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Heave [Paperback]

Christy Ann Conlin (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Release Date: Dec 3 2002
Bursting with wonder and delicate despair, Serrie Sullivan longs for the world, but she’s trapped, just like Dorothy in Oz. Serrie’s got a nasty secret. It’s festering inside her, because in the gothic Annapolis Valley, hey, that’s what you do -- you never show and you never, ever tell.

As she dashes from her wedding altar on the run of her life, ardently wanting to understand what has brought her to this moment, Serrie sweeps us up in an exhilarating and poignant journey from rural Nova Scotia to London bars, to strip clubs by the docks, through mental hospital wards and rehab centres, back to quiet verandahs and porch swings in serene Lupin Cove. Along the way we meet a delightful array of off-beat characters including Serrie’s best friends, Dearie and Elizabeth: Dearie, the anglicized Acadian who wants to go to New Orleans to find her Cajun relatives, and Elizabeth, who would like nothing better than to spend the rest of her life picking strawberries.

Heave explores the joys and agonies of family, of what one generation inherits from the next, and of how past and present are inexorably linked. Memories weave through the book as Serrie searches for equanimity in a life that intoxicates her with its beauty as it knocks her to her knees.

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  • Prizes and Awards: Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award Shortlist 2002

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Product Description

From Amazon

2002 Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award Shortlist: The title of Christy Ann Conlin's first novel, Heave, is an apt one. The narrative lurches and tosses like a poor sleeper, and the protagonist, a 21-year-old alcoholic Nova Scotian named Seraphina Sullivan, does a great deal of vomiting in the opening chapters of the book. This isn't a bad thing--Conlin's graphic attention to the details of drunkenness is essential to her anatomy of the terrors of being a lost, youthful drunk. If her novel doesn't have the depth or grandeur of Under the Volcano or The Iceman Cometh, its clarity and ability to see beyond the bottom of the bottle give it something that those works lack.

The opening of Heave is also its ending: Seraphina tearing off her clothes and bolting from her own wedding, running to her parents' rural home, and taking shelter in one of her father's restored antique outhouses (her family is a memorable and eccentric one). Seraphina's memories occupy the rest of the book: she takes us back to her troubled but not entirely unhappy childhood, her recent three-week bender in London, England, and her time spent in Canadian rehab clinics and psychiatric institutions. Conlin is a satisfyingly vivid writer with a gift for characterization that few of her generation can equal, and she paints an unforgettable portrait of the people of Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, she is not nearly so capable of dealing with humour in her fiction; much of Heave tries to be funny, but the comedy is nearly always sunk by the gravity of Seraphina's psychology. Nevertheless, this is a polished and substantial debut, a rare first novel that is about people, not characters. --Jack Illingworth --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“This is a wildly energetic debut, alive with characters so vivid they very nearly eclipse one of the tenderest, truest depictions of Nova Scotia life and landscape I think I’ve ever read.” -- Lynn Coady

“Some books, such as thing debut novel…should arrive with the kind of abe that come on cigarette packs: WARNING: Excess of Talent, Visceral Reation May Ensue. Conlin…has produced an extraordinary book…that won’t soon be forgotten.” -- Toronto Star

“Conlin proves herself a keen observer of family life, adept at teasing out the loose ends and following them to uncover the lumps and knots in the fabric.” -- Hamilton Spectator

“Fresh as a Sea Breeze” -- Vancouver Sun

“Highly visual and visceral prose” “Right from the first line Heave is a crazy ride” -- Halifax Daily News

“One book I will not be passing on is Nova Scotian writer Christy Ann Conlin’s marvellous first novel Heave. This book prompted a whelp of excitement from me. “ -- Noah Richler, National Post

“Heave is simply a marvellous book.” “Heave is a powerful book”. “Conlin’s style is precise, the intensity often startling. She writes with a truthfulness that is passionate.” -- Michelle Berry, Globe and Mail


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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in a long time April 7 2003
By "drneodymium"
Format:Hardcover
Typically, depictions of Nova Scotia and Maritime life turn me off. I live here, I know what I see, and I know how I feel about it. But Christy Ann Conlin, in her debut novel, depicts it so well that it's impossible to put down the book for any great deal of time. But her portrayal of Nova Scotia is only one of the many great aspects of the novel; her characters, her story, and her style of storytelling are all aspects that make this novel a great read. After finishing this book, your first reaction is to want more. But surprisingly, this is a debut novel, and we'll have to anxiously await the author's next foray into fiction.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars From a visitor to Nova Scotia Jun 21 2003
By saliero
Format:Hardcover
I picked this book up on a visit to Nova Scotia in February 2003, and I am most impressed. Set mostly in the Annapolis Valley, and partly in Halifax, I felt Conlin drew word pictures of the area and its people that rang very true. The student life in Halifax came to life, as I enjoyed the vibrant and youthful pub scene in Halifax (I am old enough to be those students' parent but the scene was so age-mixed it was very welcoming).

Like most early novels, this one seems to have more than a touch of autobiography. Apart from the truthfulness of the setting, Conlin has really got to the heart of the depression and aloneness of the young who stand somewhat apart from the mores and values of theur family. The tensions within family, where there is often unstated, but overwhelming love which somehow just isn't adequately communicated, was painful, raw, and honest.

A growing-up story by a young writer who is a real talent. Melancholy (as I find much Canadian literature to be) but ultimately a book of hope.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 5.0 out of 5 stars  2 reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars From a visitor to Nova Scotia Jun 21 2003
By saliero - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I picked this book up on a visit to Nova Scotia in February 2003, and I am most impressed. Set mostly in the Annapolis Valley, and partly in Halifax, I felt Conlin drew word pictures of the area and its people that rang very true. The student life in Halifax came to life, as I enjoyed the vibrant and youthful pub scene in Halifax (I am old enough to be those students' parent but the scene was so age-mixed it was very welcoming).

Like most early novels, this one seems to have more than a touch of autobiography. Apart from the truthfulness of the setting, Conlin has really got to the heart of the depression and aloneness of the young who stand somewhat apart from the mores and values of theur family. The tensions within family, where there is often unstated, but overwhelming love which somehow just isn't adequately communicated, was painful, raw, and honest.

A growing-up story by a young writer who is a real talent. Melancholy (as I find much Canadian literature to be) but ultimately a book of hope.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in a long time April 7 2003
By "drneodymium" - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Typically, depictions of Nova Scotia and Maritime life turn me off. I live here, I know what I see, and I know how I feel about it. But Christy Ann Conlin, in her debut novel, depicts it so well that it's impossible to put down the book for any great deal of time. But her portrayal of Nova Scotia is only one of the many great aspects of the novel; her characters, her story, and her style of storytelling are all aspects that make this novel a great read. After finishing this book, your first reaction is to want more. But surprisingly, this is a debut novel, and we'll have to anxiously await the author's next foray into fiction.
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