Minister Without Portfolio (us Edition): A Novel - Softcover

Winter, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143187813 ISBN 13: 9780143187813

Publisher: Pintail, 2013

Synopsis

A novel confronting the deeply personal effects of war with the emotional resonance of The Shipping News and the power of Tim O’Brien

Henry Hayward is a drowning man. In a quest to find meaning in an emotionally arid life, Henry travels to Afghanistan as an army-affiliated contractor, where he becomes embedded in the regiment with which his friends are serving. But everything changes during a tragic roadside incursion. And Henry, who survives, knows in his heart that he is responsible. After returning home, Henry feels more rootless than before. Matters are complicated by the grief of Martha, his deceased friend’s long-term girlfriend, with whom he once had an affair. Henry tries to make posthumous amends by planning to repair his deceased friend’s home, but he hasn’t taken family history—or Martha’s secrets—into account.

About this title

About the Author

Award-winning author Michael Winter has won the Writers' Trust Notable Author Award, and his work has been longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. He divides his time between Toronto and St. John’s.

From Publishers Weekly

Early on in this alternately brilliant and frustrating novel, Henry Hayward is called a "minister without portfolio" by his friend Tender Morris, meaning, "You're not committed to anything but you've got a hand in everywhere." The designation is apt; at the time an army-affiliated contractor in Afghanistan, Henry has so far traveled through life unmoored. After an ambush leaves Tender dead, Henry returns to Newfoundland a broken man, guilt-ridden for the part he inadvertently played in the incident. To make emotional amends, Henry purchases Tender's summer home and begins to rebuild his psyche through work on the house and beginning a relationship with Martha, Tender's long-term partner. Using his signature minimalistic style to astonishing effect, the first half ranks with The Big Why and The Architects Are Here as one of Winter's best works. The short arc devoted to Henry's Afghanistan stint is perfectly presented and in lesser hands would make up the entire book. Winter captures the unique music of Newfoundland speak and his main characters and settings breathe with life. Yet the story begins to stall halfway; Winter's point becomes diluted through thematic repetition and side-character subplots that distract. Winter is no question one of Canada's finest authors, but despite being overall worthwhile- an unreservedly virtuoso first half and a sporadically spectacular second -the novel is ultimately dulled to a blunt point.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pintail
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0143187813
• ISBN 13: 9780143187813
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240