All posts by Heather

About Heather

Heather is the Librarian II, Literacy and Readers' Advisory, with the Vaughan Public Libraries. Her job is to connect leisure readers and aspiring writers with the endless space of imagination and creation through words in all forms.  |  Meet the team

Are We Normal People?

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Normal People Book Cover

Are we normal peple?

Sally Rooney, the 27- year-old Irish author, received much attention when Normal People was longlisted for Man Booker Prize in 2018 and subsequently won a few other awards in 2019. Rooney returned to the spotlight in April this year. When we were all stuck at home, Normal People  was made into a 12-part series by BBC3 and Hulu, and premiered in Canada through CBC Gem.

Normal People gained not only critical but also commercial success. Rooney was regarded as “Salinger for the Snapchat generation,” and the book was raved as “a future classic” by some credible review sources. But if you look at Goodreads, the book has mixed reviews, ranging from 1 star to 5 stars.

Apparently reverse psychology works … the polarized review ratings triggered my curiosity, and I started reading the book. After I read the book, I finally understand the reviewers’ opinions better. I can see why some criticized the unconventional editing of the book – how many adverbs were used in the book?! (Not that those editing rules are important to me.) I also understand why others thought some critical background information wasn’t explained enough – what did Carricklea and the supporting characters look like? Why did Connell feel so insecure even he had such a loving mother? Normal People TV Adaptation

But perhaps what I agree the most is the on-and-off relationship between Connell and Marianne was upsetting at times. Therefore, I can’t agree how a credible review source described the book: an exploration of “intense love across social classes.” I don’t think their young love was intense – how could it be on and off if it was intense? It wasn’t even so much a love story to me, though you probably would argue with that.

The book reminds me of Leaving Las Vegas, an old movie based on John O’Brien’s book with the same title. The film won Nicolas Cage the best actor. It was about two desperate people, an alcoholic screenwriter and a prostitute. They met and consoled each other with sex. It was a love story to me when I watched it over 20 years ago, but now, my definition of Love has changed, and I no longer think that was a love story. RogerEbert.com says: It was about addiction’s real pain and the two desperate souls using love as “last resort” for their pain. I think that’s very precise.

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The Science of Well-Being

(Posted on behalf Sierra) Through these turbulent times, it’s difficult to unplug from the news circuit and prioritize mental well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many of us with barren schedules and feelings of anxiety. I myself have been very tempted to close the curtains and withdraw into the comforts of my bed, drowning all worries in Netflix and true crime – a temptation I regularly succumb to (not to brag, but I finished streaming Tiger King in two and a half days). However, soon after this nation-wide shutdown began, I made a decision to take advantage of the rare opportunity that’s come with this devastating crisis: free time.

Big-top Bonanza

Big-top Bonanza

I’ve never had so much of it! Maybe in elementary school when summer vacation promised limitless fun and presented me with Phineas and Ferb’s “annual problem”: “finding a good way to spend it”. Except, this isn’t a vacation, and leaving our homes isn’t a viable option at the moment, so that rules out both fighting a mummy and climbing up the Eiffel Tower. Alas, in search of a solo indoor activity, I turned to Coursera.

Coursera is an online learning platform, founded by Stanford professors. The website has free online modules and certifications from internationally acclaimed universities. It’s a tome of anything you could ever want to learn! If I’m being honest, it was a bit daunting at first: did I want to study Italian? Graphic Design? Water Supply and Sanitation Policy? The world was my digital oyster!

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The Border, The Divide: Stranger by David Bergen

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It’s February, Black Heritage Month. The book that I want to share with you today is not directly related to the black heritage, but it’s relevant – I want to explore a stigma that we hope to break down in this society .

Book cover of Stranger by David Bergen

In my role as the Literacy and Readers Advisory Librarian, I have been trying to keep up with our Canadian literature, but sometimes I regrettably missed some really good titles. When I found Stranger by David Bergen, the 2005 Giller winner with many other subsequent awards, I was astonished by the profundity that his clean, short prose had offered.

The story started with a passionate love story between Dr. Eric Mann and Iso, the “keeper” of the same fertility clinic that the doctor worked for in Guatemala, with Iso thinking that Eric and his wife had been living separate lives. But one day, Eric’s wife, Susan, suddenly appeared at the clinic to take the fertility treatment. While Eric almost completely vanished from Iso during Susan’s presence, he continued to promise that he didn’t want Susan in town. When Susan left, Eric resumed his ritual with Iso, taking her on trips in his motorcycle, making love with her, enjoying the freedom without any need for responsibilities. Until one day, he hit a little boy on a country road, and at the same time, Iso found out she had had a baby growing inside her; you would think now there should be some consequence imposed on the doctor, but insanely, not quite …

I don’t want to spoil the rest of the intricate plot. But I suspect, at this point, part of the world might be questioning why Iso is so naïve, then the conversation might be steered into a very subtle and grey territory and put  women in such situations at disadvantage.

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