“There is a vast part of this city with mouths buried in it . . . . Mouths capable of speaking to us. But we stop them up with concrete a...
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reviews
Dec 10, 2010
Kirsty
rated it: 
This was a really enjoyable read; a story of early Toronto (1850ish if I remember correctly) intertwined a story of another Toronto family in 1997. Each half of the story has a pretty similar weighting and I didn't mind switching between the two because it didn't happen too often and both halves were entertaining and written in similar styles.
The modern day story is woven around the death of David Hollis, a historical researcher, and the historical story meets up with his research in a More...
The modern day story is woven around the death of David Hollis, a historical researcher, and the historical story meets up with his research in a More...
Apr 25, 2009
Peter
rated it: 
"He put it [a recently excavated clay pipe:] into my hand and closed my fingers over it and he said, ‘the past really happened.’”. . . “You held it in your hand. You know something most people don’t.”
(Consolation, 435)
Consolation changed the way I look at my Toronto, the city where I live. This was not only because it asked me to imagine things like black bears walking down King St. or a graveyard (in fact, a "necropolis") at the now busy intersection of Yonge and Bloor, which add More...
(Consolation, 435)
Consolation changed the way I look at my Toronto, the city where I live. This was not only because it asked me to imagine things like black bears walking down King St. or a graveyard (in fact, a "necropolis") at the now busy intersection of Yonge and Bloor, which add More...
Sep 16, 2011
Robert
rated it:
I borrowed this book without putting much time into reviewing it beforehand. When I actually picked it up to read and determined what it was about (ie. Toronto) I figured it would be boring and likely not worth my while. Once I started reading it, I initially confirmed my suspicions and almost put it down (in reality, I never do this). Am I glad I didn't! I loved the intermingling of the two stories; one from 1997 Toronto (where I happen to live) and one from 1856 historical Toronto. It bec
More...
Feb 12, 2008
Nancy
rated it:
I will be very blunt here and tell you that at first I almost just put the book down because it did not hold my interest. After I got into the story of Jeremy Hallam, however, I regained said lost interest & was mesmerized.
Before I offer a look inside (don't worry, as always, no spoilers), I have to say that Redhill is a gifted author with great talent. His prose is incredible; small descriptions of light shining on the water, for example, are so realistic that you can truly see it More...
Before I offer a look inside (don't worry, as always, no spoilers), I have to say that Redhill is a gifted author with great talent. His prose is incredible; small descriptions of light shining on the water, for example, are so realistic that you can truly see it More...
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Sep 27, 2007
Jason
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(The much longer full review can be found at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)
As regular readers know, all this month I'm doing a special concentration here on the nominees for the 2007 Booker Prize, basically the British version of the Pulitzer (and a prize many think is actually more impressive than the Pulitzer); and it's no surprise that in general I've been disappointed by the nominated books I've now read, finding them on the whole to be too More...
As regular readers know, all this month I'm doing a special concentration here on the nominees for the 2007 Booker Prize, basically the British version of the Pulitzer (and a prize many think is actually more impressive than the Pulitzer); and it's no surprise that in general I've been disappointed by the nominated books I've now read, finding them on the whole to be too More...
Sep 12, 2008
Julie
rated it:
David Hollis spent his career unearthing artifacts of old Toronto, but at the time of his death from Lou Gehrig’s disease, his academic legacy was shadowed by his unsupported claims that a complete set of glass negatives of photos of Toronto, circa 1860, was lost in a shipwreck that now lies under landfill. However, the story doesn’t really deal with David except in flashback, as his wife, one of his daughters, and his daughter’s fiancé deal with his death by keeping vigil over a construction s
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Aug 16, 2010
Just flew back from Toronto with a copy of Michael Redhill’s Consolation and was so absorbed that I’m now halfway through its 468 pages in only six hours (the flight plus couldn’t-put-it-down reading time in the hammock later that evening). I’d always felt I wouldn’t connect with Redhill’s Toronto-centric point of view but he casts tough, straight-spoken women and men with much softer personalities – characters and action that pulled ME into the historical storyline.
Aug 01, 2011
A very engaging book. I enjoyed it tremendously. Loved the descriptions of the lives of strugging Torontonians in the 1850's. John and Bridget and the way their relationship evolved both in the present and past tense, somehow evoked my own memories (in love during those same years and living in Toronto). And I thought the way the two stories were linked together was very well done. As a lover of Toronto history this book is hard not to cherish page by page.
Nov 22, 2011
Nancy
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I live in Toronto. I love history and architecture. This book was an incredible read and eventually I found myself on a walking tour of the buildings and history with Michael Redhill.
There is so much development happening in the area of the waterfront where land was reclaimed now - I am sure many artifacts are found and some even hidden so the development goes on uninterrupted.
This novel was an eye-opener and very engaging. Loved it.
There is so much development happening in the area of the waterfront where land was reclaimed now - I am sure many artifacts are found and some even hidden so the development goes on uninterrupted.
This novel was an eye-opener and very engaging. Loved it.
Aug 10, 2011
Stephen
rated it:
Worth the dig. The last five words given by Jem Hallam to Claudia Rowe may have been given just as well to the city. There is plot and enough texture and character to drive an Atom Egoyan film. Would he of Summerhill? The arc of history captured in photography a city claimed from lake and hewn from forest and the fortunes of arrivals. You have to walk Toronto streets a while to realise they belong here as much as you do.
Feb 16, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
Wonderful storytelling, I found the characters to be quite engaging and although many were flawed, a few were quite likeable. I loved reading about Toronto in the 1800s, that was fascinating to me, but I also enjoyed the parallel story set in the mid 1990s. I really enjoyed how the two storylines connected near the end of the book, although I did find the actual conclusion on the book to be unsatisfying.
