Cumberland

by Michael V. Smith

A stunning first novel full of empathy, marked by an astounding maturity of insight. Cumberland is both a place and a state of mind; it is a small-town story of longing and loss in the manner of David... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1896951368
• ISBN13: 9781896951362
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Cormorant Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.6"

Customer Reviews

Cumberland

Cumberland is written in an almost effortless prose that seems to melt away and let the mind engage the story independant of syntax, and it's this effortless and affecting prose that becomes the main character in Cumberland, and that in itself is no small feat because the characters are so real you almost begin to think of them with your own names, rather than the names they're given by Smith. The portrait of small town southern Ontario is part Alice Munroe and part David Lynch. There is a dark undertow beneath the still waters of Cumberland, and it's this undertow that gives the novel its main pull. Earnest, a fifty year old, laid-off factory worker, a single man still marked by the death of a six year old son 17 years past, and Aaron, the six and a half year old son of Nick, a mid-thirties widower, form the heart of the story. Smith's two female characters---Bea, a forty-something waitress looking for a commitment from Earnest, and Amanda, a 17 year old on the outs with her family---counterbalance nicely the deeply affected emotional lives of the male characters. This novel is about life in the face of loss, about going on, and about the forceful undertows in the human psyche. This is a good novel by any standard, but, as a first novel, it marks an auspicious debut for the abundantly talented Smith. I highly recomend it.

Read Now, Say Later: I Read Him When He Used To Be Unknown

Canada's Michael V. Smith, Ireland's Colm Toibin, Russia's Chekhov. It's hard to imagine the three of them conversing over toast at breakfast. But the books of these writers would cozy up quite comfortable on your shelf.Ideally, "Cumberland" would have a cover of flannel. It wraps its characters in care as it gently opens their hearts to our view. And like any open heart surgery, there is the hope of a better life after, and the constant forboding of terrible consequences.A darn good read.

great reader, great novel

I bought the novel after hearing Michael Smith read at a Toronto event. What an incredible reader - he was honest, spontaneous, and moving. It was interesting how all segments of the audience (all kinds of people) were engaged. Smith breaks down a lot of social divisions - warmly and effortlessly. Cumberland is much the same. An honest portrayal of lives you often don't hear about, in a smallish town. Eye-opening, and very *caring*. You can't help but enjoy reading this, and up feeling very close to some people you might not normally meet in your daily life.