The Full Catastrophe: A Novel

by Méira Cook

Winner, 2023 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction

Finalist, 2023 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award

A compassionate and funny novel about defining yourself, the communities that support us, and the journeys that secrets propel.



Charlie Minkoff, a thirteen-year-old boy born with intersex traits, would be happy to be left alone. Living with his artist mother in a derelict loft in downtown Winnipeg, perpetually wondering about the father who abandoned him, and tormented in school because of his differences, Charlie navigates the assorted catastrophes of his life. He’s helped along by the love of his beloved grandfather, Oscar, and the makeshift family who surround his mother’s best friend; a couple of elderly shut-in neighbours; a mysterious girl in his class who has secrets of her own; and his desperately needy and perpetually hungry dog, Gellman.



When a school project leads him to discover that Oscar never had a bar mitzvah, Charlie decides to right the historical wrong and arrange a belated ceremony. But this quest will be more than he bargained for, and meanwhile everyone from his doctor to his Ancestry Studies teacher keeps insisting that Charlie needs to learn to tell his own story.



Margaret Laurence Award winner Méira Cook’s The Full Catastrophe is a story of psychological complexity, tenderness, and humour.

Genres: Fiction, Canada

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2022

Reviews

[Kaiden Aibhne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, I get it that part of the story is not wanting to be at the centre of your own story, but I did want the main character to be at the centre so I really didn't enjoy this book. Especially since I chose this book since stories centered around intersex people are few and far between.

Charlie is a 13 year old boy with a Holocaust survivor grandfather preparing for a belated bar mitzvah, an absent Hasidic father and an absentee mother, one friend who ends up leaving, a world of bullying, and some medical choices to make that aren't entirely clear.

It all kind of hangs together but, really, I didn't feel like I connected with any of the characters or became invested in the story. Which is a real shame because this book could have been so much more.

TW for self-harm.

LGBTQ2A+ characters.

Canadian content.

[Mike Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Such is life," Ms. Kambaja observed as she did every year. "Comedy and tragedy, romance and loss, politics and farce. The full catastrophe."

Ms. Kambaja is the Ancestry Studies teacher to Charlie Minkoff, a 13-year-old in September 2019 with intersex traits. Charlie has XX chromosomes, but looks more anatomically male than female. He has been raised as a boy by his mother and grandfather and thinks of himself as a boy. This is Charlie's story, his "full catastrophe".

Charlie lives in an old converted candy factory in Winnipeg with his mother Jules, his not-very-bright dog Gellman, and a few other tenants, who form an extended family of sorts. Charlie's grandfather Oscar is a Holocaust survivor in a seniors' residence. As part of his Ancestry Studies class, Charlie is required to interview family members about their life stories. Charlie learns that Oscar, who is the sole surviving member of his family, fled from the Nazis around the time he was thirteen and never had a bar mitzvah. Charlie decides that he wants to give his grandfather the bar mitzvah he never had. This is the core driver of the plot. In addition to that, Jules, an artist who lost her voice several years ago and who is barely interested in parenting, is developing a new art installation to be set up on the frozen Assiniboine River this coming winter. Charlie, who has been bullied and called "ugly" for most of his childhood, develops a crush on a girl at school. He also wonders about his father, who left before Charlie was born but still sends birthday cards. Finally, Charlie faces some decisions about his body as puberty advances.

The novel is mostly comedy as Charlie navigates adolescence and family history, although there is some tragedy, particularly in Oscar's story. The girl from school provides an object for Charlie's romantic feelings. Charlie experiences loss, but I don't want to drain the dramatic tension by revealing too much about that. Politics appears in the way society reacts to Charlie's biology. The broadest farce in this novel is when Charlie and Oscar study the Torah with a rabbi in preparation for the bar mitzvah; Oscar's interpretation of scripture is not unorthodox, but is expressed in a unique way.

I'd say the main theme here is the idea of defining yourself through your personal story, which is of course interwoven with the stories of those around you. Charlie's story is told mainly from his viewpoint, though Oscar gets some time at centre stage as well. Some of the narrative comes as e-mails exchanged between Ms. Kambaja and Jules, or between tenants in Charlie's building. I found the writing very funny, although the novel's climax is quite moving. There is an interesting shift in the denouement, where it becomes clear that the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in Canada in March 2020, has had profound effects on everyone's stories.

