Away [Paperback]

 

 

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Away is a wonderfully written novel- Urquhart's skill and competence as a writer is unquestionable. but wouldn't call this particular novel one of her best. i must admit, it was a pleasure reading it, from a literary perspective, but the events and decisions made in this story are very peculiar and unlikely. in the novel, a young woman from Rothlin, a fictionary island in Ireland is 'posessed' with the spirit of a young sailor who dies in her arms after being washed ashore from his drowned ship. the events following are odd and created solely by the superstition of the narrow minded islanders, and the girl's own over-active imagination. overall, i thought that the novel was incomprehensible in some parts, and the characters were impossible to relate to.

The lyrical prose and language of Away is its best and worst feature. Urquhart's rich, magical prose, especially in the novel's opening with Mary and her lover from the sea, is wonderful. However, the language is not enough to sustain interest. Urquhart's prose dilapitates into a passive, lazy drawl (which DOES NOT convincingly pass for style) as the "magical" parts tests the reader's patience. Disappointing.

"The women of this family leaned towards extremes [...] They were plagued by revenants. There was always water involved, exaggerated youth or exaggerated age. Afterwards there was absence..."

Esther O'Malley Robertson, now in her eighties, and by her own admission "the last and most subdued" of these extreme women tells the family's story one last time "to herself and the Great Lake, there being no one to listen." The story, she muses, "will take her wherever it wants to go in the next twelve hours, and that is all that matters." And what a story it is! Like her protagonist, Jane Urquhart "paints a landscape in her mind", so rich in colours and shades, and so full of life - real and imagined, large as the ocean, minuscule as a tide pool - and so intimate in the depiction of its human inhabitants with their deep connection to the land and the waters that sustain them.

Spanning some one hundred and forty years, Urquhart creates a intricate multigenerational portrait of a family, starting out on the island of Rathlin, at the most northern coast of Ireland and leaving with Esther at Loughbreeze Beach on the shores of Lake Ontario. Mary, Esther's great-grandmother, stands tall at the beginning of the story, but, overwhelmed by what she experiences one early morning on the beach, changes into somebody that the locals refer to as being "away" - living in an otherworldly reality. She eventually returns to "normal life" thanks to the dedicated gentle care of Brian, her new husband. Urquhart's subtle and sensitive description of the young couple's evolving relationship, set against the increasingly precarious circumstances of the farming communities around them, pulls the reader right into their reality and creates an intimate empathy that only grows as the story unfolds. The contrast between the poverty stricken tenant farmers and their English landlords is stark, yet, even when portraying the latter, the author is perceptive to their limited efforts to help those dependent on them for their survival.

Urquhart touches on major historical events over the novel's time span. With heart wrenching intensity she describes the impact of the Irish potato famine, the subsequent wave of Irish immigration to then "Upper Canada", and the challenges faced by the early settlers and would-be farmers in the harsh landscape of the Canadian Shield. The struggle of the Irish immigrants goes beyond their claiming and cultivating the land and the political realities compete with the domestic; Urquhart interweaves the two component with great skill and balance. Yet, her central force are always the individuals, vividly portrayed, and their attachment, and often fascination, with the landscape they find themselves in. For Mary this deep connection is with the sea; her need for touching it will eventually dictate the rest of her life. For her children, Liam and Eileen, and all those who follow in this family tapestry, Urquhart's poetic and beautifully flowing language captures the diverse characters' deep emotions, at time haunting and heart wrenching and at others sensuous and exuberant. Some of the men are wanderers and capture the attention and love of their women in fleeting visits, others, especially Brian and his son Liam, are earthbound and provide the solid support to those who are torn between the land and the water - the 'here' and the 'away'. Esther, being the last in the line, knows that "Over the years the women of the family who have ventured out into the world have carried pictures of Loughbreeze Beach with them in their minds; its coloured stones shining through water, the places where fine pebbles give way to sand, certain paths the moon makes across the lake's surface on autumn midnights..."

The characterization of one person that he can twist " a sentence into a song" could not be a better description for the author's talents. Whether evoking the diverse emotions of individuals, the inner or outside landscapes they are connected to, the changing seasons with their atmospheric transformations, Urquhart's rich prose carries the reader into a mystical world that is both very real and richly imagined. [Friederike Knabe]

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5.0 out of 5 stars This is one of Jane Urquhart's best novels
I really loved this book. It beautifully written with extrodinary visual imagery. It also shows great insight into what it means to be a woman and the challenges women face. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Sassella

5.0 out of 5 stars Garcia Marquez meets Canada
When Garcia MArquez wrote "One Hundred Years of Solitude" he found out that magic is the real event that changes the world. Read more

Published on Feb 15 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent novel and a huge success for Ms. Urquhart
'Away' is an excellent book. The story is about a family's life and what happened to them. It seems as though each generation faces big adjustments and obstacles they must cross... Read more

Published on Dec 27 2000

3.0 out of 5 stars not quite perfect
after i finished Away i thought it had been worth the read-although it took me a month to finish. somewhere after the first quarter of the book i put it down-i was tired of the... Read more

Published on Aug 7 2000

3.0 out of 5 stars Reincarnation for the Irish
Interesting book for the most part, but it is hard for me to relate with the continuously poor and unexplainable decisions the members of this family make. Read more

Published on Jan 31 2000 by Laura Deibel

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book to Savor
I have seldom enjoyed a novel as much as I enjoyed Away by Jane Urquhart. The writer's lyrical prose traverses both literal and metaphysical landscapes with equal skill. Read more

Published on Jan 10 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars an ethereal celtic tale
I discovered this beautiful book whilst on holday in Canada, and became entranced with the world of Celtic/Canadian literature. Read more

Published on Dec 19 1999 by Mary Jacob

2.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical Boredom
Jane Uquhart's novel Away, is about Mary and Eileen, a mother, daughter duo who have their lives changed by romantic, yet tragic encounters, at different times. Read more

Published on Jun 8 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars incomparable
A single sentence in this book encompasses the highest of art and spirit that the muse of writing holds out before all writers. Read more

Published on Feb 27 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Very captivating read full of intriguing language
This book was recommended to me by an English major. With the skepticism of a non English student, I read on and found myself engrossed in the books characters and story. Read more

Published on Aug 23 1998

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