School for Writers Correspondence Program.
Recently Elizabeth held the position of Writer-In-Residence at the Toronto Public Library. She has also recently delivered workshops and offered manuscript evaluations to writers in northern Ontario. Together with parenting writer Ann Douglas, Elizabeth Ruth delivered professional development workshops to writers across Canada.
Elizabeth Ruth is the current chair of the author's advisory committee of the Writers' Trust of Canada.
She holds a BA in English Literature and an MA in Counselling Psychology, both from the University of Toronto. She is also a graduate of the Humber School of Writers.
In 2013, Elizabeth will also publish a Good Reads Books novella for adults with low literacy. Love You To Death is a Psychological thriller.
In 2003 Elizabeth edited an anthology entitled: Bent On Writing, contemporary queer tales.
Elizabeth is well known for her mentorship of aspiring writers. She teaches at the University of Toronto, and within the Humber School for Writers Correspondence Program.
Recently Elizabeth held the position of Writer-In-Residence at the Toronto Public Library. She has also recently delivered workshops and offered manuscript evaluations to writers in northern Ontario. Together with parenting writer Ann Douglas, Elizabeth Ruth delivered professional development workshops to writers across Canada.
Elizabeth Ruth is the current chair of the author's advisory committee of the Writers' Trust of Canada.
She holds a BA in English Literature and an MA in Counselling Psychology, both from the University of Toronto. She is also a graduate of the Humber School of Writers.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 20, 2010
This book tells the story of Lilith, a clairvoyant who spent many years in a mental institution, and her teen daughter Lemon, obsessed by her search for the father she never knew. I came to fall in love with Lilith more and more as the story unfolds. At first she is the kind of person who is widely discounted - obese, a "flaky" profession, with odd quirks. But by the end of the book we learn how she came to live life on her own terms, redefining certain experiences that could be seen as traumatic, and how she is a fiercely loving mother -- but not at the cost of her own personhood. The book puts a new twist on our taken-for-granted assumption of children's need to know about their origins. It's a beautiful love story -- Lilith and Lemon's love for each other and how it is tested over time and grows. It's also the story of Lilith's love for herself against all odds -- supported and nurtured by those devalued by society and seemingly powerless.
February 17, 2015
It was my impression from the cover reviews that the main plot would centre around a young woman with psychic abilities and although the book begins in this way it steadily reads into outside corners. There are interesting insights as to how these strange behaviours were regarded in the 50's but then the story breaks off to follow three women, which breaks off again delving into a subsequent daughter's issues, while at the same time giving substance to the daughters friends. There is much back and forth between the characters and their are somewhat sewn together in a most improbable way. This is the authors first book and in my opinion, although there are some interesting plots, I think three fully developed books would do more justice to the characters.
December 7, 2014
3.5 stars--I really enjoyed this novel and its take on mothers and daughters, but it seemed sprawling at times, as if it needed one more ruthless (no pun intended) edit.
September 10, 2023
I enjoyed this book a lot but was distracted by a few things.
First of all typos! Who edited this?
The city directions & descriptions rarely added up, the Rockies don’t affect the rain in Vancouver - they are very far away! I grew up here and didn’t know most of the plants she was talking about, there haven’t been houses on Hastings street for a very long time, Riverview was in Coquitlam the penitentiary was in New West . . .
Instead of trying, and failing to write about a city you don’t know, why not just write about a fictional one? Seems kind of typical Canadian, act like you know parts of the country you don’t. And act like it doesn’t matter or you did it on purpose when you get it all wrong.
I found it tough to get invested in the characters of Lemon and James and the resolutions seemed too easy and simplistic.
Anyway, with a little more effort, it could have been a better book.
First of all typos! Who edited this?
The city directions & descriptions rarely added up, the Rockies don’t affect the rain in Vancouver - they are very far away! I grew up here and didn’t know most of the plants she was talking about, there haven’t been houses on Hastings street for a very long time, Riverview was in Coquitlam the penitentiary was in New West . . .
Instead of trying, and failing to write about a city you don’t know, why not just write about a fictional one? Seems kind of typical Canadian, act like you know parts of the country you don’t. And act like it doesn’t matter or you did it on purpose when you get it all wrong.
I found it tough to get invested in the characters of Lemon and James and the resolutions seemed too easy and simplistic.
Anyway, with a little more effort, it could have been a better book.
November 2, 2023
This is a Canadian author. When I started this book I thought I would not finish it because I was sure I wasn't going to like it. Then BINGO, I was hooked. The mother, daughter stories were so well told. I thought the grandmother was an unsympathetic witch. It is a very different book and I am so glad I gave it time.
November 25, 2019
Re-read this book as I have always enjoyed her lyrical imagery plus a moving story.
February 12, 2017
A clairvoyant, Lilith Boot, spends part of her adolescence in an insane asylum, misunderstood.
Later, her daughter, on the verge of visions herself, tries to discover her father. The many references to gardening and specific flowers embroider the tale.
Later, her daughter, on the verge of visions herself, tries to discover her father. The many references to gardening and specific flowers embroider the tale.
June 4, 2018
The main story is set in the 1980s in Toronto but moves back in time through flashbacks and different characters' points of view. The main character is Lilith Boot, a psychic who finds lost children for the police, but her daughter and her friends are also on journeys of searching and loss and self-discovery.
It took over 100 pages for me to get into this book but after that it was really entertaining and the last chapters are really exhilarating as it heads towards the conclusion. There are some crazy coincidences in the plot that didn’t bother me due to the magic realism of the novel. The characters really grew on me as they started listening to themselves and learn they deserve better than what they’ve known.
It took over 100 pages for me to get into this book but after that it was really entertaining and the last chapters are really exhilarating as it heads towards the conclusion. There are some crazy coincidences in the plot that didn’t bother me due to the magic realism of the novel. The characters really grew on me as they started listening to themselves and learn they deserve better than what they’ve known.
November 29, 2011
I loved the place of this novel - especially the parts that take place in Allan Gardens Conservatory in Toronto. I like the theme of clairvoyance throughout the novel.
The fact that I have met the author and know her mother well adds much to my reading of this novel.
I like the way mental health issues are presented in this novel.
It's a great read.
The fact that I have met the author and know her mother well adds much to my reading of this novel.
I like the way mental health issues are presented in this novel.
It's a great read.
Read
September 28, 2013I could not get into this one and eventually dropped it. The lead character was not compelling enough for me and I was surprised by the tell-not-show nature of the narrative content. Maybe I should have given it more time but I have so many others I'm interested in reading right now!
January 18, 2016
Not really for me.
November 17, 2014
Elizabeth Ruth is a masterful storyteller. There are times when I would read then re-read the same sentence at least five times because it was crafted so beautifully.
September 29, 2013
Actually considering this for. A bookclub pic, some good twists and interesting subject matter
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews