Monthly Archives: August 2012

Michael Ondaatje at Stratford

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

It was a triple treat for those of us who attended yesterday’s Celebrated Writer Series at the Tom Patterson Theatre in Stratford.

In addition to hearing Michael Ondaatje discuss The Cat’s Table,  Stratford actors Cynthia Dale and Tom McManus read two separate passages of the acclaimed novel. When asked why those particular selections had been chosen, Ondaatje admitted that he found it difficult to read from that part of the novel. In previous readings, he stuck to the first section which follows the early lives of three feral boys on a ship bound for England.

Ondaatje is definitely a pantser–he writes by the seats of his pants and does not create lengthy outlines. In this case, he had only an idea  in mind: a young boy is traveling by himself on a ship bound for England. In an earlier interview, he admitted: “Some authors know what the last sentence is going to be before they begin–I don’t even know what the second sentence is going to be.”

Another audience member asked if The Cat’s Table  is a personal one. Ondaatje hedged and stated that all novels are personal. He made a similar journey during his youth, but he doesn’t recall too many details about it.  While writing, he discovers different aspects of his life and often creates more interesting adventures, especially when writing about childhood.

Nominated for last year’s Giller Award, The Cat’s Table is one of five novels written by the author who started out as a poet. Michael Ondaatje is best know for The English Patient which was later adapted into an Academy Award winning movie.

What is Your Acronym?

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I never really gave too much thought to the common, everyday acronyms that have been around for years. I can’t even remember a time when I didn’t know the meaning of ASAP (as soon as possible), BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato), TGIF (thank God it’s Friday) and other popular abbreviations.

With the explosive growth of social media, I have also had to learn the meaning of DM (direct message), AFAIK (as far as I know), FWIW (for what it’s worth) and a host of other acronyms. I often refer to the following website for enlightenment.

In the latest issue of Oprah Magazine, Gayle King discusses acronyms. While watching an HBO documentary about George H.W. Bush, she was impressed by the former’s president’s favorite acronym—CAVU or “ceiling and visibility unlimited”—which he learned as a navy pilot. President Bush believes that this acronym accurately describes his happy life with his wife in Maine.

Gayle decided to create her own acronym—LALL or “living and loving life.”

I’ve come up with two acronyms for my life: SOAR (starting over after retiring) and WIMSA (writing in my second act).

Any other acronyms other there?

Book Review: The Lifeboat

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Grace Winter is an unlikely protagonist for Charlotte Rogan’s debut novel, The Lifeboat.

In the opening scene, she is standing with her mouth open in the middle of a downpour. When reprimanded by her lawyers, she admits to being “thirsty for rain and salt water, for the whole boundless ocean of it.” Afterward, she is unable to restrain her laughter and is asked to eat her meal in the cloakroom of a restaurant. While contemplating the pros and cons of an insanity defense, one of the lawyers gives her a diary and asks her to recreate the twenty-one days she spent in a crowded lifeboat during the summer of 1914.

In a dispassionate voice, Grace tells her story.

Happy to be sailing on the Empress Alexandra with her new husband Henry, Grace looked forward to starting their new life together in New York. When the ocean liner suffered a mysterious explosion, Henry secured a place for Grace in a lifeboat, which is over capacity. Throughout the book, different characters comment on Grace’s life of privilege and the unusual circumstances that led to her inclusion on that crowded lifeboat.

Grace, however, had humble beginnings, enduring the trauma of her father’s suicide and her mother’s subsequent breakdown. She lured wealthy banker Henry Winter away from his long-term fiancée, admitting that she felt no guilt in freeing “him from both tradition and from emotional restraint” and, in the process, securing her own future.

As the castaways battle the elements and each other, it becomes evident that some must be sacrificed for the majority to survive. A brewing power struggle between a ruthless, experienced sailor and a persuasive matron further complicates the situation. Throughout the ordeal, Grace remains passive and is easily manipulated by the stronger characters.

Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the novel down. In spite of my ambivalence toward Grace, I was fascinated by the other personalities and how they reacted when pushed beyond their limits of endurance. To be truthful, I did not find any of the characters likeable. I tend to agree with Grace’s description: “We were stripped of all decency. I couldn’t see there was anything good or noble left once food and shelter were taken away.

