Clara Callan, the protagonist of Wright's novel, is a small town spinster in the 1930s. She lives a reasonably comfortable life thanks to the inheritance of her father's house and a job as a local schoolteacher. Through her diary entries and exchanges of letters, mainly with her more glamorous younger sister Nora, Clara reveals herself to the reader. Wright has created a believable character that "grows on you" as her personality emerges little by little. Life's difficulties during the Depression years, in particular for a single woman in rural Southern Ontario become apparent through the description of daily events. However, a very dramatic personal incident and its aftermath force Clara to confront her new circumstances in a very direct manner. While she was accustomed to express her daily experiences and reflections in poems, events interfere and poetry becomes impossible. She recognizes "how suddenly a life can become misshapen, divided brutally into before and after a dire event." Her beliefs are challenged and so is her self-contained whole-ness as a person.Clara's personal story is embedded in the realities of the mid-thirties where unemployment is rife and poverty spreading. Although at the periphery of the main thrust of the book, Wright alludes to the emerging pre-war anxieties. He touches on the contrasts between city and rural living, utilizing Clara's reluctance to accept such innovations as the telephone, as an example. Yet, the regular Saturday trips to Toronto, perceived by her as a necessary escape from the village, lead to a new, important phase in her personal development, giving her also a new taste of independence. She visits her sister in New York, although in rather difficult time in her life. Cleverly, Wright lets her visit pre-war Italy as a third party to her sister's vacation. It allows the author to add impressions of the growing political conflicts in Europe as a backdrop without losing the focus of the story.The counterweight to Clara is Nora, who could not bear small-town Ontario and leaves for New York to "make it in radio". She becomes successful as a radio voice in daytime "soaps" and her personal life seems to take on some aspects of a soap opera itself. Nora is privileged in finding a solid rock in a glamorous female friend, Evelyn, while her on and off affairs are far less successful. Clara, always concerned about her sister and her superficial lifestyle, attempts to remain the firm family base for her sister, but her own life story places her more and more on a shaky ground. She finds advice and empathy through her correspondence with Evelyn.Clara Callan is a very engaging story indeed. Wright successfully places himself into the mind of a woman: Clara's personality quietly and gently takes hold of the reader as one follows her in the exploration of the multifaceted realities of her time and place.
I'm not sure why it bothered me at first that this was written by a dude, but I eventually came to terms about it. If I could verbalize my initial apprehension then it might fall in the realm of resentment. Resentment along the lines that popular opinion is that men can never really understand women, and yet here is this author quite successfully turning that theory into shit. So where does that leave me in my world? My competitive side baulks at the notion suggested by this reversal of popular opinion that every time I have beat my head against the brick wall of gender barriers with my wife, I can't fall back on the tired old adage. This guy has obviously figured it out, why the hell can't I? Coming to terms with this seemingly subtle slight against my own hubristic manhood is really the acceptance that, yea, men can write strong women characters...but that makes me feel like a lazy shit. Or, in other terms, emasculated. With that messy business over, I managed to focus on developing a well rounded hate-on for Clara. Why the hate? It was not because of her anti-heroin nature, bad decisions or crazy behavior. Naw, all power to her. My hate stemmed from the fact that she lost. Gave up. Let life beat her. I was unimpressed with the empty shell of a woman that was portrayed by her daughter. Who was this woman at the back of the book? It certainly wasn't Clara, the imaginative, joyful woman who could spend an afternoon watching a snowstorm. No, she apparently died and left behind a bitter crone.I didn't want to see Clara get beaten by life. I wanted to see her power through her decisions, damn the consequences, and continue to write poetry and shove it down the throat of her friends and neighbors. My advice; don't read the afterword. Leave off the novel with the verb and let Clara win.
What do You think about Clara Callan (2003)?
Two decals on the cover, one for being a 2001 Giller Prize winner, and the other, for a Canada Council Governor General Award, I was certain this would be a book worth reading.I am not sure what it takes to get a Giller Prize. Was it how the author dropped many Canadiana details into the story? Was it just a creative way to write a book, including only journal entries and letters? It's not really a pleasant read, many difficult parts, so I began to think there would be a fantastic twist at the end and there wasn't.
—Jane
This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time, and it definitely deserves 5 stars. I've been a fan of Wright for many years (starting back in high school with The Weekend Man) and it was great to come to a novel that was so absorbing and true to life. Clara Callan is an amazing character (very stubborn, very frustrating) but amazing all the same. I don't know how Wright has succeeded so well in writing from two different women's point of view, but somehow he has. This is a real talent. Very sad to finish the book today, and that there are no more journals or letters from dear Clara.
—Carol
As I mentioned, I had mixed feelings about this one... The beginning was great; I was enchanted! Clara Callan, the main character, was a poetess and I quite identified with her and the way she viewed life. I was delighted with the letters sent between the two sisters and I liked the contrast of the two voices: the reserved, pensive voice of Clara and the more exuberant one of Nora.Actually, I spent almost the whole book thinking I really liked Clara and Nora, but by the end I realized my feelings of endearment had faded and I was left with a sense of disappointment and confusion.Possible reasons for disappointment: I was sorry to see religion and religious people portrayed in such a poor light, and I was also sorry to see the almost double standards concerning abortion. I hesitate to use that phrase, though: it's a tough (and saddening) subject - plus, I'm not sure the phrase can be used that way, but it was the only way I could think of putting it.I originally identified with Clara, but eventually I noticed that she seemed to often focus on and return to sordid things. The way she recounted her own experiences and various other stories came off as a bit morbid and made me feel a little uneasy. (Of course, I was already on edge when I started reading because I had just had a traumatic experience that started with a CorningWare dish and ended with seven stitches. But that is another story...)The characters. Did they develop? I'd have to say no, they didn't. They kept lackadaisically wandering (and stumbling) through life and didn't stop until the text ended... Which leads to possible reasons for confusion: Was there a point to all this? (The book, that is. Not the review. I know there's no point to this review.) I don't need a definite conclusion at the end of a book, but when the characters and plot are stagnating and my smile has faded I want something definite! The bottom line is, while I did enjoy reading [most of] this book, it did not satisfy me like I had hoped it would.
—Melee
