Homesick – Guy Vanderhaeghe

I’m going to bombard readers with yet another book by Guy Vanderhaeghe. I can do that because it’s my blog.

It’s the summer of 1959 in the small town of Connaught, Saskatchewan, and with some trepidation, Vera Miller and her twelve year old son, Daniel, have come home. Her estranged father, Alec Monkman, must somehow figure out a way to make peace with his headstrong daughter if he hopes to forge some kind of relationship with his only grandson. As their lives intertwine, the mystery of Vera’s brother Earl hangs over them.

As usual, Vanderhaeghe’s people are so real, it is almost unnerving. I’ve now soaked up three books of his short stories, and after reading this novel, it’s official. He has now passed Steinbeck as my all-time favourite writer. I’m thankful that I still have several novels yet to enjoy — The Englishman’s Boy, The Last Crossing, A Good Man, Dancock’s Dance.