Ten Good Seconds of Silence

By Elizabeth Ruth

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0889243018
• ISBN13: 9780889243019
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

More than 10 good seconds of reading

A vivid and multi-layered fictional story from Elizabeth Ruth. Mentored by fellow CanLit icon Timothy Findley, Ruth depicts an original tale of identity, the fine line some people have between psychci and psychotic, and the intricacies of strange mothers and their embarassed daughters. Set in Toronto, the book captured the essence of the city and it's strange characters beneath the WASPY surface of old upper Canada.

Amazing Debut

I find it hard to believe this is Elizabeth Ruth's first novel. Her prose is so confident, her plot so intricate with several storylines seamlessly joining together. Lilith and Lemon (the `main characters', a mother/daughter) - come alive on page. Felt sad to see them go. Found myself returning to earlier passages for a little more. Thought I might be bothered by Lilith's psychic abilities but I couldn't have been more wrong. Lilith's character is so down to earth and fascinating that there wasn't a moment of doubt. I really believed her visions. Each aspect of the story - every character - received such delicate weight and attention that one didn't over power the other. I was just as drawn into storylines that I thought would distract. It's something special to find a novel that alters your perception. That assumes the reader is intelligent and open enough to accept and understand a world possibly removed from his or her own. I'm telling you - I loved this book! I want to tell you all my favourite parts but that would spoil it. So, go right now, quick - buy the book so we can talk about it. I'll wait right here for you.