The Notebooks: Interviews and New Fiction from Contempory Writers [Paperback]

The Notebooks is a pleasingly hefty anthology of interviews and unpublished work from 17 of Canada's finest younger authors. Editors Nathalee Caple and Michelle Berry have assembled an eclectic but consistently strong roster for this collection--there is no attempt to assemble a movement here, no geographical bias, and no avoidance of small-press authors in a group that ranges from Esta Spalding and Michael Winter to Derek McCormack, Steven Heighton, and Eden Robinson.

Taking the Paris Review "writers at work" model one step further, each writer has provided not only a manuscript page facsimile but a previously unpublished piece of fiction or poetry along with their interview. With a few exceptions, these "notebook" pieces feel very polished for the press, and while the rougher drafts are intriguing, readers can be grateful that The Notebooks doesn't entirely fall for the mystique of the unfinished manuscript, as completed work is nearly always more satisfying.

Both capable interviewers, Berry and Caple use their candid, writerly questioning to draw their subjects out in a way that is uncommon in mainstream media. The interviews are best when they concentrate on the writers' works, but grow somewhat repetitive when they stray into the small talk of the literary community: advances, frustration with publishers, and the like. By and large, however, The Notebooks is a superb anthology, a must-read for anyone interested in Canadian writing by authors younger than the Atwood-Ondaatje generation. --Jack Illingworth

In the tradition of the Paris Review, The Notebooks is an exciting collection of original short fiction and in-depth interviews from Canada’s most celebrated and innovative young writers.

A provocative examination of the writer’s life in the twenty-first century, The Notebooks charts a new direction in Canadian literature. It brings together a unique collection of accomplished fiction, ranging from the classic storytelling of Michael Redhill to the more experimental style of Lynn Crosbie. In his keenly observed story “Seratonin,” Russell Smith captures the sensuous pleasures and dizzying energy of the rave scene. “Big Trash Day,” a hybrid of fiction and poetry by Esta Spalding, is a devastating commentary on poverty and a striking portrait of the shorthand that develops within intimate relationships. In a sample from a novel-in-progress, Yann Martel shares the process through which rough sketches become realized characters, and disparate moments become fleshed-out scenes.

The interviews, remarkable for their honesty and insight, bring us into the writer’s world, revealing the passion and inspiration that motivates these young writers, as well as the hardships they endure in pursuit of their art. By asking thoughtful and probing questions, Michelle Berry and Natalee Caple elicit frank and intriguing details of how writers work, structure their days, and order their physical space to facilitate the act of writing. Many of the authors here explore the impact of technological innovation and mass culture on contemporary fiction, as well as the influence of various art forms on the way they imagine stories. The writers in The Notebooks speak candidly about their political engagement, their passion for writing, and their desire to produce art that will last.

Contributors: Catherine Bush, Eliza Clark, Lynn Coady, Lynn Crosbie, Steven Heighton, Yann Martel, Derek McCormack, Hal Niedzviecki, Andrew Pyper, Michael Redhill, Eden Robinson, Russell Smith, Esta Spalding, Michael Turner, R.M. Vaughan, Michael Winter, Marnie Woodrow

"These seventeen writers come from different backgrounds, different parts of the country, have different lifestyles, and write very different kinds of fiction, yet the connections between them are still plentiful. As a group they are highly engaged with the world around them, politically sophisticated, intelligent, modest about their potential success, and passionate about the act of writing. We hope that The Notebooks inspires an ongoing discussion with young writers at work and answers some of the silent questions that readers have longed to ask." -- From the Introduction