HOMESICK

By Guy Vanderhaeghe

Book Overview

It is the summer of 1959, and in a prairie town in Saskatchewan, Alec Monkman waits for his estranged daughter to come home, with the grandson he has never seen. But this is an uneasy reunion. Fiercely independent, Vera has been on her own since running away at nineteen - first to the army, and then to Toronto. Now, for the sake of her young son, she must swallow her pride and return home after seventeen years. As the story gradually unfolds, the past confronts the present in unexpected ways as the silence surrounding Vera's brother is finally shattered and the truth behind Vera's long absence revealed. With its tenderness, humour, and vivid evocation of character and place, Homesick confirms Guy Vanderhaeghe's reputation as one of Canada's most engaging and accomplished storytellers.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0899199259
• ISBN13: 9780899199252
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Ticknor & Fields
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Please read this book...

Without going into the actual storyline too deeply, I will only say that this book is beautiful and sad and I think accurately portrays the conflicting feelings of people who love and resent their family members. The main character in the book is Vera, who has left her father and disabled brother in Saskatchewan to forge a new life for herself in Toronto and ends up returning feeling not quite defeated but definitely weathered. Her relationships with her son and her aging father are complicated and recognizable and the ending was surprising as the past comes back at first to hurt and then to heal. I grew up in Saskatchewan and many familiar characters of the small town are present in the story...it is worth reading if for no other reason than to visit the prairie landscape, but the characters will pull you in as well.

One of Canada's Best

The story is a model of conflict between generations. Vera, the protagonist, headstrong daughter, wonderful mother, seargant!, good wife can be admired and detested, depending on the scene. But she is one of the great characters of Canadian fiction. Alec, the grandfather, will be mainly disliked for his habits and assumptions about women, but he can be understood as well. Daniel, son and grandson, will be liked by almost all, even though he has no outstanding "manly" qualities, he loves his grandfather, and is loyal to the end. Characterization marks great fiction. Here it is.