The Book of Small

by Emily Carr, Sarah Ellis (Introduction)

The legendary Emily Carr was primarily a painter, but she first gained recognition as an author. She wrote seven popular, critically acclaimed books about her journeys to remote Native communities and about her life as an artist—as well as her life as a small child in Victoria at the turn of the last century.

The Book of Small is a collection of 36 short stories about a childhood in a town that still had vestiges of its pioneer past. With an uncanny skill at bringing people to life, Emily Carr tells stories about her family, neighbours, friends and strangers—who run the gamut from genteel people in high society to disreputable frequenters of saloons—as well as an array of beloved pets. All are observed through the sharp eyes and ears of a young, ever-curious and irrepressible girl, and Carr’s writing is a disarming combination of charm and devastating frankness.

Carr’s writing is vital and direct, aware and poignant, and as well regarded today as when she was first published to both critical and popular acclaim. The Book of Small has been in print ever since its publication in 1942, and, like Klee Wyck, has been read and loved by a couple of generations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada, Short Stories, Biography, Art, Memoir, Classics

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1942

About the author

Emily Carr (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the first painters in Canada to adopt a post-impressionist painting style, Carr did not receive widespread recognition for her work until later in her life. As she matured, the subject matter of her painting shifted from aboriginal themes to landscapes, and, in particular, forest scenes. As a writer, Carr was one of the earliest chroniclers of life in British Columbia. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes her as a "Canadian icon".

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely little book! Emily Carr was a nationally recognized Canadian artist who turned to writing in her later years. If you'd like to immerse yourself in the life of Victoria, British Columbia during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, you can't do better than this.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a GEM of a book. Who knew that Emily Carr, one of the greatest Canadian painters of the 20th century, could also write like a dream?
Her descriptions of life in Victoria, where she grew up in the 1870s and 80s, are perfection. One of those people who really LOOK and do not forget their own childhood, Carr captures a small girl's universe in all it's glorious detail, from irritating aunts and pet tragedies to the blazing beauty of the landscape around her.

[Jim Puskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Canadians generally know Emily Carr as a painter, a brilliant and somewhat eccentric contemporary of the Group of Seven (and often thought of as part of that company). Her writings focused on accounts of her early life in BC, written from a very personal perspective.
There's a guileless charm to this little book; I find it astonishing that she was able, in late middle age, to recall and express her perception of her world as she had experienced it in early childhood. Describing Mrs. Crane, a lady she had been told had a "big heart"and whose heart was "in the right place":
"She talked to Mr. Crane as she poured the tea, using big polite words in a deep voice. The words rolled around her wisdom teeth before they came out. Her heart could not help being in the right place, it was clasped so tight by her corset and her brown stuff dress was stretched so taut above that and buttoned from chin to waist. Her heart certainly could not be a wide one."
Observing an aunt being coddled by her spouse while on a picnic:
"Uncle built a nest for Auntie. There were pine boughs as well as pillows to it, and she looked like a great fat bird sitting there peeping and cooing at Uncle over the edge."
Carr had a life-long intense love of the forests and coasts and native peoples of her western homeland. Her prose in writing about that land strikes me as a verbal adaptation of the way she portrayed it on canvas:
"The silence of our Western forests was so profound that our ears could scarcely comprehend it. If you spoke your voice came back to you as your face is thrown back to you in a mirror. It seemed as if the forest were so full of silence that there was no room for sounds."

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the cannibalised version Discovering Emily, these are Carr's own memoir-essays of her childhood in Victoria, BC. Carr gives a lot of information about the physical and cultural changes her small, sleepy town (as it was then) underwent along with her child-self, Small. The only false note for me was the short story of the rescue of the Chinese boatman by Indians. Small obviously wasn't there, couldn't be there, didn't see it. Neither could Carr. But she writes well and places us in the mind of her small protagonist, remembering how small (uninformed) children feel and think about things.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is in my Top Twenty. I'm not fond of Ms.Carr's paintings, even though that's probably treasonous for a Canadian to say (what the heck, I hate the Group of Seven too - or at least six of them, if you must know), but by George, she's one of the most entertaining autobiographers out there - and I'm not confining that to Canadian writers. I read a lot of childhood memoirs, (it's my one weakness) and this is one of the best, in my humble opinion. Emily Carr is full of life and cleverness and sass. I own "Growing Pains", the next installment of her autobiographical works, but I'm holding off, so I can savor it. I highly recommend this book. I mean, even the title is brilliant.

[Julia Florek Turcan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea Emily Carr was a writer, and a winner of the Governor General's award! Her writing is vivid and imaginative and I really enjoyed reading about 19th century Victoria from a little girl's perspective

[Hana.E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful book full of stunning imagery, seeing Victoria through a child’s eyes

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half was a little slow but lots of fascinating early settler Victoria anecdotes. My neighbourhood used to be the town dump!!! Who knew.

