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The Dancehall Years
Gone with the wind and cedars
When young Gwen Killiam arrives at her family's summer cottage on Bowen Island in 1941, she is ready for another summer of ice cream, swimming at the beach, and spying on dancers in the beautiful dancehall above the wharf. But the spectre of war and the complications of family life will soon shatter the peaceful insulation of her childhood in Joan Haggerty's The Dancehall Years (Caitlin $24.95), reviewed here by Caitlin Woods-Rotering.
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When Gwen Killiam arrives on Bowen Island for the summer of 1941, her Aunt Isabelle is waiting to see her, as usual. But this year things will be very different. It turns out her Aunt Isabelle, at age twenty-one, has fallen secretly and scandalously in love with a young man named Takumi Yoshito.
Takumi, who also happens to be Gwen's swimming teacher, is the son of Shinsuke and Noriko, keepers of some of the most beautiful gardens on Bowen Island. The Yoshitos have been an integral part of Bowen Island for years, caring for the Bowen Inn gardens and living in a lovely Scarborough house which was gifted to them in their former employer's will.
After December 7, 1941, the Yoshitos are no longer gardeners or friends or neighbours-they are enemies. The surprise invasion of Pearl Harbour means Japanese Canadians can be forced into camps in the Interior, and their homes are no longer safe.
Takumi flees the island by boat, narrowly avoiding capture. His sudden departure leaves Isabelle with a broken heart and a very uncertain future.
Takumi takes refuge along the British Columbian coastline, using his skill and ingenuity to hide out and survive in the wilderness for years. Upon finally hearing that the war is over, Takumi returns to his home on Bowen Island only to find it has been sold by the government and bought by Isabelle's brother-in-law.
With the home he has been dreaming of now occupied by someone else, Takumi hitches a ride on a fishing boat and finds himself across the border in Blaine, Washington. Just when he thinks he has escaped his painful past, he runs into an old family friend from Bowen Island-and a big surprise.
Takumi's story is one of many rich narrative threads in Haggerty's novel. The numerous characters in The Dancehall Years are all well-developed; each with their own secrets, betrayals, heartbreak and guilt. The stories intertwine beautifully as the graceful narrative floats through their interconnected lives, taking the reader deep into their homes and their memories.
The novel follows this complex web of lives into the 1960s when a grown up Gwen falls deliriously in love with her university professor and starts a family of her own. After making the move to America and abandoning her university degree to be a mother, Gwen's marriage begins to crumble.
Haggerty's sharp depiction of Gwen's devastation and longing for a relationship with her husband makes for a raw and heartbreaking read. Gwen heads back home to Canada with two daughters in tow and tries to put the pieces of herself and her life back together. The family she returns to is a shadow of the one we are introduced to at the beginning of the novel.
Her beloved Aunt Isabelle has been cast out for many years, left alone with her husband, Jack, who is deeply traumatized from the war and in need of constant care. Isabelle and Gwen's parents are no longer on speaking terms, for reasons her mother refuses to disclose.
A complex webs of secrets has been built up over the years. The decaying dancehall on Bowen Island remains as a haunting reminder of how the idyllic past can never been regained. When Gwen and a friend embark on a project to restore the dancehall, a mysterious stranger arrives who has a connection to their childhood days. Her presence threatens to unravel the tangled threads of Gwen's family history, which perhaps is just what they need.
The Dancehall Years is a beautifully written saga. It combines the deep complexities of family, love, memory and community. This is a sophisticated novel that will feel strikingly familiar, not only to anyone who knows the landmarks of the West Coast, but to anyone who has ever been in a family with a secret. 978-1-896949-54-3
When young Gwen Killiam arrives at her family's summer cottage on Bowen Island in 1941, she is ready for another summer of ice cream, swimming at the beach, and spying on dancers in the beautiful dancehall above the wharf. But the spectre of war and the complications of family life will soon shatter the peaceful insulation of her childhood in Joan Haggerty's The Dancehall Years (Caitlin $24.95), reviewed here by Caitlin Woods-Rotering.
--
When Gwen Killiam arrives on Bowen Island for the summer of 1941, her Aunt Isabelle is waiting to see her, as usual. But this year things will be very different. It turns out her Aunt Isabelle, at age twenty-one, has fallen secretly and scandalously in love with a young man named Takumi Yoshito.
Takumi, who also happens to be Gwen's swimming teacher, is the son of Shinsuke and Noriko, keepers of some of the most beautiful gardens on Bowen Island. The Yoshitos have been an integral part of Bowen Island for years, caring for the Bowen Inn gardens and living in a lovely Scarborough house which was gifted to them in their former employer's will.
After December 7, 1941, the Yoshitos are no longer gardeners or friends or neighbours-they are enemies. The surprise invasion of Pearl Harbour means Japanese Canadians can be forced into camps in the Interior, and their homes are no longer safe.
Takumi flees the island by boat, narrowly avoiding capture. His sudden departure leaves Isabelle with a broken heart and a very uncertain future.
Takumi takes refuge along the British Columbian coastline, using his skill and ingenuity to hide out and survive in the wilderness for years. Upon finally hearing that the war is over, Takumi returns to his home on Bowen Island only to find it has been sold by the government and bought by Isabelle's brother-in-law.
With the home he has been dreaming of now occupied by someone else, Takumi hitches a ride on a fishing boat and finds himself across the border in Blaine, Washington. Just when he thinks he has escaped his painful past, he runs into an old family friend from Bowen Island-and a big surprise.
Takumi's story is one of many rich narrative threads in Haggerty's novel. The numerous characters in The Dancehall Years are all well-developed; each with their own secrets, betrayals, heartbreak and guilt. The stories intertwine beautifully as the graceful narrative floats through their interconnected lives, taking the reader deep into their homes and their memories.
The novel follows this complex web of lives into the 1960s when a grown up Gwen falls deliriously in love with her university professor and starts a family of her own. After making the move to America and abandoning her university degree to be a mother, Gwen's marriage begins to crumble.
Haggerty's sharp depiction of Gwen's devastation and longing for a relationship with her husband makes for a raw and heartbreaking read. Gwen heads back home to Canada with two daughters in tow and tries to put the pieces of herself and her life back together. The family she returns to is a shadow of the one we are introduced to at the beginning of the novel.
Her beloved Aunt Isabelle has been cast out for many years, left alone with her husband, Jack, who is deeply traumatized from the war and in need of constant care. Isabelle and Gwen's parents are no longer on speaking terms, for reasons her mother refuses to disclose.
A complex webs of secrets has been built up over the years. The decaying dancehall on Bowen Island remains as a haunting reminder of how the idyllic past can never been regained. When Gwen and a friend embark on a project to restore the dancehall, a mysterious stranger arrives who has a connection to their childhood days. Her presence threatens to unravel the tangled threads of Gwen's family history, which perhaps is just what they need.
The Dancehall Years is a beautifully written saga. It combines the deep complexities of family, love, memory and community. This is a sophisticated novel that will feel strikingly familiar, not only to anyone who knows the landmarks of the West Coast, but to anyone who has ever been in a family with a secret. 978-1-896949-54-3
Submitted on November 7, 2016 in By David.
