Folks familiar with the singer-songwriter Margie Carmichael should reach eagerly for her first book, And My Name Is… Stories From the Quilt (Acorn Press, 2006, Charlottetown, 128 pages, Cdn $19.95). Expectations run high because the contents emerge from one of Atlantic Canada’s most creative minds.
This collection of well-crafted short stories and songs (the latter presented as poems) brings to mind not only a lovingly stitched quilt, but also the “Greatest Hits” albums in music stores. The slim, satisfying book of Carmichael’s best creations disappoints only when you turn the final page craving “more, more”.
Stories From the Quilt tells mainly of “ordinary” women blessed with inner strength. Irini, who used to hide beneath her grandmother’s burqa, survived in violent Afghanistan. Anna, 78 years old, hospitalized and dying, retains her dignity, just as she once did at an Indian residential school. Olivia ponders the fate of a lover, her son’s father, lost to war. Tessie, rules a household with a daughter-in-law who irks her, yet together they teach 10 children “to fight one another one minute and defend one another the next”.
Sometimes Carmichael adds a touch of the supernatural. Invariably, tragic circumstances arise, yet the protagonists cope.
Not to be outdone, artist Dale McNevin skilfully captures many of the characters in illustrations that nearly come alive. Often assisted by Martha, her cat, McNevin has excelled on other book projects, including The True Meaning of Crumbfest, Everything That Shines and Three Tall Trees, all by David Weale.
Suspicions linger that after decades of writing, Carmichael may have more stories waiting to appear in a second book. That’s a comforting thought.
Approval rating: 75 per cent.
For more information: www.acornpresscanada.com.
(November 24, 2006)
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