Q&A: YANN MARTEL

Best known for one of the best known Canadian novels ever published, Yann Martel will be in Guelph at Lakeside Hope House Tuesday, March 29th from 7pm to promote his new novel, The High Mountains of Portugal. Meeting briefly on a narrow pass in the High Mountains of the Internet, we chatted about Portugal, walking backwards, autopsies, bodies, home, animals, and Justin Trudeau.

- Brad de Roo, who would walk backwards more if he didn’t look so forward to reading the next book

Unsurprisingly, Portugal is central to The High Mountains of Portugal. Why Portugal? What about this place calls for these stories?

Portugal was the first country I visited on my own, as a 20 year-old backpacker. I travelled from the south to the north. It made a deep impression on me, seeing a foreign country in solitude. That’s the personal connection. But the real reason I set my novel in Portugal is that curiously named region called Trás-os-montes, beyond or behind the mountains—but there are no mountains. Upon discovering this, I realized how geography is an act of storytelling, how in naming a region we are starting to weave a story about it, and in this case, it’s the story of a preoccupation with something beyond mountains that don’t even exist. Hence the mountains in my novel that also don’t exist. The High Mountains of Portugal are imaginary mountains, magic mountains, mountains in the mind.

Walking backwards is a motif throughout the book (especially in ‘Part One: Homeless’). Characters seem to move this way out of protest and/or mourning. Is being a writer ever like being seen to be walking through the world backwards?

Absolutely. I believe there is a contrarian duty to writing. The writer must write in opposition to prevailing thinking and opinions. To object is sometimes to clarify, and that is the purpose of writing, to bring clarity.

In ‘Part Two: Homeward’, Agatha Christie superfan and pathologist Eusebio Lozora's performance of an autopsy is compared to telling a story. Is the opposite true as well, is storytelling – the cuts, the sewing up, the scars, the microscopic bent, the characteristic telos – autopsy-like?

That’s a great insight. I can only agree: yes, there is an autopsy-like quality to writing. The pen is a scalpel that seeks to open up the body of life and determine its truths and falsehoods.

Animals appear continually in the imagery (not to mention as central characters) of your books. ‘Part Three: Home’ relates the story of Canadian Senator Peter Tovy immigrating with the ape Odo to The High Mountains of Portugal. Why do animals keep becoming central to our stories?

Because they share our planet. Because they are there with us in our central myths—Genesis, the Garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark, Darwin’s theory of evolution. Because, like gods, they are in need of explanation and exegesis. Because, like gods, they are bearers of ineffable mystery. Because we’re killing them all off.

The body (animal & human) is described in great detail throughout The High Mountains of Portugal. Are our bodies stories that we tell ourselves? Are they allegories? If so, allegories of what?

Our bodies certainly shape our lives. In my first novel, Self, I explored the idea that our bodies are an environment that predispose us to certain behaviors, certain ways of being, certain tendencies. In that sense, our bodies will determine some of our stories. As for the body as an allegory, the first one that comes to my mind is the body as magic carpet that flies through the air, transporting us from one wonder to another—until it flops away, inanimate, and we fall….

The High Mountains of Portugal is structured around a conception of home. What about home appeals as a conceit?

Its centrality to our well-being, to our sense of belonging and identity. Homelessness, the literal kind, where we have no four walls to hug us, is just another expression of our mortality.

You once compiled a list (and then a book) of books that Stephen Harper ought to read. I am not sure he read any of them. Justin Trudeau strikes me as someone who might have reading suggestions for all of us. What 4 or 5 books should he read to avoid Harper's mistakes?

He’s probably already read those four, five books, since he’s already avoiding Harper’s mistakes by virtue of being open, gregarious, and kinder in thought and behavior.

Tomás, the central character of ‘Part 1: Homeless’, takes a 1904 Renault on the road in search of metaphysical treasure. Did you (even briefly?) consider undertaking a variation (ie same car, different locales, personal treasure) of his trip for your book tour?

