Childhood: A Novel - Hardcover

Alexis, Andre

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805059814 ISBN 13: 9780805059816

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, 1994

Synopsis

Born in Trinidad and raised in Canada, the author presents a coming-of-age novel about a Canadian boy, abandoned by his mother, who travels to Ottawa where he meets an eccentric scientist who fires his imagination. 25,000 first printing. Tour.

About this title

About the Author

Andre Alexis has been playwright-in-residence at the Canadian Stage Company, and is a contributing editor for This Magazine as well as a reviewer for The Globe and Mail.

Reviews

The love affair between a young black boy's wayward mother and a man who may or may not be his father forms the intriguing background to this enormously appealing first novel by Trinidadian-Canadian author Alexis (whose short-story collection, Despair, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize). "I've been thinking about Love, you see," begins the first-person narrator, now in his early 40s, addressing his absent, unnamed inamorata shortly after the death of his mother, "and theirs was the first and most puzzling romance I witnessed." Katarina MacMillan, only 17 when her son is born, promptly deposits Thomas in the care of her forbidding mother, Edna, in their small hometown of Petrolia, Ontario. Edna "was past the age of easy tolerance, and she was cantankerous," Thomas observes. "Also, she used to drink a lot of dandelion wine." Under her stern tutelage, Thomas grows up to be a book-loving, secretive boy. When his grandmother dies, the mother he knows only through legend suddenly arrives to claim him, and they are both soon abandoned roadside by Katarina's lover, the French-speaking Mr. Mataf. They must make a new life in Ottawa under the protection of a courtly dabbler in chemistry, Henry Wing, who initiates the boy into the secrets of alchemy. Thomas also learns about love and life by watching the games of power and romance that take place between Wing and his mother. Alexis often employs the apparatus of scientific research in order to convey Thomas's earnest searches for the truth; he breaks down memories into outlines, bulleted lists and footnotes, preferring the forms of proof to those of guesswork. The novel is an engagingly honest effort to order the stuff of a life, and it marks the maturation of an impressive new voice. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A splendid debut by Canadian writer Alexis (Trinidadian-born): a wistful remembrance of growing up, posing as a love letter to the narrator's paramour. Thomas Macmillan begins by thinking about love, his longing for the recipient of this ``letter,'' and about affection itself, as witnessed in his parents Henry and Katarina, both recently dead. His daily itinerary consists of reading, writing, and thinking of the intended, and in the monotony of this routine, he recalls his childhood, far from idyllic yet told with such grace that the simplicity of it becomes a charm. Deserted by his mother (and biological father, always unknown to him), young Thomas goes to live with his cantankerous grandmother, an ex-school marm with a penchant for dandelion wine. The two share an uneasy alliance in a small Canadian city, living in a mutual agreement to stay out of each other's way. Thomass early years in the mid-'60s are filled with nature, comic books, and first lovesamong them next-door neighbor Mrs. Schwartz, a childhood friend of his enigmatic mothers. It is through Mrs. Schwartz that Thomas begins to know Katarina, indeed all through his life she is only real to him through the reflection of others. When at ten his grandmother dies, and Katarina comes to retrieve him, a new, wondrous chapter in his childhood begins when the two go to Ottawa and the house of Henry Wing. An eccentric, charming man, Henry woos Katarina with poetry and Thomas with alchemy. Becoming a surrogate father, he introduces him to the world of the mind, and to the world of love through his untiring example of devotion for the reckless Katarina. Even when Katarina finds her own apartment, and takes other, usually abusive lovers, Henry remains loyal to her, and to Thomas, who remains in his library-like home. Filled with anecdotal footnotes, simple lists, and snippets of poetry, these inserted structures serve to bring form to the most vaporous subject: the nature of love. A genuinely elegant work. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This first novel reflects the "Trinidad to Canada" roots of author Alexis in its chronicle of the early years of character Thomas MacMillan. Thomas, a frankly self-absorbed child, is raised by his grandmother, a woman of eccentricities and volatile temperament, until he is 10. His grandmother's death brings his mother, Katarina, back to reclaim him. She comes with a male friend in a broken-down car and not enough money to safely make the journey to Montreal. Thomas and his mother are abandoned on the side of the road and so change their destination to Ottawa and the home of Henry Wing. The prior relationship of Katarina and Henry is never fully explained, but until his death, Henry remains a factor in Thomas' life. The narrative is unusual, with lists, charts, and "scientific" speculation interrupting the flow of the story. Intentional ambiguities reveal something of the characters, but we are finally left with scraps of information about these three strong personalities. This innovative novel showcases a writer of obvious talent. Danise Hoover

Before producing this first novel, Alexis polished his skills by writing short stories as well as theater and radio pieces, and it shows. The tale of a young Canadian boy with roots in Trinidad, like Alexis himself, this is "an exquisite novel that delivers lasting literary delight."
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805059814
• ISBN 13: 9780805059816
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 259