Books of the Month

'Unless' by Carol Shields

Reta Winters appreciates the predictable monotony of an ordinary happy life. She's got a nice house, a close family, and her work as a writer is going from srength to strength. Then her eldest daughter Norah drops out of university for no apparent reason and takes to begging silently on a Toronto street corner with a sign around her neck which reads 'GOODNESS'.

As Reta struggles to understand whatever it is that's caused Norah to apparently turn her back on those who love her, she looks inward to her own life as well. How has she ended up where she is? On what is her success based? What compromises has she had to make along the way? Gradually, through various strands of her life - her conversations with friends, the translations she does for a French intellectual, the relationships between her own fictional characters, and her dealings with a new editor - Reta comes to the conclusion that women are being sidelined. And increasingly she comes to fear that Norah's 'opting out' of society is a radical rejection of this marginalised existence.

Unless is a book of paradoxes. Written in deceptively simple style, it nevertheless deals with serious philosophical issues. It's potentially gloomy opening line turns out to bely a humorous touch throughout. And, focussed on one extraordinary event, it simultaneously celebrates the peace and sustenance of the everyday. Even the novel's title suggests both doubt and positive possibilities that may yet occur.

I've discovered Carol Shields rather late, but I'm enjoying working my way through her books (the Orange Pize-winning Larry's Party is also well worth a read). In Unless she reveals herself as a compassionate and humane writer, serious-minded yet capable of light-heartedness and self-directed humour. Try it - you just might get hooked.

Susan Tranter

Back to main page