I bought this book in 1999 when it won the Giller, read it, and then retired it to my bookshelf. Having failed to make it to the library before Canada Day I needed something to read and pulled this out. What a great book! It follows the Chambers family from 1949 to 1997, randomly jumping from year to year, or decades in some cases. Set in Stonebrook, a small town within driving distance of Toronto, the book is really just about the ordinary life of this family, their triumphs and tragedies. Bonnie Burnard is a fantastic writer, the characters are wonderfully real and as complex as real people are. Nothing seems contrived, everything blends together seamlessly. Upon reflecting after finishing the book it made me think of a saying of Karly's "Laugh, Cry, Live in the Same House". Yup, isn't that what families are all about.
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