Funny. But no. Homer didn't–I don’t suppose–dress up when he delivered the Iliad to his audiences. He just recited it. Same with me. I dress dully, I just stand and speak when I deliver my stories. It’s the reader who must take on a variation of Tomás’s tour. That’s where the metaphysical treasure is to be found.

What’s next?

Nothing literary for a while. I work on one project at a time, and right now I haven’t a single story idea in my head. But I want to work on my four children, who are kind of like four little Russian novels. 

Q&A: THERESA MULLIN & EMILY COLLEY-DIVJAK of The Guelph Night Market

The Guelph Night Market brings its second pop-up market to the eBar Wednesday February 10th from 7pm to 12am ($2 admission). Vintage clothing pickers, artists, screen printers, foodies, writers, record collectors, button makers, zinesters, thrifters, letterpress enthusiasts, antique lovers, upcyclers, knickknack hoarders, book binders, embroiderers, potters, comic book creators, and more will be vending and spending with drinks in crafty hands. In advance of their Winter Night Market, I talked local shop with Market makers Theresa Mullin & Emily Colley-Divjak.

- Brad de Roo, who will probably be working late in the Bookstore on the 10th to showcase some local publishers and presses among our busy shelves 
 
How did the Night Market originate? What brought about its creation?

In the past, we’ve always worked well together. Throughout our ten year friendship we’ve always schemed; collecting American coins to get us across the States in the old Tercel or drawing up business proposals for our dream cafe.

After moving back to Guelph, the two of us were seeking the perfect project since we were reunited in the same little city. Our number one goal, besides working together, was to enable our hard working pals in their efforts to do what they love... while paying the rent.

Have you been surprised with how it has been received so far?

Holy moly...yes! When we rented the Making Box space for our first market in October, we were crossing our fingers we’d break even. Looking out the window on the night of, our hearts nearly exploded; there was a line of umbrellas all the way to Quebec Street. Our attendance was over eight hundred and we couldn’t have felt more connected to our city.

How do you choose vendors? What are some of the stipulations, frustrations, challenges, joys of choosing?

Choosing vendors is an overwhelming and awesome task that we feel privileged with. When people enter the market space we want them to feel excited. It’s easy to become enamored with online folks who create cool stuff and we’re by no means against this method of sharing, but there is something truly special about connecting directly. We aim to bring together a collection of vendors that will ignite the same feeling that we get while reading their application. A huge challenge for us is space… it’s limited downtown. Capacity and accessibility are important to us, but it has been hard to find landlords who will take us and this puts a damper on the amount of tables we’re able to house.

What does the Night Market offer that other shopping experiences do not?

Shopping at the Night Market is different because it provides you with an opportunity for more than one meaningful connection with vendors. We try our best to provide a warm and inviting environment that lands between farmers' market and thrift shop; somewhere anyone can go and find something with a story.

How will the Night Market at the eBar differ from past markets?

Our pop-up style is on purpose, being in a different space each market is exciting. Making new connections with local businesses makes us feel more grounded in our community. With the bookstore-bar-restaurant combo, the space is unconventional for an event like ours. Having the ability to “take over” for a night keeps it interesting for us, and hopefully that feeling extends to vendors and folks attending. The eBar/Bookshelf has been amazing to partner with - the space is a Guelph institution. We’re really looking forward to the event.

What about handcrafted objects speaks to you?

Creating, collecting and curating are extremely personal acts. We think the vulnerability behind sharing those things is extremely important and beautiful.

We’re suckers for the connection between things and stories that inspire and challenge us.

What are your future plans for the Market?

Our main focus at the moment is to keep our momentum rolling and keep the community engaged in what we’re doing. Our future goals are to run the Night Market seasonally and hopefully in larger, more accessible venues within the downtown core.

Do you have any dream vendors?

We both have so many art crushes, it would be hard to list all of our existing dream vendors. A cool thing happened this time however, when group of U of G Studio Art students collaborated so that they could table. SADSATURDAZE became an instant dream vendor, with their weirdo assortment of buttons, prints, zines and patches that re-interpret the everyday mundane in a humorous way. We love this.

Do you have any advice or market wisdom you like to share with new event organizers?

