Strange Heaven

A great read--Lynn Coady's text is rich and scattered with many humorous moments. The characters are fascinating and awful at the same time. This text deploys a 'strategic regionalism', that is, it challenges essentialist notions of Atlantic Canada; The people you encounter in this story are not your 'jolly, complacent folk' but are confused, often psychotic but nonetheless lovable characters. Coady speaks not only to the monotony of adolescent lives--Bridget and her 'friends' search for some kind of meaning through self-discovery--but also to feminist and religious politics. Ideals of Catholicism are subverted in this book, as are notions of the innocent virginal woman. Female characters in this book experience their bodies as a locus of betrayal.

You are making no mistake if you read this book. Lynn Coady has a cutting sense of humour that will make you laugh and wonder if you should be. Her portrait of a tourmented young girl is both accurate and saddening.