In honour of Canada Day, a story in The Globe and Mail revisited a conference that took place 30 years ago. Organized by the late ±«Óãtv professor Malcolm Ross, the conference became famous for the list it drew up of "the most important 100 works of Canadian fiction."
Here's the top-10 novels on that highly controversial list:
- The Stone Angel (1964) Margaret Laurence.
- Fifth Business (1970) Robertson Davies.
- As for Me and My House (1941) Sinclair Ross.
- The Mountain and the Valley (1952) Ernest Buckler.
- The Tin Flute (1947) Gabrielle Roy.
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959) Mordecai Richler.
- The Double Hook (1959) Sheila Watson.
- The Watch that Ends the Night (1959) Hugh MacLennan.
- Who Has Seen the Wind (1947) W.O. Mitchell.
- The Diviners (1974) Margaret Laurence.
"Taking a shot at a new canon," G&M writer James Adams asks experts, including ±«Óãtv English professor Dean Irvine, for their recommendations. (In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart and Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen make Dr. Irvine's top 10.)
All of this is a long lead in for today's Dalnews discussion ... What work of Canadian fiction would you recommend?
READ: in The Globe and Mail