Anger influences lives of generations of women

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Book review

More in Anger

• By J. Jill Robinson
• Thomas Allen, 237 pages, $25

CAN a tendency towards anger be passed on from one generation to another?

J. Jill Robinson explores that question in her sombre yet gripping debut novel set in Winnipeg, Calgary, Saskatoon and Montreal.

Spanning more than six decades, it recounts the story of a family of women and the influence of anger in their lives.

The author of four short fiction collections, Robinson has previously written about the plight of women. Her most recent collection, Residual Desire (2003), won two Saskatchewan Book Awards. It focuses on strong female characters who suffer from painful memories and grapple with loss. A former editor of Grain, Robinson currently divides her time between Banff and Galiano Island, B.C.

The story begins in 1913. Opal, a legal secretary is about to marry Mac, a Scottish lawyer with good career prospects at the CPR; however, he is emotionally distant and short-tempered.

Despite his character flaws, they get married, then move to Calgary and have two children. Over time as the marriage sours, Mac explodes at Opal more frequently. Years later, their daughter Pearl inflicts similar behaviour on her husband and four daughters. No great surprise that each child suffers, especially Vivien, the youngest.

The novel is divided into three parts -- one for each generation -- with each portion written as a third person narrative in taut, lucid prose.

The first part deals with Opal's child-bearing years and her lacklustre marriage. Their daughter Pearl is the subject of the middle section that focuses on the chaotic upbringing of her children and her abysmal marriage. The last section delineates the unravelling of Vivien's life and her Sisyphean efforts to quell the undue influence of her mother.

At several junctures, Robinson demonstrates her ability to characterize a situation with a striking image or turn of phrase. Eerily reminiscent of Eggplant Wife, a prime example alludes to the gradual erosion of Opal's self-confidence by Mac. "it was as though her self-esteem were a bar of rose water soap run under warm water for hours on end."

In another instance, we catch a glimpse of Pearl's self-absorption in a letter to her husband, who is at war on the European front. Overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood, she complains about the children, then asks, "Do you expect soon to come back after Germany is attended to?"

Robinson continually draws our attention to the vulnerability of women and children. One problem is male chauvinism, exemplified by Opal's father refusing to send her to university, and Mac's dinner-table arguments in front of his daughters about women getting the vote. As well, Pearl's ineffectual parenting style leaves deep emotional scars on her daughters' psyches.

Also noteworthy are the historical details Robinson subtly inserts. These tidbits add a note of authenticity to the narrative. Examples abound, including anecdotes about Opal's wedding, the Great Depression and Canada's Centennial.

Even so, this is not an easy book to read because of its palpable undercurrent of violence and cruelty: Mac's psychological throttling of Opal, Pearl's emotional neglect of her children and Vivien's self-destructive actions.

At the outset, we learn that things won't turn out well. Yet, as events unfold, we remain steadfastly horrified, fascinated and curious, all at the same time -- no mean feat for Robinson. In the end, she thankfully offers a ray of hope amid the turbulence in this compassionate novel.

Bev Sandell Greenberg is a Winnipeg writer and editor.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 19, 2012 J9