Sunday Salon by Stealth
I was drawn to The View from Castle Rock by Alison Munro because the book, a fictionalized account of Munro's family history, seems to parallel my own family's story. Her people came to Canada in 1818, the same year my own great-great grandfather brought his family to Canada. I have a fair amount of information on my Hobson ancestors and I'm interested to see how Munro's story compares to my own.
The book opens with a visit to the Ettrick Valley of Scotland where the author finds the headstone of her direct ancestor, William Laidlaw, in the churchyard at Ettrick. William is known locally as Will O'Phaup (Phaup being the local version of the name of his farm - "Far Hope"). Will appears to have acquired quite a mythology built around his life and experiences.
posted by Susan @ 11:00 AM
8 Comments:
I love Alice Munro - I bet that's an excellent book. And what a good idea to fictionalise your own family history. Actually maybe a lot of novels are in large part this.
Just had a quick look at your Hobson ancestor page. That's an incredible lot of work, Susan! I really like the way you've organised this with links. It works very well.
I'm glad you're reading this book. Living in Canada, Munroe is an author from which I can't escape, but I've rarely come across a simple, accessible, friendly post on her that invites me in. It's all media overstatement.
One of these days your sons are going to think to Google your name. And man, what they're going to find out about you!
Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that Debra! Would it really lead them to the blog? I *do* have a very common name, almost as good as Jane Doe.
Thank you for looking at the Hobson pages, Clare! I really should get back to work on them - I think that eventually the family might appreciate it.
I'm glad you stopped by Imani. You're in Vancouver?
Nah, I'm pretty sure I'm safe, Debra. I Googled the name and there are simply too many other, much worthier Susan Barrs out there. There's even a very sporty one, shown on a bicycle!
No, I live in Ontario but that doesn't seem far enough, somehow. :P
Mum, how are you googling? Are you putting your name in quotation marks? Are you adding any other key words...like say "victoria" or "canada"? Because your twitter page is the first thing that comes up when I search for you. An image search brings up a very clear picture of mummy on the third page, with a link to your blog. If the little morons ever put their minds to it, I'm sure they'd find you right away...
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