The Tin flute   by Gabrielle Roy

Dec, 2006.     A book left here by my visiting Grandfather Sly.

This is a piece of Canadian Literature, set in 1940s Montreal. To be specific, it's set in one of the poorest sections of Montreal, with somewhat frequent reminders that the second world war is going on. It's not of a subject matter or style that I care greatly for, but it was interesting enough once I got into it.

It's the story of the oldest girl in an impoverished working family. And for most of the book, it could be described as a tragedy. She manages, with difficulty to fall in love with a man, who cares little for her, and then cares nothing for her at all. Her family is taken one step further towards desolate poverty, and she becomes pregnant. Being pregnant and unwed was no little thing either, in that time. Only at the end of the book, is her life somewhat sorted out, and she actually has a home, and a place in the world to raise her child from.

But what did I THINK about this book? That, as usual, is the hard question to answer. I'm able to appreciate what this was at it's time: A shocking look at the life of some of the poorest people in the city; No one at the time wrote books about depressing matters, at least, no books that were widely read. This was an astoundingly grim, and honest depiction of a side of society that everyone typically tried to ignore. And it did that well. I felt depressed, and mournful for much of this book.

But I kept reading; The author managed to keep my attention by making the characters so Human, and so uncertain of their own futures. I had to carry on to see... what the father of the family would do about his feeling of inadequacy towards his family. And to see what the Boyfriend would do about his attraction to the protagonist, which went completely against his plans and ideals for life. And that's just two examples. We we privy to the thoughts of many of the people in the novel, and we then became aware of the conflict within each. -And had to read on, to see how each little conflict would be solved. (The Pregnant protagonist decides to ignore her pregnancy, and pretend that it just isn't there. THAT certainly can't last! What will her thoughts be when no one at all can further deny the truth?)

The story, in and of it's self, didn't interest me so much. One of the things that made this book good anyhow were the descriptions of people, places, and the times. The diner/restaurant where our Protagonist works is so very vivid in my mind. So is the hollering of her siblings, and the snow blowing through the streets, and particularly, the little bar where out of work and out of luck men gather, to talk with each other, stay warm, and listen to the radio. The two scenes which stick out as being less well described are the maple farm and the little ball. But both of those could be because I haven't experienced them myself; it could be only for that reason that I couldn't imagine them well.

Not a bad book. But also not a book which I expect to reread, or an author which I'll be watching for every time I'm in a book store.