I just got back from the book reading of Michael Crummey’s novel Galore. I have gone to my share of book readings in the past but mostly for extra credit, or to do a review on the actual book reading itself. This reading will stick out among them all for I have never attended a reading where I have actually read the book before going and I found it quite an enjoyable experience. I understood what was being told and the references and passages to the book didn’t leave me trying to piece together a story in my head like a puzzle. With other readings and just 4 little experts being told, I couldn’t see the entire picture because all the other pieces were missing.
I was very eager to get to the book reading (being one the very first to arrive), and I wanted so desperately to put a face and voice to the author whose book captured my imagination so. I think I finished this novel in a record breaking 5 days (which is extreme for me), and I just couldn’t put the novel down. I put off other reading assignments, read while standing over the stove or during commercial breaks on TV, and stayed up extremely late telling myself “just one more page, just one more page”. But alas, that one more page turned into 20. I was getting caught up in the many diverse characters and the 6 generations of families and their many stories. I could hear the waves from the sea, smell the foul smell of Judah’s skin, and feel the heartache, pain, anger, fear, despair, and love. It wasn’t a happy, upbeat tale, but it definitely capturing the imagination and senses of the readers with its honesty which made it a refreshing and agreeable read.
Going to the reading was enjoyable because I could just sit back and enjoy the book all over again but by the telling of the author instead. It was retold and re-imagined again. I was part of the huge crowd of people that filled the lecture theatre being carried away to the small fishing village in Newfoundland. We all listened to his creation and were all swept away together. He was a confident and carefree public speaker who expressed himself as he was with no mask or staged appearance. Telling jokes and sharing details about the book and himself, he made the audience feel at ease. I just wanted to share my experience, opinion and of course excitement of the book reading that took place tonight.
