Book
The observer / Marina Endicott.
"A spare and powerful new novel from the award-winning author of Good to a Fault and The Little Shadows. When Julia arrives in Medway, accompanying her beloved Hardy on his first posting as an RCMP constable, she tries to explain her new life to old friends from the city, but can find no shared vocabulary to convey this rural reality, let alone police life. As Hardy disappears into long days at work, Julia takes a job as editor of the local newspaper, the Observer. Interviewing people to compose a view of the town each week, she gathers knowledge of the community's surface joys and sorrows; meanwhile, Hardy is immersed in violence and loss, and Julia can only witness his increasing exhaustion. At first this new life together is an adventure, but as in all the best stories, time darkens and deepens it. Grounded in Marina Endicott's own experience in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, The Observer is an essential story from one of our most beloved storytellers. Endicott writes with the sure pacing and insight of a master novelist, piecing haunting details into a quietly devastating revelation of the fragility of life and law in a tightknit community."-- Publisher's website.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781039003569 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 258 pages ; 22 cm
- Publisher: Toronto, ON : Alfred A. Knopf Canada, [2023]
- Copyright: ©2023
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Domestic fiction. Psychological fiction. Novels. |
Available copies
- 1 of 2 copies available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookstown Branch | FIC Endic | 31681010338754 | FICTION | Available | - |
| Lakeshore Branch | NEW FIC Endic | 31681010338762 | FICTION | In process | - |
- Baker & Taylor
"From the award-winning author of Good to a Fault and The Little Shadows, the novel Marina Endicott has waited to write for twenty years, based on her life-changing experience as the spouse of an RCMP officer. A famous quote from Tolstoy says there are only two stories in this world: "A person goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town." Acclaimed writer Marina Endicott has been alternating between those poles in her books to date, but as she says about this novel: "Now it turns out I'm the stranger who comes to town." The title The Observer refers to protagonist Julia, who is based on a younger Marina; it is also the name of the local newspaper where Julia works. And the story is inspired by the author's experience of accompanying her partner to hisfirst posting with the RCMP in Mayerthorpe (called Medway here), a town in Alberta that rose to public notoriety in 2005 when a man there killed four RCMP members and himself. When Julia arrives in Medway in 2000, she tries to explain to her urban, artist friends about her life with Hardy, the man she passionately loves. But she finds she shares no vocabulary with those in her past to convey her new rural reality, let alone police life. Determined to keep busy and help carry the household while Hardy spends long, exhausting days at work, Julia takes a job with the local newspaper, interviewing people and composing a view of the town each week. Slowly and carefully, she gathers knowledge of its inhabitants and rhythms, its joys and sorrows, as her life asthe partner of a police officer begins--and soon town and relationship both fall into a pattern of small, everyday happinesses alongside darker existential fears. In this gripping, spare, emotionally complex story, Endicott writes with the understated acuity, taut pacing, and sureness of a master novelist, piecing together shattered memories and haunting details in a devastating revelation about the fragility of life, death, and law in a tightknit and vulnerable community."-- - Random House, Inc.
A spare and powerful new novel from the award-winning author of Good to a Fault and The Little Shadows.
When Julia arrives in Medway, accompanying her beloved Hardy on his first posting as an RCMP constable, she tries to explain her new life to old friends from the city, but can find no shared vocabulary to convey this rural reality, let alone police life. As Hardy disappears into long days at work, Julia takes a job as editor of the local newspaper, the Observer. Interviewing people to compose a view of the town each week, she gathers knowledge of the communityâs surface joys and sorrows; meanwhile, Hardy is immersed in violence and loss, and Julia can only witness his increasing exhaustion. At first this new life together is an adventure, but as in all the best stories, time darkens and deepens it.
    Grounded in Marina Endicottâs own experience in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, The Observer is an essential story from one of our most beloved storytellers. Endicott writes with the sure pacing and insight of a master novelist, piecing haunting details into a quietly devastating revelation of the fragility of life and law in a tightknit community.
