Something for Everyone by Lisa Moore is tailor-made for a creative writing course. The collection could be used for exploring form, structure (What is the difference between form and structure?), and genre. Most of the stories are contemporary. The exceptions are “Marconi” (historical fiction) and “Light Up the Dark” (magical realism). “Light Up the Dark” is my pick of the litter with its positive message. As told by a mysterious (and legendary) hero, “Light Up the Dark” is a tender story about the love a grandson has for his grandmother. Some of the stories explore the same themes as Atwood's Bluebeard's Egg—especially “Skywalk”. I think Atwood would be impressed by Moore's powerful language—especially pages 264 to 267. Though diverse in form, structure, and genre the stories have a commonality—Newfoundland. Most stories are set in that province and those that don't have a protagonist from Newfoundland—for example, “The Viper's Revenge” (set in Orlando, Florida).
photo by ldyck
Published in 2018
Published by House of Anansi
longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, in 2018
Reviewing Something for Everyone for the Toronto Star, Stephen Finucan writes: 'Moore's great gift is her ability to make common the uncommon and extraordinary the mundane...Without question, Moore is a great conscience and compassion.'
After reading and raving about February by Lisa Moore (here's the link to my review), I leapt at an opportunity to meet her in person. (I write about that experience here.) And that's how I got this...
Book blurb: It's June 1978, and David Slaney can be sure of only one
thing. He can't get caught; not this time. He's escaped from prison and has got to make
good on the heist that went wrong, win back the woman he loves, and make a big enough
profit to buy himself a new life. First, though, he must get himself across a vast country
full of watchful eyes, booby traps, and friends who might be foes. And then, on to Colombia,
where the real test of his mettle begins.
Here are bravado and betrayal, bad weather and worse seas, love, lust, undercover agents,
the collusion of governments, innocence and the loss thereof, and many, many bales of
marijuana. Here, too, si the seeming invincibility of youth and all the folly that it allows.
Caught is exuberant, relentlessly suspenseful, and utterly unique -- an adventure novel the way
only Lisa Moore could write it.
As I begin to read, Simon and Garfunkel's "Look for America" plays sweetly in the background. And I am Caught by caught. Before I knew it, I was well into the thick of the story.
The last book I reviewed, for this blog, was Cockroach by Ravi Hage. Whereas Cockroach is about someone living on the fringes of society -- abandoned. Caught is about someone living on the fringes of society -- lionized.
And we readers too are charmed by Slaney.
I wonder why? Is it because we unaware of his crime or has it more to do with passages like this...
'He was plagued by a premonition of being caught. As if his capture belonged to him, responsibility he'd been born into, like a title or a crown.' (p. 23)
Watching Slaney struggling to free himself is like watching a rabbit struggle to pull his leg free of the trap. You can't but long for his release.
The theme of being caught -- unwanted pregnancy, serving jail time, etc. -- resounds throughout this book.
'A fish in one of the buckets on the old man's boat wiggled violently. It bent itself
double and bent back the other way and threw itself up in the air and landed
on the gunwale ... It must have been dead and come back to life and it
lauded on the gunwale and was astonished and then it rolled over and fell
into the water.' (p. 171)
What can we learn from the fish?
Possibly... You can be caught. You can think all is over, but if you continue to believe. If you put forth a might effect. If you strive unceasing for your goal. You can win your freedom.
My favourite quote...
'The best stories, he thought, we've known the end from the beginning.' (p. 272)
And to summarize this book...
It is a tale of...
two friends: one of privilege, one not.
two criminals: one of privilege, one not.
two justices: one for the privileged; one for the unprivileged.
'Slaney found...the door was closed.... He wondered if Hearn was on the other side.' (p. 316)
More about Moore and Caught...
YouTube video: Lisa Moore talks about Caught (a short interview -- approximately 8 minutes long)
YouTube video: Lisa Moore talks about and gives an author reading from Caught (approximately 50 minutes)
YouTube video: Lisa Moore and Caught at the Scotiabank Gillar (approximately 3 minutes)
first slug of the year
photo by Leanne Dyck
My journey to the panel discussion Up All Night at the Vancouver International Writers Festival began shortly after 4 o'clock on Wednesday, October 23rd. Days later a neighbour told me that he'd heard the distinctive sound of suitcase wheels on pavement and wondered who was breaking the peace. (It's a sound heard in the summer but seldom during the rest of the year.)
