Consolation

Michael Redhill's "Consolation" is the kind of book that needs a book prize award to draw the attention of readers and though it didn't win big, it was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2007. And what a wonderfully written novel it is. There's wondrous poetry and a certain rather attractive lyricism to Redhill's prose that makes "Consolation" such a pleasure to spend one's precious hours with. There are two stories running alongside each other here, a back story of immense romanticism and interest that testify to the pioneering spirit of early immigrants into the North American continent in the 19th century, fore grounded by a rather bitter and strident cast of present day characters trying to come to terms with a family suicide and professional disgrace connected with a shipwreck theory that beneath the construction site for a sports arena lies tangible evidence of certain photographic plates carrying pictures of old Toronto. The suicide's guilt ridden widow Marianne, tries to vindicate the belief of her deceased husband, against the strong objection of her daughter who urge letting bygones be bygones, by holing herself in a hotel room overlooking the site hoping to get government approval to unearth archaelogical evidence to clear her husband's name. As it turns out, her prospective son-in-law holds the key to the mystery surrounding her husband's death. Surprisingly but then perhaps not, it is the back story set in the 19th century of English apothecary Jem Hallam's sojourn westwards in search of a better life, his capitulation to rivals controlling the trade, his life transforming chance meeting with Ennis and Claudia, that would enthrall and hold me captive throughout. This back story is so gloriously life affirming and poignant, its characters so well formed, human and believable, the present day story becomes an unwelcome distraction. The plot is static, the prose sometimes obscure or terse, and the characters unaccountably bad tempered and unsympathetic. I couldn't wait to get back to Hallam's story every time the narrative switched back to the present. "Consolation" is only marred by a denouement that promised much but sadly disintegrated into a muddy mess. I must have missed something if other readers didn't also go "huh" ?? Despite this, "Consolation" is a tremendous piece of work I enjoyed very much and would highly recommend to other readers of serious fiction.

My mother recommended this novel to me not long before she died, so it will have a bittersweet memory to it as long as I live. Neither she nor I have ever been to the mighty city it illuminates so gravely, Toronto, but maybe that fact added to the childlike wonder and mystery with which poet Michael Redhill has composed his story. There is something Oz like, something Byzantian, to the life history of any great city, and Redhill piles this sense on thick, at the same exact time as his narrative becomes literally a place of deconstruction. This leads to a peculiar sense of being given something wonderful, and of losing something equivalent, as the novel's plot seesaws back and forth between the present day and the world of early Ontario, back in the 1850s when a hardy band of winterized pioneers were making a mini-England out of a cursed and chilblained landscape. Not to mention that it was the early days of photography, an infant art that, in recent years, has seen a huge market constructed around it, so that everyday photographs, not only "art" photography, of a certain era has been widly prized behind its makers' wildest dreams. On top of which, CONSOLATION has the rich characters and the exotic spectrum of histories churning that animated Pasternak's DOCTOR ZHIVAGO or indeed Tolstoy's ANNA KARENINA. If i turn to Russian models to get at my experience of living through CONSOLATION, maybe it is because Redhill's novel has a moral authority that haunts the reader long after he or she has finished the very last page. Up until then we have been anxiously awaiting the results of a mystery--so the photos exist, the photos that researcher David Hollis staked his professional reputation on? A ring of photos that, laid end to end, would represent the old city of Toronto, circa 1850, like the mirrors on the edge of a revolving music box? Marianne, his widow, thinks she has it figured out, and she's waiting grimly as one of those mariners wives of the 19th century, stalking her widow's walk from her hotel room overlooking the construction of a new civic area. She's a fascinating character, but from one perspective more than a little mad. In this she is a true daughter of Canada, as we see from the grand, operatic switch to the daily life of Jem Hallam, the man who might have taken the photos. Hallam is a brilliantly drawn character, vulnerable, talented, generous, superstitious, given to strange bouts of obsession and drawn to all the "wrong" elements in life. He is the exemplar of the early settlers of Canada, the men and women whom fate drew together to form a city. His relationship with the master photographer under whom he serves as apprentice, and with the master's assistant, the beautiful Claudia, serve as wheels to propel his story closer and closer to what seems like an inevitable heartbreak. I was just about four fifths through with the story when I realized where I had heard the name of the author, Michael Redhill, before. He is

