The Cure for Death by Lightning
 First edition (Canadian) | |
| Author | Gail Anderson-Dargatz |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English language |
| Publisher | Knopf Canada |
Publication date | 1996 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 294 |
| ISBN | 0-394-28157-8 |
The Cure for Death by Lightning is the debut novel from Canadian author Gail Anderson-Dargatz. It was nominated for the Giller Prize, was awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and became a bestseller in Canada (selling over 100,000 copies) and Great Britain (where it won a Betty Trask Award).[1]
Plot introduction[edit]
Set in an isolated farming community in Shuswap Country,[2] British Columbia at the end of the Second World War it is a coming of age story containing elements of magic realism.[3] Fifteen-year-old Beth Weeks has to contend with her family's struggle against poverty but also her increasingly paranoid and aggressive father whose behaviour leaves the family as outcasts in the community. A number of unusual characters appear in the book, including Filthy Billy, a hired hand with tourettes and Nora, a sensual half-Native girl whose mother has an extra little finger and a man's voice.
The title of the book comes from one of a number of household tips and recipes belonging to her mother which appear as asides throughout the book, while Beth's mother withdraws from reality and talks with her dead mother; leaving Beth to be sexually molested by her father.
Reception[edit]
- The Boston Sunday Globe described how, "some first novelists tiptoe. Not Gail Anderson-Dargatz. She makes her debut in full stride, confidently breaking the rules to create a fictional style we might call Pacific Northwest Gothic."[4]
- Canadian Literature quarterly criticizes the "somewhat ponderous plot" but praises the "acuteness of vision" and "sharp rendition of the breathless, sensate moment" as the "magic in the ordinary" is revealed.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307363886 [dead link]
- ^ "Interview with Jack Hodgins - Canadian Literature - Fiction - Short Stories - Novels".
- ^ "Books at Random House of Canada | The Cure For Death by Lightning by Gail Anderson-Dargatz". www.randomhouse.ca. Archived from the original on 2006-05-27.
- ^ "Gail Anderson-Dargatz". www.randomhouse.ca. Archived from the original on 2003-06-09.
- ^ "Book Review | the Cure for Death by Lightning by Gail Anderson-Dargatz; the Lusty Man by Terry Griggs | Canadian Literature". Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
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