Norma Hawkins

Featured on CBC's Between the Covers podcast in May. Read by Janet Wright of Corner Gas. This review is of the book as it appeared on the podcast.

A mildly amusing series of anecdotes about life as a minister's wife in small-town Saskatchewan. I have the feeling the book was abridged, though, because it felt really incomplete (only five episodes of 15 mins each, when The Last Crossing, for example, had 20), and also at one point the narrator talks about something she said she mentioned earlier, but I did not remember hearing anything about it before that point. That could just have been my not paying attention, but I don't think so.

Anyway, what was there was all right. I was particularly amused by the story about Becky trying to learn how to drive, and her horror at the thought of driving in Prince Albert, where they had stop signs and traffic lights. I'm not much of a driver either, so I could relate.

The only thing I really couldn't stand was how rude the parishioners were, walking into her house unannounced and EATING HER FOOD, even if she was out! Sure it's a rural community and nobody locks their doors, but if you see that nobody is home, don't go making yourself a cup of tea while you wait for them to get back. Leave a note and come back later. Perhaps that's just me being overly sensitive about personal space, but yikes that seems a bit extreme. My indignation rather clouded my enjoyment of some of it, I'm afraid.

Overall, this was all right, but Janet Wright's reading definitely contributed one star more than I would otherwise have given, if only because I like her. Still, if you want to read this, don't let my review stop you.… (más)

A young librarian in the 1950s marries a minister and leaves all she knows to live in a tiny town in northern Saskatchewan - a place so remote from us today that it might as well be in medieval Morocco. She faces challenges with a charming, low-key aplomb - living without conveniences such as running water, measuring up to previous esteemed ministers’ wives and leaning to play the organ with no talent or training. Like her, we grow to appreciate the villagers with their eccentricities, odd lingo and the certainty that comes with living in a place one’s whole life.… (más)

Short version:

I didn’t really like this book, to be honest. It may be a very accurate representation of what small towns were like in the middle of the century in the prairies, but I largely found the characters and situations frustrating, irritating, and often unrealistic. There were often conflicts where the pastor’s wife was completely frustrated by the unjust actions and opinions of others, but would just let them walk all over her without defending herself, which made it very hard for me to connect with her. It also didn’t really seem like the story was going anywhere – it was disjointed and things didn’t link together very well.

Full version:

http://readingthroughlife.ca/chokecherry-review/… (más)