Advice from us two goofs? Lol. Organization, curation and a clear concept of what we want to accomplish have been key to our market planning. Keeping true to our values has kept straight & narrow, and led us to amazing opportunities like our sponsorship from the Stone Store (yay local businesses!).

What would you never sell?

Drugs.

Anything else we should know?

Ya, we’re still new to this and we’re working out the kinks. Also! Thank you Guelph for all of your support, it means a lot. Also!! We need help finding spaces in the downtown area. Please please email us if you have an available space at guelphnightmarket@gmail.com.

MOUNTAIN CITY GIRLS: ANNA AND JANE MCGARRIGLE

Hillside Inside and the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival
present

Anna and Jane McGarrigle

Authors of Mountain City Girls: The McGarrigle Family Album

Saturday, January 30, 3 pm (doors open at 2:30 pm)
St. George’s Church, Sanctuary, 99 Woolwich Street

Reading followed by a Q&A, book-signing and fan photo opportunity

Tickets: $12 + HST from the Bookshelf and ticketbreak.com

A Guelph Fab5 Festival co-presentation supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation

Mountain City Girls, written by Anna and Jane McGarrigle - sisters to Kate McGarrigle - is a charming and intimate family memoir. The folk music duo of Anna and Kate McGarrigle produced some of the most memorable music to come out of the North American folk scene in the past 35 years. They are fondly remembered by their devoted fans as brilliant, insightful songwriters with incredibly luminous voices. Their sister Jane managed her younger sisters’ music careers from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. During this time she co-wrote several songs with the duo and performed with them in the studio and on tours of Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia.

Interspersed with lyrics and photos, Mountain City Girls captures the McGarrigles' lives, idiosyncratic upbringing, and literary and musical influences. No one can tell the story of the McGarrigles better than Anna and Jane, or in such an affectionate and captivating way.

LET'S EAT!

Heraclitus told us centuries ago that there is nothing permanent except change. In that spirit we are excited to announce the next step in our ongoing collaboration with Miijidaa, the restaurant adjacent to The Bookshelf.

Beginning Tuesday January 12, Dinner and a Movie will prepared by the Miijidaa kitchen and made available both in our 2nd floor eBar bistro and downstairs at Miijidaa. Have a look at the Miijidaa menu HERE.

Seating in the eBar bistro is available Tuesday to Saturday. To book a table in our bistro, please call (519) 821 3311 (ext 5)

To book a table in the Miijidaa dining room, please call (519) 821 9271 (ext 2)

We are looking forward to great movies over the next months, so… Let’s Eat!

PAINTED LAND: IN SEARCH OF THE GROUP OF SEVEN

As I am writing this there is a bright blue sunny sky and it’s cold out. But let’s face it, the last two months in Guelph have been pretty grey and gloomy. That’s why if you see Painted Land your spirits will be lifted and your hearts warmed. In this documentary, back by popular request, outdoor lovers Joanie and Gary McGuffin, along with art historian Michael Burtch go in search of the exact location where many Group of Seven artists painted some of their stunning landscapes. Archival footage, photographs and voice over from letters are sewn in so expertly you feel you are in history. 

Such a joy to see Lawren Harris, JEH Macdonald, AY Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, Frank Carmichael and AJ Casson travel the box car to Algoma. The real scenery is so beautiful and it’s incredibly exciting when the art lovers actually find the exact spot where the scene for each painting has been been taken in and recreated on canvas. But here’s what amazed me: a full bright screen with a Tom Thomson painting is so inordinately beautiful that you will understand why art is so important! Yes, nature is spectacular but sometimes art takes every bit of its beauty and intensifies it.

Painted Land is back for a second run beginning Saturday January 9 at 2 p.m.

- Barb

The Village Podcast Vol. 3

Welcome back listeners! Thanks for all your great comments on our first two episodes. We'd love it if you'd share us with the world. Please head to our iTunes page and rate and review us. It would be great if you subscribed to us, but we know not all of you use iTunes for listening, so load up our RSS feed into your favourite podcatcher and never miss an episode.

It's December now and there's no getting away from the seasonal cheer and holiday shopping so we face it head on.

