HISTORICAL FICTION: MARISSA STAPLEY
The Ballroom By Anna Hope McClelland and Stewart, 345 pages, $24.99
In Ireland in 1911, the story of a man and woman unjustly incarcerated in an asylum is told in a harrowing and beautiful way, and this story comes from a place of truth: Hope’s great-great-grandfather, she reveals in the author’s note, was incarcerated in the same manner, in the same asylum, many years ago. When she unearthed his story, she found it to be “almost unbearably moving.” There are moments in this love story — about two patients who live in proximity, but are rarely able to interact — that are equally difficult to read, especially those involving the indignities inflicted by the staff at the institution. But there is also the revelation of hope. It’s always there, even in the darkest moments. There is always love too, that balm that can make the impossible possible — even for a few moments, even if that has to be enough.
A Gentleman in Moscow By Amor Towles Viking, 480 pages, $36
From the author of the breakout historical hit Rules of Civility comes another impressive and sweeping historical tale, this time about Count Alexander Rostov who, in 1922, is vilified by a Bolshevik tribunal and sentenced to house arrest in a majestic hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Pampered, sheltered and deeply cultured, he has long believed he inhabits the world fully — but it is only when he is taken out of that world that he realizes how little he really saw. Now, he watches from an attic window as history unfolds and this original way of retelling history works in a big way. From a small room comes startlingly expansive observations about a significant historical period and a vivid setting made all the more so because of the distance Rostov — and the reader, too — is kept from everything. Towles’s writing in this accomplished sophomore offering is appealing, mischievous and utterly skilled.
Art Love Forgery By Carolyn Morgan Flanker Press, 224 pages, $19.95
Based on the true story of a Polish artist — who is also a convicted art forger — named Alexander Pindikowsky, debut Canadian author Carolyn Morgan has brought a moment in our country’s history to life. Pindikowsky is working in 1880s Heart’s Content, N.L., when he is arrested for forgery and required to serve part of his prison sentence designing and painting ceiling frescoes at Government House. While his unconventional penance plays out, the artist is drawn to a beautiful and wise parlour maid named Ellen Dormody. Ellen is fascinated by Pindikowsky’s artistic abilities, his charming manner — and even the darkness of his past, which she comes to understand. What was once a forbidden love blossoms and the two eventually marry and have a child together. Then, Alexander succumbs to a deep-rooted sense of ambition and travels to New York City to grasp at what he believes to be his only chance at fame. Left behind to care for their child, Ellen is mired by longing and heartache.
The German Girl By Armando Lucas Correa Atria, 384 pages, $22
Cuban-born author Armando Lucas Correa has taken the littleknown story of the Saint Louis, a ship filled with nearly a thousand mostly Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany, and revealed the surprising and disappointing role Canada played in the demise of the majority of those on the ship in this powerful debut work of fiction. When the ship was turned away in Cuba — the original destination; promises had been made — Canada did not offer asylum for the refugees and they were forced to try again and again, until there were no more options. It’s an ambitious novel that weaves together an impressive number of historically pivotal moments: the Second World War, the Cuban revolution, 9/11. The narrative alternates between Hannah Rosenthal in 1939 and Anna Rosen in 2014; the stories of grandmother and granddaughter are woven together by a mysterious package Anna receives. This arouses a deep curiosity about her past and the fate of those important to her, prompting an adventurous journey.