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After Light spans four generations of the Garrison family, over the course of the twentieth century. Irish Deirdre, forced into marriage at sixteen, never stops trying to regain her freedom, though her ruthless escape attempts threaten to destroy her family. Her son, Frank, raised in Brooklyn, is a talented young artist, until he's blinded in WW2. With fierce determination, Frank forges a new life for himself, but the war has shaken him deeply. His two daughters, rebellious Von and sensitive Rosheen, grow up as isolated as the hothouse roses their mother breeds on the frozen Canadian prairie, and like the roses, they have scant protection against the violent elements that imperil them. Rosheen's son, Kyle, raised without his mother, knows nothing of the family's history until 1999, when he and Von gather Rosheen's art works for an exhibit at a Brooklyn gallery. The story of the Garrisons is shaped by powerful forces--a rogue north wind, a vengeful orphan, a sugar-dust explosion, an airborne jar of peaches, a scar that refuses to heal, a terrible lie, an unexpected baby, and a desperate drive across treacherous ice. In the midst of all their tragedy, the creative fire that drives them survives, burning more and more brightly as it's passed from one generation to the next, into the twenty-first century.… (más)
I've read a few of this author's other books and I've even attended a talk where she talked about her writing process. So I am no stranger to her work but she blew me away with this novel. I see it has been 10 years since her last novel. I'm sure she hasn't been working on this one for the whole ten years because she is a university professor, an editor and a poet. However, I suspect she spent a large chunk of time on this book and it shows.
This is a family saga stretching over four generations and moving from Ireland to New York City, to Eastern Canada and Europe during WWII, back to Canada after the war with time in Toronto and then Winnipeg and then back to those former habitations trying to find the truth about the family. It starts with the story of Deidre, the daughter of a poor farmer outside of Galway. The story continues as Deidre moves to New York City and has a son, Frank. Frank goes to war with a Canadian regiment and is seriously injured in the Netherlands. After the war Frank and his wife move to Winnipeg and run a nursery business and have two daughters, Von and Rosheen. Rosheen has a son, Kyle, but he is taken away by a child protection agency when he is an infant. We start learning bits and pieces of the family's story after Rosheen's death when Von has to clear up her estate. Rosheen has been working on a showing of her artistic works that deal with the family history. There is a lot to go through and Von begins to understand how talented Rosheen was. Maybe this family that has suffered so much tragedy can finally heal.
After Light spans four generations of the Garrison family, over the course of the twentieth century. Irish Deirdre, forced into marriage at sixteen, never stops trying to regain her freedom, though her ruthless escape attempts threaten to destroy her family. Her son, Frank, raised in Brooklyn, is a talented young artist, until he's blinded in WW2. With fierce determination, Frank forges a new life for himself, but the war has shaken him deeply. His two daughters, rebellious Von and sensitive Rosheen, grow up as isolated as the hothouse roses their mother breeds on the frozen Canadian prairie, and like the roses, they have scant protection against the violent elements that imperil them. Rosheen's son, Kyle, raised without his mother, knows nothing of the family's history until 1999, when he and Von gather Rosheen's art works for an exhibit at a Brooklyn gallery. The story of the Garrisons is shaped by powerful forces--a rogue north wind, a vengeful orphan, a sugar-dust explosion, an airborne jar of peaches, a scar that refuses to heal, a terrible lie, an unexpected baby, and a desperate drive across treacherous ice. In the midst of all their tragedy, the creative fire that drives them survives, burning more and more brightly as it's passed from one generation to the next, into the twenty-first century.
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(4.5)
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This is a family saga stretching over four generations and moving from Ireland to New York City, to Eastern Canada and Europe during WWII, back to Canada after the war with time in Toronto and then Winnipeg and then back to those former habitations trying to find the truth about the family. It starts with the story of Deidre, the daughter of a poor farmer outside of Galway. The story continues as Deidre moves to New York City and has a son, Frank. Frank goes to war with a Canadian regiment and is seriously injured in the Netherlands. After the war Frank and his wife move to Winnipeg and run a nursery business and have two daughters, Von and Rosheen. Rosheen has a son, Kyle, but he is taken away by a child protection agency when he is an infant. We start learning bits and pieces of the family's story after Rosheen's death when Von has to clear up her estate. Rosheen has been working on a showing of her artistic works that deal with the family history. There is a lot to go through and Von begins to understand how talented Rosheen was. Maybe this family that has suffered so much tragedy can finally heal.
Highly recommended. (