I don't think the insights here are particularly deep or new, but the story is interesting and very well told.

[Mark Libin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cook's best novel yet. Warm and funny, with a very readable story. It's entertaining as a YA novel or as adult fiction. The story of Charlie Minkoff, a thirteen-year-old intersex boy, Jewish and living in Winnipeg. The story involves him trying to convince his aged grandfather, Oscar, to have a bar mitzvah since the Holocaust prevented him from having one at an appropriate age, but the focus is really on the very loving and supportive relationship between the two. Oscar loves Charlie more than anything, and is an irascibly funny old man who offers some of the most hilariously original takes on biblical commentary you will ever read. Cook's ear for dialogue is pitch perfect, and she balances humour and poignancy deftly so the humour never seems glib, and the poignant parts never seem shmaltzy.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy or a girl? When Charlie Minkoff is born in 2006 with intersex traits, the doctor wants to immediately perform surgery in order to fix what he sees as a problem. Fortunately for Charlie, his grandfather, Oscar Wolf Minkoff thinks Charlie is perfect as he is and refuses to let the doctor touch him. The majority of “The Full Catastrophe” by Méira Cook (House of Anansi Press), though, takes place when Charlie’s 13.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/past...

[Janet Barclay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and readable novel! The main character is a teenaged boy with intersex traits, but it would be inaccurate to say that's what the book is about, any more than you could say that's what the person is about. It's just one aspect of his complicated life.

The other characters were also compelling, especially Charlie's colourful grandfather, Oscar, who is just full of wisdom. He said something which reminded me of very much of "Up, down, same thing" in A Tale for the Time Being, but unfortunately, I don't remember what he said and I can't find the passage.

I'm glad I spotted this on the library shelf - it was one of the best novels I've read lately.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☆
|| THE FULL CATASTROPHE ||
#gifted/@houseofanansi
✍🏻
I have been looking to read more books with intersex characters so I was intrigued by THE FULL CATASTROPHE. This one fell in the middle for me. At bit slow going at times but I was endlessly rooting for Charlie our protagonist. I loved the Canadian setting and the warmth and humor throughout. Cook's writing was good, I am curious to read her other book Once More with Feeling.

For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong

[Ladie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of 13 year old Charlie who has more than the usual reasons for adolescent angst: uncertainty as to gender, a never present father and often absent mother, a doting and eccentric grandfather and an oddball assortment of neighbors and friends. I hate spoilers, so I'll only add that what could be a very sad story is not. It is uplifting and beautifully written. Enjoy!

[Tess · Rating 1 out of 5]

It really just wasn't for me. Yeah. Never getting that time back in my life. It's really weird reading a book where you can tell the author thinks they're clever and funny (and maybe the author is, but it sure wasn't working for me) and just hating it.

[Allison Bardsley]

A story of a coming of age non binary youth, his relationship with his artist mom and his grandfather, who was the stabilizing force in his life. Somewhat hard to imaging living such a disorganized life, Charlie did't thrive but continued to grow and exist in the face of a challenging homelife.

[Miona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny, very heartwarming, very heartbreaking. I struggled to get into this book, but couldn’t stop reading at a certain point. Some parts dragged quite a bit, while others moved at a very adequate pace.

[Ange · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fucking terrible.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the Winnipeg references and Charlies relationship with his grandfather. Didn’t enjoy the storylines that don’t go anywhere.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Denise Goodkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bit of a slog but I didn't want to abandon the protagonist so kept reading

[Magdalene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes please to more stories with intersex representation.

[Hollyh · Rating 5 out of 5]

At once heartwarming and heartbreaking. Amazing.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book puzzling. It seemed like nothing was resolved.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished it but didn’t love it …. Relationship between Zaide ( Oscar ) and Charlie was the best part

[Talia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
Actually a very sweet and different book. I liked it and especially that it was in Winnipeg. Didn’t like the ending so much.

[Vontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and somewhat unusual book about love, humanity, and challenge. Good read!

[Candice Phillips · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf

[Lauren Domonchuk · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was supposed to be funny?