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Description
Set in the small town of Grenville, Ontario, a setting perhaps familiar to the reader from the author's previous novel Cadillac Road, this story progresses from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1940, five-year-old Martin Thorton fell from the family's apartment balcony, suffering catastrophic and permanent injuries. His accident plays a role in everything that happens afterwards -- his marginalization growing up a disabled person, his mother's guilt and unfailing devotion, his sister's alienation. Told from the point of view of his sister Gretchen, and his friend Donna, this is Martin's story.
Set in the small town of Grenville, Ontario, a setting perhaps familiar to the reader from the author's previous novel Cadillac Road, this story progresses from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1940...
Set in the small town of Grenville, Ontario, a setting perhaps familiar to the reader from the author's previous novel Cadillac Road, this story progresses from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1940, five-year-old Martin Thorton fell from the family's apartment balcony, suffering catastrophic and permanent injuries. His accident plays a role in everything that happens afterwards -- his marginalization growing up a disabled person, his mother's guilt and unfailing devotion, his sister's alienation. Told from the point of view of his sister Gretchen, and his friend Donna, this is Martin's story.
A Note From the Publisher
Kristin Andrychuk was raised in Southern Ontario, in an area of stark contrasts between a conservative village and a vibrant summer resort town close to Buffalo, New York. Place and family relationships majorly influence the stories in her poetry, and fiction. Mother’s Genius is her fourth novel. She resides in Kingston.
Kristin Andrychuk was raised in Southern Ontario, in an area of stark contrasts between a conservative village and a vibrant summer resort town close to Buffalo, New York. Place and family...
Kristin Andrychuk was raised in Southern Ontario, in an area of stark contrasts between a conservative village and a vibrant summer resort town close to Buffalo, New York. Place and family relationships majorly influence the stories in her poetry, and fiction. Mother’s Genius is her fourth novel. She resides in Kingston.
Poignant in some parts, full of humor in others, “Mother’s Genius”, by Kristin Andrychuk (Guernica Editions), had a slow beginning for me, but I was gradually pulled into it and intrigued with Martin’s sad story.
Martin is such a different, wounded hero, obsessed with Donna, blind in so many ways. Martin is a tragic male character, but also so self-centered and selfish. Watching the hero prematurely aging and its physical decadence is a realistic experience, sometimes hard to read.
I particularly enjoyed and found extremely well written the parts told from Donna’s point of view about handling domestic life, marriage and children, some of which were very funny and realistic.
I also liked the intertextuality with Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road”, Donna’s practical outlook on the iconic novel and Martin’s sedentary life and isolation contrasting with it.
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Reviewer 347544
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Poignant in some parts, full of humor in others, “Mother’s Genius”, by Kristin Andrychuk (Guernica Editions), had a slow beginning for me, but I was gradually pulled into it and intrigued with Martin’s sad story.
Martin is such a different, wounded hero, obsessed with Donna, blind in so many ways. Martin is a tragic male character, but also so self-centered and selfish. Watching the hero prematurely aging and its physical decadence is a realistic experience, sometimes hard to read.
I particularly enjoyed and found extremely well written the parts told from Donna’s point of view about handling domestic life, marriage and children, some of which were very funny and realistic.
I also liked the intertextuality with Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road”, Donna’s practical outlook on the iconic novel and Martin’s sedentary life and isolation contrasting with it.
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Reviewer 347544