The Stubborn Season [Paperback]

"...well researched and crisply written...Davis's talent is unmistakable... she evokes with harrowing precision. ... Margaret is one of the most memorable characters I have encountered in contemporary Canadian fiction... inspiring...Davis's portrayal of Depression survivors shows the human spirit can be amazingly strong and resilient." -- National Post - June 8, 2002

"A GLEAMING DEBUT . . . a terrific first novel . . . compelling social history. . . Davis superbly registers the sly skills young Irene develops in order to navigate her treacherous existence. . . Davis turn[s] a discerning lens upon Canadians. . . This is a wonderful novel. . . every character is sincerely drawn; these sentences just gleam. THE STUBBORN SEASON is one of those rare novels I look forward to reading again." -- The Toronto Star

"A fine novel in the great Canadian storytelling tradition . . . authentic, compelling and deep. . . . tremendously evocative. A real literary achievement." -- The Paris Voice

"Davis paints a striking picture... It is the juxtaposition of the two lives, Irene's and David's, that makes The Stubborn Season a compelling chronicle. This, combined with the author's sense of historical and domestic detail, gives the novel a sound framework. Davis [is] adept at creating atmosphere...a vivid re-telling of a smouldering time... a serious, moving and well-written book." -- London Free Press - June 22, 2002

"Davis' portrayal of her [Margaret's] descent into madness is particularly moving. It's a tall order for one novel, a very ambitious undertaking for Davis. The story stays tight, with all of the subplots fully played out without detracting from the novel's main focus. Indeed, this is Irene's story, one of triumph and maturity during a time period that did not offer a woman very many options, and in a family situation that offered her even less. The way that she deals with the challenges in her life demonstrates a character of strength and inspiration in any era, while the setting against the backdrop of the 1930's combined with the other themes of political unrest and anti-Semitism make for a novel that also captures a piece of history for contemporary eyes." -- womenwriters.about.com

"Lauren B. Davis’s THE STUBBORN SEASON ranges through a wide landscape of history and intimacy, thwarted private dreams and public oppression. . . a skilful weaving of emotion and event.. . . poignant and well-crafted. Best of all is how Davis brings together the different events that had a long-range impact on every Canadian...this novel succeeds as a compassionate portrait of a country sharing a struggle. . . [The Stubborn Season is] an epiphanic hourglass for the harsh dust that trickled through one of the worst of times." -- The Globe & Mail - May 11, 2002

"Lauren Davis's debut novel, THE STUBBORN SEASON, is as close as you'd want to get to the Depression without being there. ... meticulous research informs everything... The writing is clean, direct, and efficient ... Remarkably, in spite of such dire circumstances, Davis makes us believe that the following generation can come through the Depression with little damage, still trusting and resourceful, and stronger for having lived through this grim, stubborn season." -- Quill & Quire - June, 2002

"Not since Barry Broadfoot's TEN LOST YEARS has there been such a compelling portrait of Depression era Canada. . . . The writing is strong and sure-handed, the characters well drawn and memorable." -- Books in Canada

"VIBRANT PORTRAIT OF YOUNG WOMAN, FAMILY. Davis's writing is vivid. . . Her description of Irene's desire for fulfillment and love is particularly inspiring. . . THE STUBBORN SEASON is a vibrant portrait of a family. . . Davis is interested in the things that drive people, whether it be the need to find meaning in their lives or the need to find their true selves." -- Winnipeg Free Press - June 30, 2002

The Stubborn Season is precise, polished. . . bind[s] the attention through the excellence of its sharp, precise prose, generously laced with authentic history. Davis's astute psychological observations render the two main characters insistently real. . . . Irene has all our sympathy . . Her determination to survive the dual challenges of socio-economic disaster and incompetent parenting are positively inspirational. . . Davis explore[s] the cultural diversity of the country, exposing the bigotry and anti-Semitism of the day. . . While deftly balancing the personal and political, Davis refuses to succumb to the predictable. Her poetic flourishes are sparingly applied, to strong effect. . .All this makes for an exceptionally satisfying read. Like Mary Lawson's Crow Lake, The Stubborn Season raises the bar for first novels. Pat Donnelly -- The Montreal Gazette, July 27 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Where does one person end and the other begin? That’s the question that haunts Irene, a girl growing up in Toronto during the Great Depression. Living with her father, a pharmacist who finds comfort in the bottle, and her mother, a woman teetering on the edge of her own depression, Irene’s crumbling family situation mirrors the economic and social turmoil just beyond the front door of their respectable, working class neighborhood.As she grows into a young woman, Irene finds herself consumed by her mother’s increasingly erratic moods and isolated from a world where unemployment, poverty and bigotry have taken firm root in the water-starved soil of town and country. Yet in the midst of lives that seem lost, Irene finds strength in the unlikely form of David, a young man from the Jewish farming community of Sonnerfeld, Alberta, who is fighting his own battle for dignity, hope and a place in the world.

The Stubborn Season is an utterly compelling first novel, peopled with vivid characters and set against an era that emanates magically from every page. This is a story alive with the claustrophobic darkness of a Victorian row house; the icy loneliness of life riding the rails as a “box car cowboy”; the languid feel of a steamy Sunday afternoon when respectable people closed their stores, and their lives, against intrusion; and the stench of fear in a jail cell packed with communist agitators desperate to change a broken system. It is a story that is hard to put down, intimate in its knowledge of human struggles and strengths, wonderfully written, and altogether satisfying.