We share some of our December traditions, their favourite seasonal music and movies. And because we can't play it in the episode, head to YouTube and have a listen and watch of Chris de Burgh playing A Spaceman Came a Travelling. The Rankin and Bass animated collection of films get their annual mention, along with other classics like Die Hard, Home Alone and It's a Wonderful Life.

We also cover a few board games which would make nice gifts for groups of friends or family to play while visiting, including Angry Birds, Crib Wars, Pandemic, Anomia and Catan.

Which leads us to writing in books, whether they are meant to be written in, like The 52 Lists, or Wreck This Journal, or not, like that new hardcover book you received as a gift from your grandmother. Do you do it?
 
You've gotten this far in listening, or at least in reading, so now I can tell you that we have two gift certificates to give away this month. We have one $25 gift certificate to The Bookshelf and one $25 gift certificate to Miijida. We will draw two winners from the entries.

And to enter all you need to do is head to our iTunes page and give us a rating and review! Then grab a screenshot of that baby and email us at podcast@bookshelf.ca and let us know your name and phone number.
Follow the Bookshelf on Twitter and Facebook. Stay up to date on what's happening around the store at http://bookshelf.ca and join the weekly newsletter.
Theme music from the Free Music Archive, by The Underscore Orkestra

STAFF PICKS: BEST OF 2015

We see so many great books come into the store throughout the year that compiling a true "best of" would be near-quixotic. And if there's anything we miss, our customers usually point them out to us. Still and all, here's a queue that stood out to our booksellers over the year!

Outline 
by Rachel Cusk

An alienated female writer comes to Greece to teach a writing class. Not only does she spin enchanting lucid prose but she also meets a cast of characters that show what fools we humans be! This philosophical novel with a very European feel made the Giller shortlist.
 

Fifteen Dogs 
by Andre Alexis

Alexis, in his writerly power as God, has given a few dogs the characteristics of humans while retaining their dog-like senses. This novel has been described as thin and yet epic, much like Greek myths. We engage with his characters and super-charged senses of smell and overwhelming desires for either domination or submission. You'd be surprised at how directly his characters woof their talk about the human condition. Quite a feat for Alexis!

 

Sixty 
by Ian Brown

Did I really need to read a book about a sixty-year-old guy who wanted to be 40? This is what I thought when the book came in, but because Ian Brown had written such a heart opening book called the Boy in the Moon about his severely disabled son, I decided to give it a try. Brown writes in such a conversational way that it is relaxing to read, even though some of his "hang-ups" drove me crazy (like is he still attractive to women...particularly young women?), I was moved by the breadth of his knowledge. His reading life has made him the thoughtful man he is!

 

The Road to Little Dribbling 
by Bill Bryson

The Daily Telegraph describes this as splendid and claims it is the best travel book of the year. Its subtitle is More Notes from a Small Island, banking on the fact that Notes from a Small Island has been the bestselling travel book ever. But that was 20 years ago and with this latest wandering of the British psyche and geography, Bryson gives us the best and worst of Britain today.

 

The Art of Nature Coloring Book

A colouring book for historians and nature enthusiasts, the plates that you are asked to colour were crafted in the 18th and 19th centuries. Of course, this is when there were no cameras, just the naked eye and pen or pencil. They are stunning and you can style them your with your own colour interpretation. Check out our great selection of colouring utensils!

 

What’s Happened to Politics 
by Bob Rae

If you were disturbed by the state of Canadian politics under Stephen Harper, this book will affirm that you had every right to be! It offers prescriptions to get Canada back on track on a community, national and international level. A very refreshing look at the future of Canadian politics. Essential reading for politicos.

 

Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better 
by Pema Chödrön

Ah, the power of Pema. You could finish this book in the bath or savour it over the year. Fail, is actually a commencement lecture on ones best possible relationship with failure. Very readable and very relevant.

 

A Brief History of Seven Killings 
by James Marlon

You will never listen to certain Marley songs the same way again. A bumping multi-narrative ranging from gangsters, to Cuban revolutionaries and ghosts. James has recreated the time leading up to and after the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976. Winner of the Man Booker Award! A difficult read but incredibly compelling and creative.