Why did I take a suitcase to a two-hour event?
Well, because the last ferry leaving mainland B.C. heading to Mayne Island leaves at 7:20 pm. Up All Night was scheduled to start at 9:00 pm.
Why did I choose to attend that panel discussion? There were other panel discussions that would have been more convenient to attend--like those held in the middle of the afternoon.
It was the description...
'Plot-twists, reversals, setbacks and upheavals, a good thriller must have all of these and more. And a truly excellent one should keep you reading into the wee hours of the night. Lisa Moore may be better known as the author of the Man Booker–nominated February, but she deftly turns her hand to creating a page-turning thriller in Caught. Scott Turow has sold more than 25 million copies of his legal thrillers and has been highly praised for his ability to engage readers with his writing, as well as dazzle with his twists and turns.' - from the Vancouver International Writers Festival
*Marsha Pessl was to be the third panelist but she had to cancel. She was replaced by Norwegian author and international sensation Jo Nesbo.
It was the genre...
I enjoy reading thrillers.
I've written a thriller, and I'd like to write others.
And did I mention that I'm one of Lisa Moore's fans? (In this post I rave about February written by Lisa Moore)
Okay, so, there I am rushing down the road, worried that I'll miss the ferry. I continue to worry until, while purchasing my ticket, I look up at the clock on the wall of the BC Ferries' booth and realize that I'm twenty minutes early. I breathe. It's a sun-filled, warm(ish) day. I sit outside at the dock, flip open my book--Insomnia by Stephen King--and read.
What felt like moments later, the ferry docked at Mayne Island and I walked on. Usually, I have a late supper, around 7 pm, but for some reason the minute I set foot on the ferry I was hungry. I'm a vegetarian and so got to choose between a veggie burger with fries or a veggie burger with salad. I don't like salad, don't ask me why. Fries upset my sensitive stomach. So I zigged when others would have zagged and purchased a rice cake with my burger.
Meal eaten, I found a quiet place to read. I was bent over my suitcase, digging out my book, when I heard, "Leanne?"
I didn't think the top of my head was an identifying feature--but I guess it is.
I looked up and was pleased to see a friend I hadn't seen for months, maybe even a year. We chatted until the ferry docked.
My mother-in-law was waiting at the ferry terminal to pick me up. After a few detours, she drove me to Granville Island. In the dark night, we searched for the 'Performance Works' building. There were signs but more would have been helpful. Even though it was only 8:30 pm people were already standing in line. Feeling, and I'm sure looking, like a small island gal I join the queue. The woman standing beside me looked friendly so I said or maybe she said, "Hello, do you write?"
We continued to talk about our lives both with and without pens as we waited, walked inside and claimed our seats. Someone turned the lights down and the moderator claimed the podium. In response to his first announcement, my new acquaintance turned off her cellphone and I put my camera away. One at a time, each of the three thriller authors entertained the audience by reading from their books.
A Question & Anwser period followed.
Jo Nesbo showered the audience with good, old-fashioned Scandinavian charm.
Nesbo wrote his first book--The Bat--while visiting Australia. He said he had jet lag so thought writing would be the best activity to engage in. Five months later, he submitted his manuscript to a publisher but he didn't expect to it to be accepted. His goal was to have the publisher ask for something else.
Nesbo said that in Denmark, Sweden and Norway most serious writers have tried their hand at writing a crime novel. He liked crime novelist to illusionists.
Nesbo outline his writing process.
1)a three sentence description of the idea.
2)a five to twenty page synopsis.
3)a one hundred page synopsis complete with dialogue.
4)working on drafts, etc.
Lisa Moore's thriller--Caught--was inspired by Newfoundland folklore heroes. She wasn't aware that Caught would be read as a thriller. And in fact she wasn't sure she wanted to write a thriller because she thought, at the time, that the genre relied too heavily on suspense. And she thought that suspense was a manipulative device.She now realizes that there's nothing wrong with suspense. In fact, believes that it is necessary to encourage readers to keep turning pages.
