During the past few weeks, I have been thinking about what makes
a book Canadian?
I reviewed the lists of past Governor General Award nominees and winners
for insight, but stories had no cohesive theme other than lavish praise
for the style and voice of the book.
So the question remains, what is a Canadian book?
I think that a Canadian book should be about Canada. For example, a Canadian
living in New York writing stories about FBI Agents should not be considered
to be writing Canadian novels. The author’s country of origin should
not be relevant.
We have one of the most well regarded police forces in the world, yet
few stories are written about the RCMP. We have a military that has a
proud history, yet few authors use our military as the basis of a novel.
But what makes me really sad is that too often, our fiction is profoundly
introspective and is more case study than fiction. The RCMP officer in
the story spends more time considering the socio-economic effects of external
policing on indigenous peoples than catching the criminal. Novels don’t
need to be character studies; they need have a story.
Let’s take the cover photo of this issue. The photo is of RCMP officer
who I met in the Yukon Territory along the only arctic highway in Canada.
His job was to drive and camp along the highway, acting as both a police
officer and a public relations officer for the RCMP and the Canadian Government.
Imagine the surprise when a German tourist finds himself camping next
to a RCMP officer. Now that is the beginning of an interesting story.
We need more stories showing Canada as a place where things happen. I
want to see British and American authors writing stories about Canada
and awards given to mainstream stories about Canada. The time for self-pitying
stories is done. I want to see a best-selling Canadian version of Ian
Rankin’s Rebus or Stuart MacBride’s Logan. We have one of
the most diverse locations on earth for a story.
Now let’s tell that story to the world. |