 

A Japanese Lover 
by Isabel Allende

This is a story with many threads – Japanese internment during the second World War, the impossibility of family, aging, well worn secrets and death. Allende has the knack of making something seemingly improbable a great read.

 

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words 
by Randall Munroe

Munroe, author of What If? enlightens us this time with a series of simple blueprints of everything from nuclear reactors to the big flat rocks that we live on. A great book for nerdy people of all ages!

 

Death and Life of Zebulon Finch 
by Daniel Krauss

Zebulon Finch is a small-time hoodlum living a self-involved, violent life in turn-of-the-century Michigan. After he is murdered by an unknown assailant, it would appear that Zeb's unscrupulous existence has ended, until he finds himself mysteriously resurrected. This excellently-paced horror novel is the first of a two-part epic, following the teenaged criminal through several decades of American history as he tries to solve the puzzle of his murder, and discover the purpose of his unexpected revival.

Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker Jedi Knight 
by Tony DiTerlizzi

The Star War franchise has spawned its share of book titles over the years, but this stands as the most definitive children's book focusing on the first three films. Tony DiTerlizzi's text perfectly captures the excitement of the action sequences, and skillfully incorporates the most famous catchphrases from the movies. An excellent intro for soon-to-be fans and their already-there parents.

Why We Live Where We Live 
by Kira Vermond

Guelph writer Kira Vermond has won the Norma Fleck award for this thought-provoking picture book exploring the historical path of human civilization. Curious kids will love the often-silly illustrations, which complement informative text on the influence of everything from cultural shifts to climate change.

 

Minrs 
by Kevin Sylvester

12-year-old Christopher and his young crew members are sent to the planet Perses to mine rare minerals for a resource-deficient Earth. After the crew lose contact with their home planet, they must band together for survival; frightening circumstances that are made worse when Perses suddenly comes under attack by an unknown assailant. Excellent actio12-year old Christopher and his young crew members are sent to the planet Perses to mine rare minerals for a resource-deficient Earth. After the crew lose contact with their home planet, they must band together for survival; frightening circumstances that are made worse when Perses suddenly comes under attack by an unknown assailant. Excellent action-adventure for 10-14 year-olds. n-adventure for 10-14 year-olds.
 

The Good Little Book 
by Kyo Maclear

After being sent for a time-out, a small boy finds himself caught up in an unassuming, but life-changing, book. The "good little book" quickly becomes the boy's constant companion, until the day that the treasured tome goes missing. A heartwarming depiction all of the wonderful ways that reading can shape our lives.

 

The Winter Family
by Clifford Jackman

Though it might seem surprising to anyone taking a passing glance as it as a "genre" book, no one who's read Clifford Jackman's "The Winter Family" was surprised when it was long-listed for The Giller Prize, short-listed for the Governor General's Award, and is now starting to pop up on everyone's year's best lists. About a "family" of outlaws/mercenaries in the twilight of Manifest Destiny, Jackman's novel isn't just gory gritlit, but amounts to a studied look at how lawlessness begets law, and what happens to the agents of change once they're no longer needed.

 

Debris
by Kevin Hardcastle

The fringe grittiness of "Debris" – shotguns and fistfights and lawns strewn with debris and detritus – will likely be the dominant talking point with Kevin Hardcastle's first collection. Yet the refinement and delicacy of the seeing and telling that goes on makes for a stoic beauty that's the real success here, is what seriously sets the work apart from whatever generic comparisons it will inevitably attract. Harcastle's characters are not simply brutish dumb misfits, but men (mostly) and women driven by love and loyalty and duty in such a clear, unconflicted way that conflict is inevitable and intense. You'd be hard-pressed to find stories this loving, hurt, and alive in anything else coming out lately.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy
ed Joe Hill

The most far out thing about this collection is that it's the first time the Best American series has tackled Science Fiction and Fantasy. This flagship installment, edited by Joe Hill (son of Stephen King), displays the strength and merit of once-marginalized genres that are now beginning to dominate literature. As with the other Best American series, this one's a great introduction to your new favourite authors, the majority of which happen to be women here.