Trish Osuch Defends Lisa Moore’s February

Click here to read Salty Ink’s introduction to Lisa Moore, February, and nominator Trish Osuch.

I’m pretty sure you’ve never read a book like Lisa Moore’s February. A book that, within the first 10 pages, had me in tears. Not in melodramatic sobs — I hate melodramatic sobs — but tears that simply arrived and ran out when I was too absorbed in the book to notice, alerted only by a sudden wetness on my cheeks. The way Lisa Moore writes can do that — she takes you into the story immediately and won’t let you go until you’ve reached the final page, and even then you want more.

February is the story of a woman whose husband drowns in the 1982 Ocean Ranger disaster off the coast of Newfoundland. It is a story of grief, of motherhood, of sadness and sex and devotion. But it could be about anything — that’s how well Lisa Moore writes. Her writing is so present, so evocative — I could really feel Newfoundland beneath my feet as I read, and I could see this woman and hold her children and feel the cold emptiness next to her in bed. It was remarkably pleasurable to read this book, even though it was sad as hell.

This book taught me a lot of things about life, about loneliness, about growing up and growing old and wanting things and letting things go. And I have learned, through reading all of Lisa Moore’s books, that it is possible to find beauty in many unexpected places. There is a moment in February when Helen describes emptying the espresso maker at five in the morning. I could hear the wet thwack of the grounds hitting the plastic bag, and I could smell the sharp smell of the garbage and the potato peels and coffee grounds and it was good, it was heady, it made me want to bury my hands in it. Who else can do that? Who else can take a moment so mundane and turn it into something so memorable?

For me, February achieved some of the best attributes of great fiction — it made me feel a land I’ve never walked on, and it made me long for something I’ve never known. Most of all, February did the thing I need the most from a book — it took me completely. It grabbed a hold of my head and kept shoving it underwater, over and over, until I had reached the final page and now, still, I am gasping for air. This is how I like to read — I like to be immersed. I have to be immersed. Not all writers can do this. It is no small achievement, and Lisa Moore is no small talent. She is undoubtedly one of Canada’s finest writers. I will continue to devour everything she writes, and I will always wish for more. Please read her books.

Disclaimer: A portion of this impassioned defense has been excerpted from a blog post I wrote about February before I started working for House of Anansi Press. Just in case you thought I was biased. So there.

- Trish Osuch, 2010

On June 18th, polls will open for the public to vote for the book, by an Atlantic Canadian author, that they think the country should read this summer! Follow the contest here: http://saltyink.com/atlantic-canada-reads-competition/