This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could.
Canadian poet Marilyn Bowering’s Visible Worlds didn’t get much in the way of UK review coverage as I remember but I loved its intricately interlocking narratives not least that of the young woman striding through the wilderness whose story makes sense of it all.
In 1960 Nate Bone, national football star and local hero, dies in a freak accident playing football in his hometown of Winnipeg. When Albrecht finds a map of Siberia, dated 1951, in Nate’s boot he immediately recognizes it as his twin brother’s work but Gerhard has been missing since 1945. Albrecht tells the story of three neighbouring families whose lives have become so entwined over two wars and a multitude of misfortunes that each has become a part of the other. Fighting for survival as she crosses the Polar ice cap from Russia to Canada, Fika tells her own story. As each narrative unfolds, small details coincide, family links become clear until, finally, Fika finds her way to safety and the two stories become one.
Sadly, Bowering’s beautifully crafted novel is no longer in print here in the UK, although there are second hand copies easily available online for interested readers.
What about you, any blasts from the past you’d like to share?
You can find more posts like this here.
