Confounding concept, with a bit of whimsy

Confounding concept, with a bit of whimsy

WHEN Iain Pears’ latest novel Arcadia was announced, the format — 10 intertwined stories in three distinct time periods, to be released as both a book and an interactive app — seemed ambitious but unsurprising. Pears has long shown himself to be inclined towards, and successful at, experimental storytelling — whether exhibiting multiple perspectives on the same event in An Instance of the Fingerpost or weaving a trio of narratives together in The Dream of Scipio.

The results this time, however, are more leaden than the concept — and Pears’ previous works — would suggest. Linking its pastiche of familiar-feeling tales through time travel and magic doorways, Pears largely eschews both character and craft in favour of the meticulous, high-stakes plotting required to justify the book’s imposing heft and structure.

The novel begins in Anterworld, the pastoral creation of Henry Lytten, a professor (and former wartime spy) in the 1960s who has spent years outlining every inch of his seemingly fictional, fantastical construct. Seemingly, because — as Rosie, the young girl who looks after his cat, accidentally discovers — Lytten maintains a mystic doorway to Anterworld in his basement.

The doorway’s origins are revealed as the novel sidesteps into a dystopian future, where we are introduced to Angela Meerson, inventor of the time machine. She uses the apparently versatile machine both to initiate an affair with Lytten during his wartime days and to run a working simulation of Anterworld. From this complex set-up, it’s revealed that Rosie’s journey into Anterworld in the novel’s “present” causes an expansion of the fiction that threatens to engulf the real world whole — a fate Pears’ array of characters must now strive to prevent.

Mole Mobile on move for your dermatological needs

This weekend, the Mole Mobile will set up shop at three Winnipeg Walmart locations. The mobile clinic will have certified dermatologists on site to screen suspicious-looking moles or lesions for skin cancer.

Low-income residents of 114-year-old downtown block staggered by proposed rent hikes

Marcel Blanchette’s life has not travelled down a smooth road.

In 2014, he was violently assaulted in his home, an unprovoked attack that left him with severe injuries, including permanent brain damage. He underwent months of hospitalization and rehabilitation. During that time, he learned his possessions had been sold off when the Office of The Public Guardian and Trustee took over his affairs.

Twelve years later, he finds himself in another fight. This time, it comes in the form of a proposal from the new owners of the Conway Court apartment block that would nearly double his monthly rent. While he’s been able to live in the Kennedy Street unit with the support of disability income assistance for nearly five years, the sudden spike, he said, could leave him homeless.

“To go through that, and now I’m going through this, it’s another obstacle,” Blanchette told the Free Press. “I fought the Public Guardian and Trustee, and I’ll fight this too, with whatever I have.”

‘Frustrated’ Selkirk nurses plead for help

The province must take immediate action to increase low staffing levels that are putting Selkirk emergency room nurses at risk, a letter sent to the premier and health minister says.

The letter, sent by the Manitoba Nurses Union and signed by 35 ER nurses, detailed multiple recent incidents at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre. In one case, a nurse was stabbed with a pen by a patient who had been waiting 24 hours for care. In another case, a nurse was bitten by a patient.

“Nurses in that emergency department are extremely frustrated,” said Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson. “This is not something that happened in the last month — or overnight — these are problems that have been growing.”

The five-page letter was sent Tuesday to Premier Wab Kinew, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and leaders of the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. It contained 10 requests to improve safety inside the emergency department, including establishing safer nurse-to-patient staffing levels, eliminating the practice of “single physician coverage” in the emergency department and implementing an institutional safety officer around the clock.

Costco breaks ground on new West St. Paul store

Construction has begun on the American retailer's newest Manitoba location which developers expect will open in August 2027.