[Sabine Stolwijk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is gem of short memoirs set in 19th Century Victoria, Canada written from the perspective of Emily Carr as a little girl. I had spent a few days in Victoria so it was really intriguing to read about growing up in a place I’ve been able to picture. Carr highlights the tension between the Old World “England” and the New World “Canada” as well as all the new developments coming into to a slow and rural frontier town.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful collection of short stories and a must read for anyone living in Victoria and particularly for anyone who spends a lot of time in James Bay, as I do. I especially enjoyed the local references and will be looking at the James Bay area with new awareness.

The stories depict domestic life in Victoria in the late 1800’s. While meant to outline Emily Carr’s early experiences, I found the historical references of the time to be fascinating. There is some glimmers of Emily's artistic nature in her mention of her preference for the “wild places” as opposed to the neat organized English gardens of the time. Her description of nature and her personalization of inanimate objects also illustrated her artistic nature. There is some indication of her future difficulties in her conflict between her original thinking, for the time, and her love and respect for her family.

There is much humor in these accounts as Small (Emily) gets herself into mischief, similar in nature to Anne of “Anne of Green Gables”. I like the portrayal of early Victoria from a child’s perspective.

I picked this book up by chance at the library and it has aroused my curiosity to learn more about Emily Carr and about early Victoria history.

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject matter of The Book of Small is much more domestic and smaller in scale than it is in Klee Wyck, being about Emily Carr's childhood in Victoria when it was still a frontier town. But there is no lack of interesting anecdotes and immersive prose even with the more restricted settings. Some of the stories are mainly just recounting various landmarks and local characters, and aren't nearly as interesting to me, but the ones about the Carr family's everyday lives were probably my favorites. I always like getting an insight into daily life in the past through the perspective of someone who really lived through it. These are the ones that stood out most to me:
-Sunday
-The Cow Yard
-The Blessing
-Singing
-British Columbia Nightingale
-Time
-James' Bay and Dallas Road
-Silence and Pioneers
-Saloons and Roadhouses
-Ways of Getting Round
-New Neighbours
-Visiting Matrons
-Servants
-A Cup of Tea
-Cemetery
-Schools
-Christmas
-Characters

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a semi-autobiographical book written by Emily Carr about her childhood years growing up in prim and proper Victoria, British Columbia. She IS Small. The playful girl who dirtied her dresses while playing Ladies, preferred spending times with animals and sang her heart out joyfully, despite her lack of talent.
She is the girl who proudly walked with her Father on his daily route to his job, enjoying the neighbors and Victoria along the way. These are the memories of an observant and attentive Emily.
I rue not being willing to mark up this book with its soft feel and new look. The descriptive phrases are worthy of relishing once more.
As with the other books by Emily, I feel drawn to Victoria, especially on Victoria Day. One of these days, the desire will carry me over the mountains and across the ferry...

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this second, after 'Growing Pains the autobiography of Emily Carr'. If I was to compare the two, they're really quite different. This memoir is seen through Emily's childhood years in Victoria, BC. Little stories of herself, her parents, sisters and pets, told with innocence and some humor. The book incorporates Victoria itself, the changes it went through and it's evolution as a British colony. It's like another character.

It's only a little book, but was an absolute pleasure. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys history (Emily was born in 1871) or who knows Victoria B.C Canada, as a lot of places are named and described. For those who want to read about her art, this isn't the book because it's focused only on her childhood years.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of autobiographical anecdotes or remembrances from Emily Carr's life in Victoria, mostly from early childhood (ages 4-8). She writes wonderfully and really captures viewpoint and feeling of childhood, when so many things don't make sense. However, life was hard and parents often harsh, so this may not be the best read for younger children; I know if I had read it as a kid there would have been some parts that upset me, especially relating to the treatment of animals.

[Ann Klefstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

She has that weird attachment to the presence of things, a propensity that means that the world will never add up, it'll never be more than the sum of its parts, but. The parts are enough. more than enough. The love of the fur, the smell, the green, the water, the buzzing of it all, leads one to renounce any thought of transcendence in favor of lying down forever with the mortal remains of what one has loved.

[dorothy · Rating 1 out of 5]

the whimsical runic font on the cover is a LIE. this book is like if you fed an AI nothing but Dick and Jane books and Wordsworth. i only read it because it was free on my Kindle, and quite frankly that’s still too expensive.

[Avis Black · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tried to read it, but found her writing painfully dull.

[Annalisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of Emily Carr's that I have read and I loved it. I mainly read it on the way to work and was gob smacked to be walking along the very streets in Victoria which she describes so vividly, 140 years earlier: cows wandering along the three-plank sidewalks up Government Street; a dump in the inner harbour mudflats where the Empress Hotel now stands; the the Carr homestead just steps from my office building; and the quirky cast of characters who were the citizens of the sleepy outpost of Victoria, B.C. Seldom have I read a book that so perfectly captures the voice of a child and her small world. The Book of Small does what all books should hope to do -- paints a perfect portrait of a time, place and person, warts and all. Why this book is not required reading in Canadian public schools is beyond me, especially here in Victoria.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

This lovely child centered memoir takes you on a journey into the early days, late 19th century, of Victoria, British Columbia. Emily Carr, as Small, shares her sights, the sounds, and her personal favorites, her neighbors, as she goes about her little life. As a reader with background in Victoria, I thoroughly relished her descriptions of the developing city and its inhabitants. There is an appropriate naïveté to the writing and yet when dealing with the Chinese and the Indians, as Carr describes them, it feels somewhat sad and disconnected. As a reader you can’t help wondering about Bong, for example, the young boy who worked for the Carr family.

The book is worth reading to better understand the life and times of young Emily Carr as well as the city of Victoria, BC, an idyllic spot in British Columbia, in all its English ways.

[Amanda Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book alright, but I didn't love it. And I feel that my reasonings for that difference are so unfair. I am a HUGE L.M. Montgomery fan, and to me, Emily Carr seemed like the West Coast equivalent of her...and she just kept falling short. Her descriptions were not as quite charming, her stories not quite as endearing, her outlook on life not quite as interesting...But I mean, of course I shouldn't judge by those standards! I just couldn't seem to help my self! There was no real plot and sometimes it was hard to follow. Still, I enjoyed the little anecdotes and there were truly some hidden gems in here. Good book, just not great.

[SusanwithaGoodBook · Rating 3 out of 5]

When we visited Victoria I kept seeing things about the poet Emily Carr, so I decided to pick up this little book to see what she was all about. This is a series of essays Carr wrote about her childhood. They weren't originally published as a book, so the repetition of some points is a bit jarring, but still, they're charming little tales of "Small" who was the youngest and smallest of the Carr sisters. It was fun to read about her experiences in early Victoria and the changes she saw in that city from the 1880s to 1940s. I can recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing more about the city of Victoria.

[Jennifer Nightingale · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book of Small is a charming account of growing up in 19th century Victoria, BC, Canada. It's a time travel experience where you can smell the camphor in her fathers old steamer trunk and feel the mud of the unpaved streets.

In the heart of the little girl called "Small" was a rebel and a budding artist. Middle and Big did not understand who she was and why she must be this way. I would assume that all artists will understand the heart of this little girl who grew up when British Columbia was young and raw.

[Cacey Cottrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the actual ‘The Book of Small’ isn’t as fascinating as one might expect, with learning about Emily Care’s childhood, I always come back to rereading this book for the second section ‘A Little Town and a Little Girl’. While it has a similar background, learning about how Victoria grew into the large city it is known to be today from the frontier town it used to be, as well as the views and culture that was prominent, has always been fascinating. I love the little glimpse Carr gives us into this small section of Canada.

[YourLadyFriendBonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read about what life was like when Victoria, B.C. was being built being told from a young Emily Carr (later one of the Group of Seven artists). She describes what types of people ended up there, how the city worked with/coerced Natives, what the land was like, people's connection to England/Queen Victoria, basic family life, and lots more about early Canada. Made me wonder many things. 4/5

[Canlit4ever · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and fun viewpoint of the history of the city of Victoria. Helps a bit in connecting the street names with the people for which they are named. Mostly maintains the perspective of a child with some subtle longer term reflections sprinkled toward the end. That the crazy alignment of streets is explained as established by the wanderings of cattle will resonate with anyone who has tried to navigate them.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carr's analogies are superb and this "small" book gives a succinct description of Victoria Canada's early years. It is by turn, lighthearted and brokenhearted. Worth the read for an incident involving ladies, a cow, and a boardwalk - I'll say no more. Also, hints at the sorrow amongst the Chinese, Native American, and Black minorities, and possibly even the gay community. Emily Carr's painter's eye was equally astute in written narrative.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In antipation of an Alaskan cruise and a side trip to Victoria, I decided to read all the books that Emily Carr, a famous Canadian artist, had written. Her description of everyday life in Victoria paints a vivid picture of the beautiful English city. I might believe I like her writings better than some of her dark totempole paintings. Now on to her later works, as this was the first and is primarily remincing her childhood as the youngest girl of a large, prosperous family.

[Mike Orta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Emily Carr delights us with a thoughtful remembrance of growing up in Victoria on Vancouver Island. This book reminds me of the Little House on the Prairie series. If you are a middle child or a younger child in a large family then you will relate to the injustices of the older children and the adults!

[Susan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Carr's recollections of childhood in Victoria are fascinating. Her vivid depictions of childhood are written from the point of view of a little girl, informed by the insights of a mature artist. Amazingly, Carr, who took up writing late in life, is as skilful an author as she was a visual artist.