Michael Redhill's "Consolation" layers memory, perception, place, time, grief, secrets, relationship, and hope in an irresistible rubbing of century against century and life against life. Throughout the lifespan of the book Redhill's character's gain compassion, and this compassion dawns as wisdom--for many of the lives that we follow so intimately here. I can only feel gratitude that this book exists. --Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

Reviewed by Joe Graham for Reader Views (2/07) Michael Redhill's "Consolation" is a fascinating story that switches from an excavation project in Toronto in 1997 to the developing city of Toronto in 1855. David Hollis is a historian who believes that a sunken ship with photographic plates of early Toronto is waiting to be discovered under the streets of Toronto. But his colleagues believe he is wrong and David, who is suffering from Lou Gehring's disease, takes his life. His wife, Marianne, his daughter, Bridget and her fiancé, John try to come to grips with David's death and the existence or non-existence of the photographic plates. Marianne moves into the Harbor Light Hotel where she can watch the excavations for the Union Arena in the area where David believes the ship went down. Her obsession with that excavation puts a strain on her relationships with Bridget and John. But that is only half the story that Redhill has to tell. Jem Hallam has come from England to try to set up a pharmacy business in the developing city of Toronto in 1855. His father is a druggist in England and the family hopes to expand their business interests. He is separated from his father, his brother and his young wife and two daughters. Jem finds the loneliness and the weather of the new city hard to deal with. He also finds that he has a hard time breaking into a pharmacy business that is already controlled by another family. He meets Sam Ennis, a photographer and begins to develop an interest in photography. With the help of Sam and Claudia Rowe, a model for Ennis, they begin to develop a photography business and they do a set of photos of Toronto as record of the developing city. Redhill has created a fascinating study of two families interacting with life and facing some of the same decisions and dilemmas even though they are separated by over 100 years. When I was reading, I wanted to be in the present passages with Marianne as she watched the excavation, and I wondered along with Marianne if they would find anything and what they would do if they did find something. But I was also, eager to get back to the world of 1855 Toronto to see how Hallam was doing as he struggled to adapt in his new environment. I would recommend "Consolation" to anyone that enjoys a mystery that is not a murder mystery. This book is more of a character study of the participants, Marianne, John, Bridget, Jem and Claudia, and how they react when faced with the unexpected challenges of life. And of course, there is the mystery of the photographic plates, did they exist or not and will they be found or not. And finally, the book is an examination of history and what it can say to us. David Hollis spends his life exploring the history of earlier residents of Toronto and he feels like their lives speak to us in the future. Does the past speak to us and what can it tell us? Read "Consolation" and see what Redhill and his characters think.

Throughout history, humankind has been fascinated with those who lived before them. At any given moment, hundreds of archaeologists and historians are searching for remnants of lost civilizations and peoples from aeons past. In this new novel, Michael Redhill introduces us to one such historian, David Hollis. Through much research, Hollis feels he has pinpointed the location of a steel strongbox, containing an enormous treasure: glass negatives from the earliest pictures ever taken of Toronto when it was still in its newborn stages. Unfortunately, we no sooner meet Hollis than we lose him. He has Lou Gehrig's disease, and commits suicide in the very first chapter. We learn more about Hollis from his wife, Marianne, than from observing him. Marianne, upon her husband's untimely demise, determines that she will vindicate his life's work, and sets out to find the strongbox. She learns the exact location, underneath a landfill being excavated for a sports stadium. She takes up residence in a hotel overlooking the project, and watches and waits for her opportunity to find the treasure. Throughout the book, we also become aquainted with the citizens of early Toronto. This is a remarkable glimpse into the past for those of us firmly rooted in the 21st century. I found these chapters more enjoyable than the present-day chapters. This book provides a haunting look at the past, the present, and what men will do for fame, honor, and money. Armchair Interviews says: Unique look at Toronto's history.