Friday’s Forgotten Author: Margaret Laurence
Ladybird, ladybird,
Fly Away Home;
Your house is on fire,
Your children are gone.
Crazy rhyme. Got it on the brain this morning. That’s from trying to teach Jen a few human words yesterday. Why anybody would want to teach a kid a thing like that, I wouldn’t know. Half those nursery rhymes are gruesome, when you come to think of it. Here is a candle to light you to bed, and here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Just the thing to make the sprouts sleep soundly, especially if followed by a prayer about if I should die before I wake. Maybe it’s okay, though. Prepares them for what they can expect. Stacey, you sure are joyful firs thing in the morning. First thing, hell. It’s a quarter to nine and here’s me not dressed yet.
- The Fire-Dwellers, Margaret Laurence
The opening to The Fire-Dwellers sets the stage for a tale that might seem simple on the surface - wife and mother approaching forty is convinced her husband has found another woman and she’s searching to find something to fill the void in herself. However, Laurence’s ability to create vivid characters and captivate the reader contribute to the creation of stories that linger on the brain long after the final pages. I was recently going through the parts of my book collection I still have, and set my Margaret Laurence books aside on a special shelf where I keep books I’d like to re-read.
I can’t really think of a better compliment than that.
Margaret Laurence is a Canadian icon. While the international community knows the name of Margaret Atwood, Laurence doesn’t seem to have the kind of lingering international attention that she deserves. I remember in high school we had to read Laurence’s book Stone Angel. To this day, the chilling tale of Hagar and her self-destructive rebellion, her inability to love the loyal son despite the indifference of her favored child, the loveless marriage Hagar had with Bram, and the intensifying dementia of Hagar linger, a book that highlights the bad and impulsive decisions of youth and the regrets that may weigh on you as you approach death.
Laurence won the Beta Sigma Phi Award after the publication of This Side Jordan, her debut book. Her next book, Stone Angel, continues to be taught in Canadian high schools to this day, some 44 years following its publication.
Talk about a book with legs.
I went on to read some of her other works, including The Fire-Dwellers, This Side Jordan and A Jest of God. You can read about this extraordinary author here, or instead, pick up a copy of one of her many classics and discover for yourself why this is an author that should still be read.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:58 am
Stone Angel is on of my favorite books ever. I read them all and was heartbroke when we saw the last.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:45 am
Laurence was a superb writer. I’m so glad you know her work.
November 1st, 2008 at 11:40 pm
You won’t believe this, but I was thinking of doing The Fire Dwellers for one of my FFB posts! I love Margaret Laurence! Maybe I’ll do an Alice Munro book. Although I don’t now how forgotten she is? Great post!
November 4th, 2008 at 3:31 am
I discovered Margaret Laurence many years ago, and I was struck by the realistic descriptions of Hagar as an old woman, and the struggles she underwent. It was the first time I read one of her novels and I remember thinking, “Wow, how come I never heard of her before?”. I think we tend to give our neighbors to the North too little credit for their literature.