Margaret Laurence Libri

Morag Gunn è una giovane donna che proviene da un contesto difficile in una cittadina canadese delle praterie. Grazie alle sue capacità, determinazione e ambizione, riesce a fuggire da quella realtà. Prima di completare gli studi universitari, sposa il suo professore e inizia a scrivere il suo primo romanzo durante un matrimonio senza figli che si rivela problematico. Dopo aver lasciato il marito, Morag si dedica completamente alla letteratura e cresce sua figlia, il cui padre è un amico d'infanzia, discendente di meticci franco-indiani. Morag cerca di dare un senso alla sua vita attraverso l'arte, esplorando le sue radici, che la portano anche in Scozia, terra d'origine della sua famiglia. Anche sua figlia intraprende un viaggio alla ricerca delle proprie origini tra i parenti meticci. In età matura, Morag vive in solitudine in una casa di campagna vicino a un fiume, in armonia con la natura e con le persone che abitano quel luogo.

A vivid portrait of a woman convinced that life has more to offer her than the tedious routine of her days.

A duty-ridden woman dreams of breaking free from her small-town chains.

In Hagar Shipley, Margaret Laurence has created one of the boldest, most memorable characters in Canadian fiction. Raise according to the stern virtues of her pioneer ancestors, Hagar Shipley leads a life of uncompromising pride--a pride which sustained her during a stormy marriage, but which lost her favourite son. As her story unfolds we are given vividly etched descriptions of Hagar as a young girl in a remote prairie town; of her now estranged husband; of John, her outoing son; and Marvin, the son she never loved. And now, with her life nearly behind her, Hagar makes a bold, last step towards freedom and independence, and in the Process gains a deeper understanding of the meaning of acceptance.

In 1957, the British colony of the Gold Coast broke free to become the independent nation of Ghana. Margaret Laurence’s first novel, This Side Jordan, recreates that colour-drenched world: a place where men and women struggle with self-betrayal, self-discovery, and the dawning of political pride.This Side Jordan transcends the traditional limits of the first novel. Its powerful and compassionate characterizations and its themes of exile and community anticipate the five later novels that make up Laurence’s acclaimed Manawaka series. A major work of lasting significance, This Side Jordan creates echoes in the mind of the reader as resonant as the drums of Ghana.

„Es geht zwar um tiefe Enttäuschungen, aber es ist sehr lustig geschrieben ... Wie Margaret Laurence beschreibt, wie das Leben alle Träume und Sehnsüchte platthaut und wie bigott die Leute sind und verlogen... Das ist einfach wunderbar zu lesen. Ein ganz herrlicher Roman. Besser können Sie durch diesen Herbst gar nicht kommen.“ Elke Heidenreich auf SpiegelOnline über Das Glutnest Als Stacey MacAindra ihre Heimatstadt Manawaka in der Erwartung auf ein neues Leben vor vielen Jahren verließ, rechnete sie nicht damit, einmal so zu enden: als Hausfrau mit einem abwesenden, einsilbigen Ehemann, vier Kindern und einer existenziellen Krise. Sie kann nicht glauben, dass ihr Leben nicht mehr zu bieten hat – und brennt darauf, aus der nervtötenden Routine ihrer Tage auszubrechen und die Leidenschaft ihrer Jugend wieder zu entfachen, die nur noch eine dunkle Erinnerung zu sein scheint. Auch im dritten ihrer Manawaka-Romane schenkt uns Margaret Laurence eine unvergessliche Heldin – menschlich, voller Ironie und Humor. In der Erzählung von Staceys Leben steckt der ganze Reichtum, der Schmerz und die Schönheit des Alltäglichen, und die vergessene Lebensfreude, die jeder von uns in sich trägt.