Gotta Find Me an Angel: A Novel [Hardcover]

Gotta Find Me an Angel, the first novel by an author who has published two collections of poetry, is a tale of love and jealousy among lesbians. The narrator, in her 30s, is still hopelessly pining for her first love, a teenage girl, Madeline, who drowned years before, and whose ghost still visits her. The narrator lives with Billie, a somewhat deluded poet who drives a classic canary-yellow Pontiac Parisienne. Both of them are in love with Julia, a painter who has grace and charm to burn. Meanwhile, Billie's rival is a successful poet and academic, ffiona perks. Petty jealousies and envies percolate throughout, with much of the action taking place at dinners and parties.

Because the narrator works as a projectionist in a review cinema, there is plenty of opportunity to reference relevant classic films. Music is also a constant, especially the songs of Aretha Franklin. Because much of the story takes place in the narrator's head, this novel could have turned maudlin but is saved by its devastating humour, which is consistently bemused, cynical, and self-deprecating. The story is also filled with dazzling lines, as when the narrator addresses Madeline, "Oh, the tales I could tell--and will. You may be the ghost, but I'm the scary story," or when Billie describes her rival, ffiona: "Doesn't her voice sound exactly like someone's playing with their zipper?" Though rather thin on plot, the quality of the writing and the genuine characters make Gotta Find Me an Angel a worthwhile read.--Mark Frutkin

This heartfelt but structurally flawed first novel by Canadian poet Brooks tries to find a place where lyricism and lesbian chick lit might meet. The unnamed 30-something narrator is a Toronto repertory cinema projectionist who finds herself increasingly crippled in her relationships, haunted by the memory of her teenage lover Madeline's death 20 years earlier. Ostensibly an outpouring of feeling to Madeline's ghost one lonely evening, the book alternates between glimpses of adolescent passion and current scenes of humorous daily life, mainly involving the narrator's narcissistic roommate, the struggling poet Billie Smart. The narrator's emotional crisis intensifies when she meets Julia Riding, an elegant and accomplished painter who stirs up the first feelings of true longing she has felt since Madeline. Over the course of the novel, the narrator struggles to surrender her memories of Madeline in order to live more fully in the present—hopefully with Julia. There are funny moments with Billie (involving the competitive publishing scene), but as the narrative moves back and forth, the nostalgic spell Brooks tries to cast breaks repeatedly. (May)
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“Brooks writes with a soft, emotionally engaged voice ... An unusual, but delightful, read.” -- The Georgia Straight

“Love, longing and loss painted in vividly original language.” -- Vancouver Sun

“When a poet turns her attention to prose, something special can happen ... A heartfelt story told with precise and energetic language.” -- Globe and Mail

Nick Hornby meets Jeanette Winterson in this compelling and surefooted fiction debut. Our heroine, a 35-year-old woman who works as a film projectionist at a second-run cinema in Toronto, finds herself at an existential crossroads, haunted by the ghost of a friend who died long ago. During the course of one dark night, she addresses a passionate, wickedly funny lament to the ghost, recounting her failed attempts at finding true love. Secondary characters include erstwhile poet Billie Smart, who is addicted to I Claudius reruns on late-night television; Billie's black-clad editor Claudia Shard, who has unconventional ideas about writing a "bestseller"; critically acclaimed novelist ffiona perks, the "songstress of her own mind"; and the unattainable object of everyone's affection, artist Julia Riding. At the centre of everything is the ghost: a 15-year-old dead girl named Madeline with an unbearable secret and an icy grip on our heroine's heart.

Brenda Brooks has published two books of poetry, Somebody Should Kiss You and Blue Light in the Dash (Polestar, 1996). She was born in Rivers, Manitoba, and for over 10 years worked at Canadian Press in Toronto. She now lives on Salt Spring Island, B.C. This is her first novel.