Alderney Gate Public Library
Sunday, September 11/2:30 pm
Flying with Amelia by Anne DeGrace
The writing of British Columbia author Anne DeGrace reflects her Nova Scotia roots. Her 2009 novel Sounding Line, based on the 1967 UFO incident in Shag Harbour, NS, was a CBC Mainstreet Bookclub pick and a Chapters/Indigo “Heather’s Pick”.
DeGrace’s new book Flying with Amelia, presents stories set against points of Canadian history throughout the 20th century; it “weaves our collective identity, taking us on a journey from the dawn of a century to its last moments.
“Flying with Amelia chronicles the dreams and struggles of a cast of unforgettable characters through more than a hundred years and across a vast landscape as they face challenges and find courage, sometimes in surprising places.
In 1847 a famine ship arrives in Canada from Ireland, and here, the tale begins, weaving through generations and time. A St. John’s boy learns the finer points of communication while his employer receives the first transatlantic wireless signal. A British Home Child finds sorrow and solace on an Ontario farmstead. In 1920s Montreal, a one-armed veteran gambles everything for a future with a beautiful, intelligent, political young woman. In northern Manitoba, German prisoners of war find creative ways to quell boredom. RCMP officers snatch Doukhobor children in British Columbia, while a decade later U.S. draft dodgers find refuge in Canada. In the Maritimes, a young woman answers a personal ad written by a Saskatchewan schoolteacher, resulting in recipes and romance set against a backdrop of unrest during the Great Depression—while the world looks to the skies for hope, inspiration, and a glimpse of a bright wingtip caught in the sun.
From the heady days of the FLQ crisis to the dawning evidence of climate change in Canada’s north, Flying with Amelia weaves a collective identity, taking us on a journey from the first sight of a new land, through a century, and beyond.” – publisher
Source: http://www.thereader.ca/2008/09/author-reading-flying-with-amelia-by.html
