Book Buzz discussion

Hi everyone,

Our next book will be Michael Redhill's novel "Consolation". The story is divided between present day Toronto, in which a historian suffering from ALS seeks to uncover the truth behind a missing set of early photographs depicting Toronto, and the 1850's, when a newly-arrived English apothecary struggles to survive a hostile new social and environmental climate far from his family.

You can find online and print copies here (TPL is still offering curbside pickup of print materials):

https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/s...

You can find the link to sign up here:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/toronto-i...

I haven't yet finished the book, but will post more discussion materials when I do! In the meantime, the novel mentions the 1856 panorama of Toronto. If you're interested in imagining how Toronto looked 165 years ago, have a look:

https://www.blogto.com/city/2011/01/t...

Also, I've found it useful to refer to the following map when trying to follow the movements of the characters around historic Toronto:

http://oldtorontomaps.blogspot.com/20...

If you enjoy historical fiction and are interested in local history (as I am), I'm sure you will love this book! But even if you hate it, I look forward to discussing it together. Feel free to post your thoughts about it here, before or after our Mar. 19 meeting.

-Nick

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to post a quick reminder that our next online book club meeting is next Friday, Mar 19 from 2:00-3:00pm.

I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it! In particular, I was fascinated by the portions of the story set in the 1850's, as it presents a vision of Toronto as a ramshackle, dirty, frontier outpost, with Victorian morality and aspirations of greatness intermixing with poverty, desperation and vice (depending on which part of the city one was in). I thought Hallam's descriptions as he takes the panorama photographs from the roof of the Rossin House Hotel really capture the spirit of Toronto at this time: "Osgoode Hall at the top of the street, as pompous as Brighton's pavilion... a hallucination in the distance, a dying man's dream of Mecca..." rising above "...an empty street creeping with horsehair and grit... the last major piece of architecture one might see on one's way to purchase a lady's favours."

See the photo he describes here:
https://gencat.eloquent-systems.com/c...

I thought the parts of the story set in present day Toronto were also an interesting exploration into human psychology, change, love and death (though I found myself often looking forward to the 1850's story, and I liked those characters more). But it presented many contrasts and comparisons between past and present that are interesting to think about: how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same? Are people that different now from the 1850's, or more similar than we think? How close can our imaginings of the past ever get to the truth? Do we see the history of our city with rose-coloured glasses, or was the portrayal of the past in Consolation too negative?

If anyone else is interested in the historic places mentioned in the novel, I've created a document that can be accessed at the link below. Don't worry: it's not required reading to participate in our meeting! But take a look if you found yourself wanting to learn more about what the city looked like in the 1850's, and wondered how accurate the portrayal in the novel was.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A...

I also found this review, recommended by the author Michael Redhill himself for grappling with some of the issues at the heart of the novel:

https://www.popmatters.com/consolatio...

Feel free to post your comments here. Look forward to seeing you next Friday. Until then, happy reading!

Hi everyone,
Thanks for a great discussion this afternoon! I just wanted to post links to some people/places that came up during the discussion, in case anyone missed the links posted in the chat:

Tom Jakobek (councillor who may have been the inspiration for the fictional Jack Thomas, p. 310):

https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/s...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Jak...

Colonel William Thompson, mayor's deputy mentioned on p. 368:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...

History of the Campbell House, mentioned on p. 317

https://www.campbellhousemuseum.ca/hi...

Recommended further reading for those interested in history of the Ward:

https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/s...

Photographs of the Ward (Arthur Goss & William James):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/toronto...

Other recommended reading for those interested in more of Toronto's past:

https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/d...

https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/d...

Guild Park and Gardens, where many architectural fragments from demolished buildings can be found:

https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd...

And I'll post this one again for anyone who missed it (a compilation of photos/info of people/places mentioned in Consolation:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A...

Enjoy!