As for Me and My House

by Sinclair Ross and George Woodcock

Book Overview

"It's an immense night out there, wheeling and windy. The lights on the street and in the houses against the black wetness, little unilluminating glints that might be painted on it. The town seems huddled together, cowering on a high tiny perch, afraid to move lest it topple into the wind." The town is Horizon, the setting of Sinclair Ross' brilliant classic study of life in the Depression era. Hailed by critics as one of Canada's great novels, As For Me and My House takes the form of a journal. The unnamed diarist, one of the most complex and arresting characters in contemporary fiction, explores the bittersweet nature of human relationships, of the unspoken bonds that tie people together, and the undercurrents of feeling that often tear them apart. Her chronicle creates an intense atmosphere, rich with observed detail and natural imagery. As For Me and My House is a landmark work. It is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand the scope and power of the Canadian novel.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0771094124
• ISBN13: 9780771094125
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: New Canadian Library
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

An excellent--but not great--Canadian novel

Whether As For Me and My House can be considered one of the "great Canadian novels" is somewhat questionable, but there is no denying that it is a profound, complex and evocative work of literature.Set during the Great Depression, the story revolves around the domestic life of the Bentleys, who have come to a small, isolated Saskatchewan farm-community of Horizon, where Philip Bentley has taken on role of being the town's new minister.Ministering is something that Philip, in fact has little desire to do, and is instead obsessed with painting, to the point where his wife--through whose perspective the story is told--is neglected. There relationship is essentially broken, but the reasons for this are not simple, and this essentially is the focus of the story. Throughout the novel, Mrs. Bentley--who is never named because the work is written in the form of journal entries--continuously explores their history, their personalities and the effect of their confined lifestyle upon themselves and one another. Over the course of their residence in Horizon she comes to realize that the break-down of their relationship, is not so much the fault of Philip's conduct, as we are first led to believe, but fact that both have allowed themsleves to become victims of circumstance.As For Me and My House is definitely a work worth studying, but like I initially stated, I question whether it can really be considered one of the great Canadian novels.

Wind, Earth and Dust

As For Me and My House provides a descriptive tale about a preacher and his wife during the depression. Written by the hand of the wife, who remains nameless, the book incorporates vast imagery to help portray the feeble lifestyle they were trapped within. Mr. Bentley, unable to motivate himself to move beyond his unsatisfying profession as a preacher, lives in unhappiness, bringing his wife into oppression with him. Animal imagery is prevalent, as the town and its people are described in such terms. They all cower and protect themselves; with the exception of Judith, who "scales the wind" at the beginning until she discovers her own sexuality and becomes the earth....Can air continue to have 'life' when submersed into the ground?

Canadian Literature at its' best!

Through the journal entries of Mrs. Bentley, we are given a beautiful and complex novel of great importance in Canadian Literature. As a story of life during the depression, this book perfectly captures the trials of prairie life during this era. As Mrs. Bentley describes events in her journal entries, we are given a chance to not only accept the text at face value, but to read between the lines. Mrs. Bentley tends to say more by what she doesn't write than what she does. All in all, an incredible book and one which everyone should read.