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Heave

Average rating: 5/5

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Heave

by Christy Ann Conlin

January 8, 2002 | Hardcover

Bursting with wonder and delicate despair, Serrie Sullivan longs for the world, but she's trapped, just like Dorothy in Oz. Serrie's got a nasty secret. It's festering inside her, because in the gothic Annapolis Valley, hey, that's what you do - you never show and you never, ever tell.

As she dashes from her wedding altar on the run of her life, ardently wanting to understand what has brought her to this moment, Serrie sweeps us up in an exhilarating and poignant journey from rural Nova Scotia to London bars, to strip clubs by the docks, through mental hospital wards and rehab centres, back to quiet verandahs and porch swings in serene Lupin Cove. Along the way we meet a delightful array of off-beat characters including Serrie's best friends, Dearie and Elizabeth: Dearie, the anglicized Acadian who wants to go to New Orleans to find her Cajun relatives, and Elizabeth, who would like nothing better than to spend the rest of her life picking strawberries.

Heave explores the joys and agonies of family, of what one generation inherits from the next, and of how past and present are inexorably linked. Memories weave through the book as Serrie searches for equanimity in a life that intoxicates her with its beauty as it knocks her to her knees.
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    Rating: 5/5

    A Gritty yet Beautiful Novel Set in Nova Scotia

    theromantic

    4 years ago

    I love that this book takes place in rural Nova Scotia. I read it again because I was missing the East coast and Christie Ann Colin takes you right there.
    I think "Heave" is the perfect title if thought of in terms of expelling something. The main character Serrie has swallowed a lot of crap and needs to get it out of her system so she can be relatively happy or at least content. Conlin never glosses over any of the tough experiences and I admire the tenuous ending, it felt realistic.
    It made me kind of sad but at the same time it was catharctic. It's a book I'll read again and again.

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      helpful to you?
    Tracey McDonald

    Rating: 5/5

    Conlin's Debut Stunning!

    Tracey McDonald

    10 years ago

    Heave explores a pivotal and tumultuous year in the life of 20 year old Seraphina (Serrie) Sullivan whose life in a small Nova Scotia fishing village collides, via significant personal demons, with her need to move beyond the small-town mentality, expectations and control. Conlin weaves an amazing and entertaining story. Her character development, dialogue and adeptness in guiding the reader into Serrie's world are awesome. As a stand-alone novel, Heave is outstanding - as a first effort by Conlin it is stunning in its excellence. Conlin's craftsmanship is to be commended, she has the potential to be hailed as a major Canadian literary presence. Christy Ann Conlin has the ability to excite & amaze us for generations to come.

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From the Publisher

Bursting with wonder and delicate despair, Serrie Sullivan longs for the world, but she's trapped, just like Dorothy in Oz. Serrie's got a nasty secret. It's festering inside her, because in the gothic Annapolis Valley, hey, that's what you do - you never show and you never, ever tell.

As she dashes from her wedding altar on the run of her life, ardently wanting to understand what has brought her to this moment, Serrie sweeps us up in an exhilarating and poignant journey from rural Nova Scotia to London bars, to strip clubs by the docks, through mental hospital wards and rehab centres, back to quiet verandahs and porch swings in serene Lupin Cove. Along the way we meet a delightful array of off-beat characters including Serrie's best friends, Dearie and Elizabeth: Dearie, the anglicized Acadian who wants to go to New Orleans to find her Cajun relatives, and Elizabeth, who would like nothing better than to spend the rest of her life picking strawberries.

Heave explores the joys and agonies of family, of what one generation inherits from the next, and of how past and present are inexorably linked. Memories weave through the book as Serrie searches for equanimity in a life that intoxicates her with its beauty as it knocks her to her knees.

From the Jacket

Bursting with wonder and delicate despair, Serrie Sullivan longs for the world, but she''s trapped, just like Dorothy in Oz. Serrie''s got a nasty secret. It''s festering inside her, because in the gothic Annapolis Valley, hey, that''s what you do -- you never show and you never, ever tell.
As she dashes from her wedding altar on the run of her life, ardently wanting to understand what has brought her to this moment, Serrie sweeps us up in an exhilarating and poignant journey from rural Nova Scotia to London bars, to strip clubs by the docks, through mental hospital wards and rehab centres, back to quiet verandahs and porch swings in serene Lupin Cove. Along the way we meet a delightful array of off-beat characters including Serrie''s best friends, Dearie and Elizabeth: Dearie, the anglicized Acadian who wants to go to New Orleans to find her Cajun relatives, and Elizabeth, who would like nothing better than to spend the rest of her life picking strawberries.
Heave explores the joys and agonies of family, of what one generation inherits from the next, and of how past and present are inexorably linked. Memories weave through the book as Serrie searches for equanimity in a life that intoxicates her with its beauty as it knocks her to her knees.

About the Author

Born in Nova Scotia, Christy Ann Conlin has also travelled and lived in France, England, Germany, Switzerland, Korea and the United States. She has an MFA in creative writing from UBC, and has written a screenplay. Conlin lives in Halifax.

Hardcover

336 Pages, 5.75 x 8.53 in

January 8, 2002

English

Canadian Author


0385658079
9780385658072

From the Critics

"This is a wildly energetic debut, alive with characters so vivid they very nearly eclipse one of the tenderest, truest depictions of Nova Scotia life and landscape I think I've ever read." -- Lynn Coady

"Some books, such as thing debut novel…should arrive with the kind of abe that come on cigarette packs: WARNING: Excess of Talent, Visceral Reation May Ensue. Conlin…has produced an extraordinary book…that won't soon be forgotten." -- Toronto Star

"Conlin proves herself a keen observer of family life, adept at teasing out the loose ends and following them to uncover the lumps and knots in the fabric." -- Hamilton Spectator

"Fresh as a Sea Breeze" -- Vancouver Sun

"Highly visual and visceral prose" "Right from the first line Heave is a crazy ride" -- Halifax Daily News

"One book I will not be passing on is Nova Scotian writer Christy Ann Conlin's marvellous first novel Heave. This book prompted a whelp of excitement from me. " -- Noah Richler, National Post

"Heave is simply a marvellous book." "Heave is a powerful book". "Conlin's style is precise, the intensity often startling. She writes with a truthfulness that is passionate." -- Michelle Berry, Globe and Mail

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