Two Strand River - Hardcover

Maillard, Keith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0888780885 ISBN 13: 9780888780881

Publisher: Press Porcepic, 1976

Synopsis

Book by Maillard, Keith

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Maillard's first novel (after Hazard Zones, 1996, etc.), reissued in a new edition (with an afterword by the author) exactly 20 years after its first unveiling in Canada. Anyone who knows Maillard only from the intricacies of his recent work--especially his current work-in-progress, the Raysburg Trilogy--is in for a big surprise. This debut effort is a '60s fantasy that would have given Pynchon heartburn and kept Philip Roth awake at night. Leslie and Alan are the center of attention, and both have some real problems. For one thing, they are, quite literally, the wrong sex: Alan is a hairdresser and Leslie is a professional swimmer, and each is convinced that the absence or presence of a Y chromosome is what makes life worth living. Although genetics can't save the day, magic realism does, and the concept of gender becomes at first fluid, then meaningless, then finally redemptive in some way that can't be and probably doesn't need to be explained too coherently. There's a lot of mirror imagery involved, and Leslie and Alan find that their shortcomings and needs (Leslie has two brothers and no mother, for example, while Alan is fatherless and burdened with sisters) complement one another perfectly, albeit not in any traditional matrimonial fashion. Meanwhile, the other characters, though just as bizarre, breeze in and out of the narrative like supporting actors in a drawing-room comedy, calling little attention to themselves. An elderly woman named Mildred serves as an excuse to work the symbolism of the Tarot deck into the plot, and there is a general obsession with esoterica throughout, contributing to the impression that this is largely a tale fashioned more from atmosphere and tone than plot. Long established as a cult classic, but only for somewhat rarefied tastes. One of the best gender-bending novels now in print. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Maillard accurately describes his adult fairy tale as "a novel about a girl who should have been a boy and a boy who should have been a girl." Two Strand River transcends the boundaries between the sexes, between humanity and nature, and between imagination and reality. Although they navigate a physical world that seems soap-opera small, Maillard's characters orbit a rich spiritual terrain. Alan Lehman is a beautician who feels trapped in a male body. His transformation into Ellen, a graceful and confident woman, is aided by Mildred Mackenzie, the mystical mother of one of his customers. "You're split along a certain seam," she explains to him, "And we have to break you there so you can open." Leslie Fraser is a washed-up competitive swimmer turned children's librarian who also finds herself pulled between identities. Central to Two Strand River is this theme of wrenching open, of doing away with conventions, in order to reach a deeper understanding. From Alan's niece to Leslie's oldest brother, each character finds a different type of satisfaction by moving past the familiar into the unknown. This makes for interesting characters but also for a rather wan plot and little narrative drive. For those interested in a book about transcendent spirituality, about characters finding themselves, this book, originally published in Canada, in 1976, has much to recommend it. For those searching for literature, it comes up short.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Press Porcepic
• Publication date: 1976
• ISBN 10: 0888780885
• ISBN 13: 9780888780881
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 265