Scott Turow, who had been a lawyer, was attracted to the genre (thrillers) because he enjoys exploring moral conundrums.
Turow said that all literature relies on conventions.
Turow described his writing process as varying greatly from Nesbo's. He said he typically spends a year groping toward a story. He writes pieces of narration, setting, dialogue. A question--how will I connect all of this?--is where the plot comes from. And it's only after the manuscript is complete that he could write a three sentence synopsis.
It was an engaging, fast paced Q & A that left my head swimming.
"Thank you all for coming," the moderator said.
The audience applauded.
"Books are available at the back of the room and the authors will be at the front of the room for book signs." Is what I think he said. Frankly my mind was too full of 'soon I'll be able to meet Lisa Moore' to take anything else in.
Well, to make a long story short, I did meet Ms. Moore. I hoped I wouldn't act like a silly, goofy fan. But I did.
"I'm so excited to meet you that my hand is shaking." I held my hand out and it was shaking.
Lisa Moore's friendly, welcoming smile immediately put me at ease. So, I asked, "Can I take your picture?"
"Yes, but." She nodded in the direction of the other people who were waiting in line.
Oh, there are other people? Some how this fact had totally escaped me. "I'll happily wait." I walked over to the side of the table and watched her engage with the other readers. She was equally welcoming to each of them--spending time, ask questions, showing interest.
I thought to myself, There's a lesson here--respect your readers, treat them well.
Finally, she signed her last book and I dived back in, camera in hand.
"Would you like to be in the picture with me?" she asked.
"What a great idea. Yes, please." But who will?
The moderator stepped up to lend a hand.
Not wanting to blind a Canadian treasure, I'd turned off the camera's flash--that's why the picture is so dark.
There's Lisa Moore's friendly, welcoming smile and me--looking like an overwhelmed fan.
'In 1982, the oil rig Ocean Ranger sank off the coast of Newfoundland during the Valentine's night storm. All 84 men aboard died. February is the story of Helen O'Mara, one of those left behind when her husband, Cal, drowns.' (From the back cover)
Lisa Moore talks about her book February.
Why did I choose to read February?
-It was chosen as the book all Canada should read by Canada reads.
Learn more about that here: Lisa Moore and Trent McClellan talk about February and Canada Reads
-It's set on Newfoundland.
Newfoundland is a special place for both my dad and I.
My dad was stationed in Newfoundland during the Second World War.
Newfoundland was one of the provinces I worked in as a Katimavik participant.
-To learn from a master
At the time, I was attempting to develop a character whose circumstances were similar to Helen's.
My favourite quotes...
John (Helen's son) has dysgraphia.
It 'made him see all numbers and letters backwards and sometimes upside down. John had overcome this, compensated, faked his way through... He'd gained from his mild disability an unshakable certainty that things were not always what they appeared to be.' (p. 26 - 27)
Although there is no doubt that Helen is the central figure in February, John is a important minor character.
'I'm ready [the instructor] said. Are you?
Helen put on the indicator like [the instructor] said. She put the car in gear. [The instructor] turned and looked behind and sat forward and rolled his shoulders, and then he said she could go, and she put her foot on the accelerator, but she hit it too hard and she'd had the car in reverse not drive, and they slammed backwards, burning rubber, and lurched to a stop, and she bounced against the seat belt hard, and so, she saw did [the instructor].
Mrs. O'Mara, he said. Can I call you Helen?
Yes, she said.
Helen, we have to go forward.' ([p. 213 - 214)
And Helen has to go forward. She has to leave what happened in 1982 and continue with the rest of her life. But something--a memory, something--always brings her back to Cal.
'The dead are not individuals, she thought. They are all the same. That's what made it so very hard to stay in love with them... Nothing ever happened to them, they did not change or grow, but they didn't stay the same either...
The act of being dead, if you could call it an act, made them very hard to love. They'd lost the capacity to surprise. You needed a strong memory to love the dead.' (p. 246 - 247)
Lisa Moore taught me how to develop a character--outside and in. I know Helen--her thoughts, dreams, longings, fears--her inner life. Like a friend, I remained with her right up until the final, tenderly hopeful last page.
I know my writing has benefited (and will continue to benefit) from reading such a deeply written book.
