Liberty Street

I’ve just made a huge discovery: a Canadian author I’ve never heard of, Dianne Warren. I’m a little ashamed of never having her on my radar, since she’s a GG-award winner for her novel, Cool Water in 2010

I just finished reading her 2015 novel, Liberty Street and I’ve been blown away (again) by how a writer can create an absolutely ordinary character, a person often in a downward spiral through fate or as a result of poor choices, in a part of the world most people are unfamiliar with, rural Saskatchewan, and lift her into literary unforgettableness.

The novel opens with the main character, Frances Moon, in the presence of her long-time partner, suddenly blurting out an admission about something that she has kept under wraps since it happened in her late teens. What ensues is Frances revisiting her life from her earliest memories. The partner is not heard from again and we learn about the life events leading up to the critical point that becomes an admission so many years later.

Warren tells this tale with compassion and gentle humour and she had me totally committed to finding out more about the life and times of Frances Moon. I’m looking forward to reading more of Warren’s work.