The Diviners

The Manawaka cycle consists of the following books: "A Bird in the House", "A Jest of God", "The Fire Dwellers" "Stone Angel", and "The Diviners". It is truly a portayal the cycle of life for women. I discovered Margaret Laurence while living in a log cabin in Canada at the height of my feminist awakening in the 1970's. Although steeped in far more radical authors such as Betty Friedan and Virginia Woolf, Laurence's Manawaka series touched me as no others, perhaps because I identified with each and every woman of her books. The startling part was that none of their lives looked anything like mine--not in the slightest. And yet I felt as if I were each character and came away with a bit more insight into myself. I loved the way she chose women who were unlike each other, but all of whom had contact with each other in some way. One was a main character in one book and a minor one in another book. One was a young girl, another a middle-aged woman, and yet another a dying elderly woman. One was the wealthy daughter of a town leader, the other the daughter of the garbage collector. And each woman learned something about herself and her life through the drama of the story. Laurence's solutions for each woman were far from simplistic, but each woman came to some resolution in her life. To read only one misses the eloquence of the series, the portrait of rural Manitoba and of people who inhabit the imaginary town of Manawaka. I wish that the series were published in one volume so that readers did not risk entering the characters from only one person's perpective. I have not read the books since the 1970's and yet hold them very dear. I am now inspired to reread them from the perspective of a 53-year-old. I have little doubt that they will only be that much more intensely felt. Perhaps I will write another review after my rereading of them. It is understandable that high school students might be unmoved by her books and I agree with the reviewer who suggested they might not be appropriate for mandatory high school reading. They require a bit more life experience than most adolescents have, but I venture to guess that her message is universally understood by women of all ages who are introspective. I think a good introduction of Laurence for youths might be "A Bird in the House", about a child's perspective on a death in the family. I cannot think of any books that have had a greater influence on my adult life as a woman. I hope that the entire series is republished.

This book remains, to me, as one of the top-five books ever written by a Canadian, and probably the most beautiful book written about the prairies. Morag Gunn haunts our memories: she's a stern, creative, strong, industrious woman who survives out west and thrives out east. I can't describe the story to you; you must read it yourself to understand.

My last year of highschool we had to read The Stone Angel, and it was the only book assigned to me in highschool that I managed to finish ahead of sechduel. I have since been out of school for two years and when I found The Diviners I jumped at the chance to read it. And I loved it and everything about it, unlike the other reveiwers I was neither forced to read it nor was I looking for a book about a middle aged women to relate to. I read this book simply because Laurence is a great storyteller. She manages to wave the past and present flawlessly never losing the reader anywhere in between. I fond that the realisionship between Morag and Pique was much like the realisionship between Deliah and Cissy in Dorthy Alison's Cavedweller. So if you like The Cavedweller then you like this book. The same can be said for if you like Laurence's books you will Alison's books because she is the next step for Women's litature in North America!

I had to read this book for an English class and I've read it several times since of my own accord. Full of brilliant symbolism, this book employs some fascinating literary techniques. Laurence's use of Morag's "memorybank movies" is so realistic that you really feel as you read that you are growing up with her. Her discovery of herself and acceptance of her flawed loved ones, such as her adoptive parents and her off-and-on lover Jules, is one of the best aspects of the book. Her realization that not only can she deal with but she is also proud of where she comes from is something I love to read about each time. It's a great book to study carefully, after you've read it once. If you just skim the surface, you miss so much. Great regional flavor.