Dec 01, 2008
Andrew
rated it: 
I liked it because of the historical perspective on Toronto's geography, but the poverty and misfortunte of the 1800's main character was a barrier for me - it brought me down. I hate to say it, but I wanted to see a happier ending. As well, the present day characters - it delt with so much personal loss that I was a little too detached to enjoy the book.
Dec 08, 2011
Morgana
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Redhill does a remarkable job conveying a sense of place and history, and it's this that has remained with me more than the characters or plot. Incidentally, the 19th century photo series at the heart of the story is real, and is available online through the Toronto public library. Very interesting to look through it after finishing the book.
Apr 13, 2011
Bachyboy
rated it:
Challenging and at the beginning difficult to get a measure of who was whom and even who was speaking. Set in Toronto, the book flicks between a family set in the present and a failed chemist from the mid 1850's. There were times when I wanted the book to hurry up but that says something about my impatience rather than the novelist.
Dec 17, 2009
Mary-anne
rated it:
It took me about 200 pages to get into this book. But then I enjoyed it very much. I must say that I thought the historical story was far more interesting than the present day one. I found Marianne and Bridget really annoying and their actions and words extreme. Considering that Redhill is a playwrigt, you would think that dialogue would be a strong point, but I found it to be trite. I liked the character John Lewis very much and especially enjoyed the relationship he had with David.
More...
More...
Aug 19, 2011
John
rated it:
maybe 4.5. This is on the list to re-read. A history of Toronto as told by a man who suffers his life's connections. A man's collection of historic photographic plates of early Toronto are lost at the bottom of the bay. (Maybe.) Redhill writes of relationships, longing and loss.
Feb 08, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it:
I liked the shape of this book - the idea of watching history unfold at the same time as we learn more about the narrator and family and life in the present. I also like the idea of the city (Toronto, in this case) holding so many secrets. It was well-written and compelling.
Aug 18, 2011
Erin
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This book was two story lines - one in present day and the other in the late 1800s. The book started with the present day story and at first, I was having a hard time getting into it. Once the other story kicked in, I really started enjoying it. It kept getting better and better until the end, which was a disappointment to me. The writing was great, but he just kind of lost me at the end.
Sep 27, 2011
Holly
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Enjoyed the Toronto history in this book. Love imagining how life used to be in cities I know and love. Modern relationships (not to mention historical ones) were difficult to believe/ empathize with.
Aug 05, 2009
Pamk
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I enjoyed this book. It was an odd mix of history and a story about a modern man's life and the legacy left behind after his death. I really enjoyed the historical look at the early days of the city of Toronto.
Nov 28, 2011
jl
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This book swept me away and dumped me on my ass, hard!
Haven't been so affected by a book for a very long time. Thank you, Mr. Redhill.
Haven't been so affected by a book for a very long time. Thank you, Mr. Redhill.
Mar 18, 2011
Marilyn
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I am almost finished reading 'Consolation' by Redhill. It is not the greatest book I've read. I'm feeling, "oh, get on with it" to get to the end. The history of Toronto is interesting but the story is written like two stories in several different sections: story 1, story 2, story 1, story 2 etc. I find it a little exasperating?
The part I found interesting was the history sections on Toronto. I could visualize the streets and intersections he refers to because I know Toronto. More...
The part I found interesting was the history sections on Toronto. I could visualize the streets and intersections he refers to because I know Toronto. More...
Nov 28, 2009
Dilmini
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A good read, beautifully written but wonder if it has the poewer to hook ppl in to reading it without a stop..
Jan 07, 2009
Ellen
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I had a hard time getting started but then I found I couldn't put this book down. I really, really liked it.
Dec 14, 2011
Keith
rated it:
From The Atlantic review
Consolation
by Michael Redhill (Little, Brown)
Lou Gehrig’s disease again! In this case, a local historian, suffering from the malady, posits, to public ridicule, that a trove of photographs of early Toronto lies beneath a landfill. Redhill, author of the affecting short-story collection Fidelity, shifts between the present-day account of the widow’s efforts to vindicate her husband and the story of the photographer in mid-nineteenth-century To More...
Consolation
by Michael Redhill (Little, Brown)
Lou Gehrig’s disease again! In this case, a local historian, suffering from the malady, posits, to public ridicule, that a trove of photographs of early Toronto lies beneath a landfill. Redhill, author of the affecting short-story collection Fidelity, shifts between the present-day account of the widow’s efforts to vindicate her husband and the story of the photographer in mid-nineteenth-century To More...
Mar 16, 2010
The Master
rated it:
I took a long time getting through this book because I didn't want it to end. Redhill could have made it twice as long and I wouldn't have complained. Compelling characters and settings, especially the 1850s Toronto segments.
I really, really, loved this book. Redhill is one of my favourite Canadian authors.
I really, really, loved this book. Redhill is one of my favourite Canadian authors.
Jan 09, 2008
Maggie
rated it:
When I was up in Stratford, Canada this summer everyone was really excited about the news that this book had been named to the Booker Prize longlist. The strongest aspect of this novel is its treatment of the city of Toronto as its own character, both as a wild youth and old man quickly losing his way in the fast pace of the modern world.
Update:
After reading The Gathering, this year's Booker Prize winner, I'm really disappointed that Consolation didn't get a bit more love from More...
Update:
After reading The Gathering, this year's Booker Prize winner, I'm really disappointed that Consolation didn't get a bit more love from More...
