January 14, 2007

This land

I’m about halfway through This Is My Country, What’s Yours?, and it’s so overwhelmingly good, I’m not sure what I’ll be able to say about it once I’m finished. Though undoubtedly a book about literature, this is a book about Canada first and foremont, informed by its stories. And so to read this book is to learn more about Canada than CanLit, really. In the past day, I’ve come across this program on the Westray Mining Disaster, and this article on violence and suicide in Nunavut, and my perspective on both is different than it would have been had I not just encountered these issues/places in Richler’s book. How incredibly current and important this book is. And I’m so glad I’ve got the hardcover, because I think it’s only going to mean more with time.