Rogan found the germ of this story while reading one of her husband’s old legal texts. She was particularly intrigued by the account of two drowning sailors who came upon a plank that could only support one person. After considering the question—Is it murder for one of them to push the other off—Charlotte Rogan started writing The Lifeboat.

Many Winding Roads to Success

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Another Canadian success story!

Pamela Callow’s writing journey started at age eight when she decided that she wanted to write as well as read books. That spark was fanned by a terrific English teacher in junior high, but Callow chose a more practical career path. She studied law and later completed a Master’s degree in Public Administration.

After having her children, she stayed home and quickly discovered she needed a creative outlet.  She revisited her old passion and wrote a historical novel. While editors expressed an interest in the book, it did not make it past the Acquisitions level.  Undaunted, she decided to shelve the book and switch genres. Using her background in corporate law and interest in horrific crimes, Callow penned Damaged, the first in the Kate Lange crime-thriller series. Since then, she has written two other books, Indefensible and Tattooed.

Callow describes her road to publication as “bumpy, long, and littered with rejection letters. It took eight years, many contest entries, even more revisions, and two completed manuscripts to get published.” She sold Damaged by pitching it to an editor at a conference in Surrey, British Columbia.

Her advice to aspiring authors…

“One thing I have learned is that being rejected doesn’t mean that particular door is forever closed. Persistence is key. So is self-improvement. If you can combine the two, you’ll very likely succeed.”

Oprah and Michael Singer

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Yesterday, on Super Soul Sunday, Oprah introduced spiritual teacher Michael Singer to her viewers.

In 2005, Michael Singer was indicted in a massive government fraud case against his software company. The investigation went on for six years, during which time Singer wrote The Untethered Soul.  While the situation was a stressful one, Singer never lost his inner peace and calm.

When asked about his spiritual journey, Singer described the deep inner awakening he experienced while completing his doctorate in economics. He became intensely aware of that inner voice that constantly narrates all the events of our lives. He realized that the voice talks incessantly because there is some inner turmoil which has not been resolved.

Throughout the interview, Oprah referred to passages from different chapters in the book. In the chapter “Removing Your Inner Thorn,” Singer addresses the two choices we all have when addressing pain. We can devote valuable energy to avoiding this pain or we can take out the thorn.

Singer stresses that it is not necessary to work out all our issues. If we can quiet that inner voice and open ourselves to more possibilities, we will bring peace to the table and spread it everywhere.

Quotable Quotes…

You will find in every situation in life, there’s a higher way to deal with it.

You will stay lost if you do not separate who you are from who you are not.

Relax and lean away from a situation. Give it room to pass through.

We’re either walking in the direction of love or the direction of fear.

True freedom is freedom from yourself.

Your time is limited and you should be using it for something meaningful.

Death makes us all the same. Are we going to wait for death to teach us that?

Book Review: The Hypnotist’s Love Story

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Hypnotherapist Ellen O’Farrell is enjoying her fourth date with Patrick Scott, a self-employed suburban surveyor. When he says, “There’s something I need to tell you,” Ellen immediately tenses and expects the worst. To her surprise, she learns that Patrick has a female stalker, Saskia. More intrigued than frightened, Ellen could barely “keep the undercurrent of joy out of her voice” as she commiserated with Patrick. Ellen wants to get into the woman’s mind and discover what motivates her behaviour. What Ellen doesn’t know is that she has already met her. Saskia has been masquerading as one of Ellen’s clients.

While I still shudder at any mention of that infamous movie, Fatal Attraction, I did not feel the same level of fear as I read The Hypnotist’s Love Story. In Saskia, Moriarty has succeeded in creating a compelling character who tugs at our heart strings. I was surprised to find myself sympathizing with the stalker and hoping that she would turn her life around.  Moriarty also adds grey nuances to Ellen’s character.  The moral and compassionate practitioner is often tempted to act unethically and use hypnosis to uncover Patrick’s true feelings.

I felt ambivalent toward Patrick and wondered why he wasn’t taking out a restraining order. Did he feel guilty about cutting Saskia off only a month after her mother’s death? And why do Patrick’s mother and son rush to Saskia’s defense whenever Patrick criticizes her?

I enjoyed the larger cast of characters which includes Ellen’s feisty mother, Ann, and the two godmothers who raised her in what Ellen describes as “a lesbian commune, except they were all straight.”

A delightful summer read.