Bemrose, John 1947-

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BEMROSE, John 1947-

PERSONAL:

Born 1947, in Paris, Ontario, Canada.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Henry Holt and Co., 115 West 18th St., New York, NY 10011.

CAREER:

Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS:

The Island Walkers was short-listed for Canada's Giller Prize.

WRITINGS:

Going Under (poems), Fiddlehead Poetry Books (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada), 1979.

Imagining Horses: Poems, Black Moss Press (Windsor, Ontario, Canada), 1984.

The Island Walkers (novel), McClelland and Stewart (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2003, Metropolitan Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Author of play, Mother Moon, produced by National Arts Center, Canada; contributor to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio program Ideas and to Toronto Globe and Mail; Maclean's, contributing editor.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

A novel.

SIDELIGHTS:

Canadian author John Bemrose grew up in Paris, Canada, and has lived in Toronto since 1970. The author of two books of poetry, his first work of fiction, The Island Walkers, was inspired by his hometown. The novel tells the story of the members of the blue-collar Walker family over the course of a year. Boston Globe reviewer Michael Phillipps wrote that Bemrose's fiction debut reads "like the work of a seasoned novelist. His prose, with its hyperdescriptive sense of place, is virtually devoid of surface flash, possibly because it is so busy digging into character."

The story opens in 1965 in the Canadian town of Attawan, with the family patriarch, Alf Walker, feeling threatened by the talk of unionization at his textile mill. The Bannerman mill has been acquired by the conglomerate Intertex, and there are rumors that down-sizing is an imminent threat. In 1949 Alf joined a strike that cost him his job, after which he vowed to never again engage in organizing. He also carries the guilt of his brother's death while fighting in World War II, a war from which Alf returned unharmed, and he is haunted by the fact that a German soldier he shot and killed was a boy of fourteen. The damaged Alf lost his own father to the waters that power the mill, and his wife, an English war bride who puts on airs, feels she has married beneath her. Alf's test comes when he is approached to lead the union effort; at the same time he is also offered a promotion by Intertex in exchange for the names of the workers who support unioniation. Meanwhile, his eldest son, Joe, is plagued by his own demons. The high school senior, who plans to become a college professor, becomes involved with Anna, whose father works for Intertex. In another story thread Alf's younger son Jamie befriends the son of a poor bicultural woman, and that friendship is condemned by Jamie's mother.

A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that though the pace of The Island Walkers is slow at first, "as the novel gains momentum, its exploration of class and vivid sense of place give it weight and depth." Library Journal reviewer Edward B. St. John wrote that The Island Walkers "succeeds as a balanced but gut-wrenching working class novel." Christian Science Monitor critic Ron Charles pointed out that "what's most remarkable … is Bemrose's unrelenting insight into the interior lives of all these characters.… Young and old, they all struggle with the kind of moldy pain that's fertilized by silence."