Whither the best Canadian Novel?
Google “Best Canadian Novel” or “list of best Canadian novels” and the first thing up is Wikipedia going on about nationalistic and regional themes, socio-political contexts, categories, traits, notable figures and awards; no ‘bests.’ Next is Amazon with “A Listmania! list by one "mbrannagan"” who identifies 12 novels, complete with one-line justifications such as "a gutsy book — well-crafted and sensitive" “stunning” and "this novel has everything."
Scroll down a bit further and you find reference to the National Conference on the Canadian Novel, organized by the University of Calgary in association with publisher McClelland & Stewart and Dalhousie English professor Malcolm Ross some thirty years ago. Not much info on how this top ten list (below) was arrived at, other than reference to ‘a lot of arguing.’
The Stone Angel (1964) Margaret Laurence.
Fifth Business (1970) Robertson Davies.
As for Me and My House (1941) Sinclair Ross.
The Mountain and the Valley (1952) Ernest Buckler.
The Tin Flute (1947) Gabrielle Roy.
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959) Mordecai Richler.
The Double Hook (1959) Sheila Watson.
The Watch that Ends the Night (1959) Hugh MacLennan.
Who Has Seen the Wind (1947) W.O. Mitchell.
The Diviners (1974) Margaret Laurence.
About a year ago I came across Read Canadian: a book about Canadian Books (James Lewis & Samuel, 1972). At its end we are treated to a list of ‘the ten best (English) Canadian books’ as chosen by its editors Robert Fulford, David Godfrey and Abraham Rotstein, and thirty odd contributors. No criteria for selection was, of course, provided, only a reassurance that ‘The argument about ‘best’ still rages among the jurors and will continue, we hope, everywhere Canadian books are read.’ Here’s the list:
Morley Callaghan’s Stories, (1959)
Donald Creighton, The Empire of the St. Lawrence (1956)
Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays (1957)
George P. Grant, Lament for a Nation: The defeat of Canadian Nationalism (1965)
Harold Adam Innis, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930)
Margaret Laurence, The Stone Angel, (1964)
Stephen Leacock, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912)
Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy: The making of Typographical Man (read my review here)
E.J. Pratt Collected Poems (second edition, 1958)
Mordecai Richler, St. Urbain’s Horseman: A Novel (1971)
(I should say that I like this list, largely because it includes work by Canada’s two best writer/critic/thinkers: Northrop Frye and Marshall McLuhan).
Finally, we get Margaret Atwood on the Literary Review of Canada’s 100 Most ‘Important” Books“
“All comparisons are odious and lists are by nature comparisons. Therefore all lists are odious, and I for one have a lot of trouble making them up. A list called The LRC 100: Canada’s Most Important Books is a recipe for a brawl, as there will be many disagreements about what should or should not have been included. In fact, the list itself—we’re told—is a product of furious though presumably civil wrangling among its compilers. We hope no tea-cups were thrown.”
Each listing has a short paragraph attached to it, defending its inclusion…
Enough with the parlour games already. While lists may be fun, they mean nothing unless accompanied by the considered, powerfully argued, rationalization of felt value. Such rationalizations are rare. Canadian literature needs more of them.