CCBC-Net Archives
Brian Doyle's "Carrot Cake"
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Annette Y Goldsmith <ayg1>
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 22:30:52 -0400
Jeffrey Canton's article in the current issue of The Looking Glass
("Looking Glass Lore: Doyling Around") does a beautiful job of discussing Brian Doyle's novels. I'd also like to put in a plug for Doyle's short story, "Carrot Cake", which appeared in Janet Lunn's collection of mysterious stories, The Unseen (Lester, 1994). "Carrot Cake" is an extremely funny story about two friends whipping up a carrot cake in the hour that never was (because of a time change) against the unrelenting background of several Psycho movies on the VCR and a nightmarish appearance by a science teacher known as "Hem". "Carrot Cake" is the best story in a very strong collection. When I reviewed the book for Quill and Quire, the Canadian book trade monthly, I read the story aloud to my husband, who kept saying, "Read it again!" In the Oct 2, 1997 issue of The Looking Glass (vol 1 no 3 -- just go Down the Rabbit Hole from the home page) we featured an original carrot cake recipe in honour of this story ("Pig and Pepper: Hallowe'en: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for... the Cook's carrot cake.") Just the thing for a Hallowe'en party.
I'm just now reading Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt (only two or three years after the rest of the world), and am convinced that if children's literature regularly got its due, Brian Doyle would be as famous as McCourt. Both write about childhood poverty and prejudice in gritty and lyrical style, with moments of great tenderness. Oh, yes, and the Irish storytelling voice is there as well. In addition to the numerous Canadian book awards Doyle has won, he was the Canadian author finalist for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1998.
Annette Goldsmith Editor, The Looking Glass http://erp.utoronto.ca/~easun/looking_glass/
Received on Fri 10 Sep 1999 09:30:52 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 22:30:52 -0400
Jeffrey Canton's article in the current issue of The Looking Glass
("Looking Glass Lore: Doyling Around") does a beautiful job of discussing Brian Doyle's novels. I'd also like to put in a plug for Doyle's short story, "Carrot Cake", which appeared in Janet Lunn's collection of mysterious stories, The Unseen (Lester, 1994). "Carrot Cake" is an extremely funny story about two friends whipping up a carrot cake in the hour that never was (because of a time change) against the unrelenting background of several Psycho movies on the VCR and a nightmarish appearance by a science teacher known as "Hem". "Carrot Cake" is the best story in a very strong collection. When I reviewed the book for Quill and Quire, the Canadian book trade monthly, I read the story aloud to my husband, who kept saying, "Read it again!" In the Oct 2, 1997 issue of The Looking Glass (vol 1 no 3 -- just go Down the Rabbit Hole from the home page) we featured an original carrot cake recipe in honour of this story ("Pig and Pepper: Hallowe'en: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for... the Cook's carrot cake.") Just the thing for a Hallowe'en party.
I'm just now reading Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt (only two or three years after the rest of the world), and am convinced that if children's literature regularly got its due, Brian Doyle would be as famous as McCourt. Both write about childhood poverty and prejudice in gritty and lyrical style, with moments of great tenderness. Oh, yes, and the Irish storytelling voice is there as well. In addition to the numerous Canadian book awards Doyle has won, he was the Canadian author finalist for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1998.
Annette Goldsmith Editor, The Looking Glass http://erp.utoronto.ca/~easun/looking_glass/
Received on Fri 10 Sep 1999 09:30:52 PM CDT
