Description
Fiction. Manfred Weiszl lies dying of cancer in an upper room of a grand old Toronto house. His last wish is to see his son, Rupert, from whom he has been estranged for sixteen years. Manfred's sister Pauline, the housekeeper Marie (and Marie's boyfriend Steve), as well as Manfred's dead wife, Gertrude, are central to Manfred's life and each have their role to play in the unfolding drama of a family in crisis dealing with issues of death, marriage breakup, gender identity, and generally just trying to find ways to live. The novel explores how these characters interact with each other and play off each other, and how an intervening fate operates in their lives as they discover that through (or in spite of) the incredible antics of mankind, life can be salvaged, can be joyful and magical. Human angels are a very big part of this book, and eventually come to the rescue of this dysfunctional family coming to terms with the capricious workings of fate and the human heart.
Author Bio
Cecelia Frey is the winner of the Writers' Guild of Alberta Golden Pen Award (for lifetime achievement). She is the author of fifteen books of fiction and poetry as well as works of non-fiction and award-winning plays. She has worked as an editor, teacher, and freelance writer, and has for many years been involved in the Calgary literary community. Her short stories and poetry have been published in dozens of literary journals and anthologies as well as being broadcast on CBC radio and performed on the Women's Television Network. Numerous reviews, essays and articles have appeared in a wide range of publications including newspapers such as The Globe and Mail and journals as varied as Westworld and Canadian Literature. Her novel, A Raw Mix of Carelessness and Longing, was shortlisted for the 2009 Writers Guild of Alberta (WGA) George Bugnet Fiction Award and she is a three-time recipient of the WGA Short Fiction Award. Her most recent publications include the novels The Long White Sickness (2013) and Moments of Joy (2015); and the collection of poetry North (2017).
Author City: CALGARY, AB CAN