Customer Reviews

Cities of Refuge

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But it would be safe to say that the woundedness of the characters within its pages provide much of the compelling detail and indeed, drive and motivate much of the action. Helm gets inside the head of 4 major characters here, majoring on Kim (who is attacked in the opening chapter), Harold, Father Andre & Rosemary. There's a lot happening here but Helm keeps the novel flowing - there were points where I was worried he was going to get it bogged down, but that worry was never realized. By the back half, the novel was nearly impossible to put down. It's difficult to say exactly what makes this story compelling. As a literary work, plot is important but not primary. Nothing is resolved in anything resembling a conventional plot arc. Harold warns us as much in one of his letters to Kim. Yet the resolution is compelling and fitting, if not conventionally "satisfying". The importance of history and the traumas thereof plays a part, but is not overdone as is so often the case. Ultimately its the demons inside that are the issue and I think it safe to say this novel depicts that.

I haven't read many Toronto novels, but I doubt there have been many better written than this one.

This book is a wonderfully constructed multi-levelled contemplation of the trauma of history and the role of fiction. Like so many important contemporary novels, it is a book filled with pain and beauty. Strongly recommended.