Shiraz’s Comments (group member since Mar 04, 2011)

Shiraz’s comments from the Eleven Reader's Club group.

‘“Why Canada?” asked Fred. “I have been lucky,” said Will.’ This is a quote from the novel Finding Home by Eric Wright, a Canadian author who has written a marvelous novel illustrating how a Canadian immigrant perceives Canada after 30 years. The novel truly unveils a never-before-seen Canada before the reader’s eyes. It provides a new perspective that helps understand the feelings of people immigrating to Canada. However, the book is not only about Canadian immigrants, it is also about Canadian history, culture and geography. The author especially describes Canadian geography in such a mesmerizing way that it lures the reader to Canada and its landscapes. Even though this novel might sound like a guide book, it is not. The novel includes mystery (which are extremely popular in Canada and also in foreign countries), romance, drama and adventure. Therefore, if a reader likes either of these genres, he/she will not regret reading this great book.

Finding Home opens doors to a new Canada. The main character in the story named Will goes to England and talks about Canada with his nephew who is interested in immigrating. He starts with east coast and goes all the way to the west coast telling interesting stories and describing different cultures and people of different places. The novel provides all this informative information without the reader realizing that he/she is being informed; until after they have finished the book. It is an excellent quality since not many people like to read educational materials in their leisure time. The reader will definitely be impressed by the author who has done an excellent job in showing what is actually there in Canada for Canadians and Canadian immigrants.

The latest survey says that Canadian income from tourism is $19.2 billion per year for the past several years(1). It shows that tourism is a great contributor to Canadian economy; it is healthy for Canadian financial growth. Eric Wright has given a tour of entire Canada in this novel making readers feel as if they are touring Canada themselves. He portrays how living in countryside feels like; how watching a sunrise from the Rockies feels like; how eating delicious food in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, feels like. These captivating details are so appealing that some people might give Canada a try. Even Canadians will find this book entertaining since 90% of all Canadian population lives within 100 miles of US-Canada border(2); they have also not experienced these places themselves. The resulting tourism will contribute to the Canadian finance and help Canada be a better place for everybody.

This novel, because of all the information provided, might seem like a tour guide. However, the author skillfully combines adventure, romance, drama, and mystery in such a way that it pushes the novel beyond the line of a tour guide. Different people have different taste, and the author being aware of that fact, put every top selling genre in his novel to make it popular among the masses; a very clever tactic. The novel’s plot is very enjoyable in a sense that it is not very heavy (very dramatic or sad) which makes it easy for the reader to get the garbage of everyday life out of their mind while they are reading the book; it is a mind cleaner. The author should also be given credit for his magnificent job in keeping the novel noticeably unbiased. Describing a multicultural country like Canada takes great care because
the author must not make readers unhappy by wrong portrayals of their culture. Overall, the author has done a great job in packaging so much information into a pleasant novel.

The novel Finding Home by Eric Wright gives a new perspective to the reader. It gives an inner look at every culture and place across Canada. It makes the reader curious about people’s lives who live in the countryside isolated from all the city-drama. This novel also promotes tourism since the main character gives a detailed tour of Canada, beautifully including the beautiful landscapes and countryside in the description. In order to make this novel not look like a tour guide, the author has expertly mashed different famous, best-selling genres into his novel. This novel is the best novel to make one’s life easy and clean out the everyday-life-distractions. It is definitely worth reading for the high-quality plot and informative, descriptive tour of Canada.

1)Government Revenue
Attributable to Tourism: http://publications.gc.ca/collections...

2)Canada-closer to the border: http://www.howderfamily.com/blog/cana...

lol...there's no like button?

The novel “Finding Home” written by Eric Wright is a novel about-the title says it-finding home. This novel piques my interest because the narrator of the story is a Canadian immigrant from England who compares the two countries in different lights as to which is his home, and in the process he delivers essential information on Canadian culture and its unique geography-“from the fishing villages of Labrador to the rainy coasts of British Columbia.” I have a keen interest in the “far and wide” Canadian landscapes that we, students, hear first thing in the morning. This book talks about it in details which is probably the main reason I chose this book amongst the countless rows of mysteries that were extremely tempting but not true portrayers of Canada. The title also depicts one of the natural Canadian characteristics which is also a main link between the two countries-the ocean. I am really looking forward to reading this story and finding out more about the geographical and cultural attractions that Canada has.

Since I am also an immigrant and have been living here for only two years, this novel might help me become more aware of the country I am living in and perhaps help me be a better Canadian. The Canadian narrator who is an immigrant himself might be the perfect “tour guide” for me, considering I don’t have to spend a cent and yet visit the exotic places during mid semester. But the joke aside, this novel is really different from other novels because it compares the two oldest tied countries and shows how Canada is unique and different from her mother, the Great Britain.