- Hardcover: 432 pages
- Publisher: Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.: Harpercollins; 1st Edition edition (2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060506067
- ISBN-13: 978-0060506063
- Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 16.2 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 953 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
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Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rediscover the 1930's and a great Canadian writer!,
By Blflowerbug (Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Clara Callan (Hardcover)
I was extremely intrigued by the title when I first noticed this book on the shelves of my favorite bookstore. I immediately wanted to know who was Clara Callan. I was not disappointed in Richard B. Wright's latest novel. Written in diary and letter form this is the romantic and sometimes tragic story of two Canadian sisters, one, an ordinary school teacher, the other, an aspiring actress. The writer leads us into their thoughts and through their actions and the repercussions they face as he develops his characters through the 1930's, retelling a bit of our history. Highly recommended. You won't be disappointed. I look forward to his next book.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unremarkable life?,
By Friederike Knabe "“We write to taste life twi... (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Clara Callan (Paperback)
Clara Callan, the protagonist of Wright's novel, is a small town spinster in the 1930s. She lives a reasonably comfortable life thanks to the inheritance of her father's house and a job as a local schoolteacher. Through her diary entries and exchanges of letters, mainly with her more glamorous younger sister Nora, Clara reveals herself to the reader. Wright has created a believable character that "grows on you" as her personality emerges little by little. Life's difficulties during the Depression years, in particular for a single woman in rural Southern Ontario become apparent through the description of daily events. However, a very dramatic personal incident and its aftermath force Clara to confront her new circumstances in a very direct manner. While she was accustomed to express her daily experiences and reflections in poems, events interfere and poetry becomes impossible. She recognizes "how suddenly a life can become misshapen, divided brutally into before and after a dire event." Her beliefs are challenged and so is her self-contained whole-ness as a person. Clara's personal story is embedded in the realities of the mid-thirties where unemployment is rife and poverty spreading. Although at the periphery of the main thrust of the book, Wright alludes to the emerging pre-war anxieties. He touches on the contrasts between city and rural living, utilizing Clara's reluctance to accept such innovations as the telephone, as an example. Yet, the regular Saturday trips to Toronto, perceived by her as a necessary escape from the village, lead to a new, important phase in her personal development, giving her also a new taste of independence. She visits her sister in New York, although in rather difficult time in her life. Cleverly, Wright lets her visit pre-war Italy as a third party to her sister's vacation. It allows the author to add impressions of the growing political conflicts in Europe as a backdrop without losing the focus of the story. The counterweight to Clara is Nora, who could not bear small-town Ontario and leaves for New York to "make it in radio". She becomes successful as a radio voice in daytime "soaps" and her personal life seems to take on some aspects of a soap opera itself. Nora is privileged in finding a solid rock in a glamorous female friend, Evelyn, while her on and off affairs are far less successful. Clara, always concerned about her sister and her superficial lifestyle, attempts to remain the firm family base for her sister, but her own life story places her more and more on a shaky ground. She finds advice and empathy through her correspondence with Evelyn. Clara Callan is a very engaging story indeed. Wright successfully places himself into the mind of a woman: Clara's personality quietly and gently takes hold of the reader as one follows her in the exploration of the multifaceted realities of her time and place.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping, entertaining, intrigueing,
By William E Harris "bharris199" (St. Catharines, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Clara Callan (Paperback)
Just a wonderful book. I had to check to make sure it was really fiction. The writing was so well done and interesting I could have sworn I was in small town Ontario in the 30's. I'll be eagerly anticipating his next book and will be checking out some of his earlier work.
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