Anomaly

by Anne Fleming

Like Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye, Anomaly explores the dynamics of female relationships in a Toronto that many people remember, but that no longer exists. Set in the 1970s as the city evolved into an international hub, the novel centers around four two sisters, Glynnis and Carol, just coming of age, their troubled mother, Mrs. Riggs, and an elderly neighbor, Miss Balls, whose most vivid memories are of her days as a young nurse in World War II. As the two girls struggle to navigate their stormy relationship, the events of a turbulent era are reflected in the lives of all four women. Each suffers a loss of innocence — and so too does the city. Detailed, emotionally complex, and rich with exceptionally well-drawn characters, Anomaly is a debut novel that lives up to its promise.

Genres: Fiction, Queer, Gay, Coming Of Age, Canada

479 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Anne Fleming is the author of five books: Pool-Hopping and Other Stories , shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, the Danuta Gleed Award and the Governor General’s Award; the critically acclaimed novel, Anomaly ; Gay Dwarves of America , also shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson; poemw , a book of poems shortlisted for the BC Book Prizes’ Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize; and The Goat , a novel for children. Her non-fiction has been published in a raft of anthologies, including Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme, Great Expectations: Twenty-Four True Stories About Childbirth, and You Be Me .

Anne grew up in Toronto and lived in Kitchener, Ontario for a chunk of time before moving to Vancouver, where she received her MFA from UBC. Her fiction has won National Magazine Awards, been commissioned by CBC Radio, and widely published in magazines and anthologies.

A highly regarded teacher of creative writing, she has been on faculty at both UBC campuses, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. She now divides her time between Vancouver (unceded Coast Salish territory) and Kelowna (unceded Syilx territory), where she teaches at UBC’s Okanagan Campus. She likes to cross-country ski and play the ukulele, although not necessarily at the same time.​​​

Reviews

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Fleming’s Anomaly (2005) is one of those novels, which, despite being nearly five hundred pages long, makes you want to return right to the first page and begin again once you’ve finished reading it. It’s the kind of book that leaves an empty spot somewhere inside your chest or stomach when you suddenly realize your sojourn in its world is done. Despite having spent so much time with them, I wasn’t ready to leave the characters, desperately thinking when I closed the book: ‘But, but, what happened to that character? What was this character’s reaction to her daughter’s revelation? Does this character change her mind about dating the other character? What does the future hold for them??” Like all great books, Anomaly leaves the reader wanting more...

See the rest of my review at my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wor...

[Pooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

9 out of 10 stars
An absolute delight to read. It reminded me of the early works of Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence and Alice Munro and the thrill I experienced discovering the "me" in their characters.

This story centres on the relationships of four women of three generations; Carol and Glynnis Riggs, their mother Rowena and the elderly Beryl Balls (friend and former Brownie leader of Rowena).

Carol is the first anomaly being an albino with white hair and thick glasses. She is the sad sister, unlovely and unlovable. She is jealous of her sister, who appears to her to be more popular. Until one day in a fit of rage, she somehow manages to knock a piano over on her and Glynnis is forever crippled and Carol forever guilty.

I was interested in and related to all four women and their experiences with coming of age, love, loss and rejection.

It is a big book and yet I was sorry to have it end.

[KileyV · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really hate to write this, because since reading Fleming's short stories in summer...2017? I've felt some kinship with her. Like she's a mentor that hasn't met me yet. I dreamed of taking her class at UBCO, which is silly because she teaches fiction and I don't live near Kelowna. So when I found her first (and only) novel at Russel's I jumped on it and crushed the first 100 pages in the first evening. But then? All the drama and tension resolved and there were 300 pages left to march onwards without a driving question. Her prose is tight and her metaphors imaginative - and the characters were walk off the page real - but overall I was disappointed with this novel. And I'm sad for that.

[Canlit4ever · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterclass in character development. So patiently done. Many books attempt to portray the minds of children (and I usually avoid them as inauthentic), but this one was remarkable in capturing the inner, outer, and unspoken aspects of more than one stage of the formative years. Engaging, poignant, wonderfully Canadian. I’ll look out for more of Fleming’s books. As a nerdy add, I loved the binding and paper quality of this Raincoast edition - it was a big part of why I picked this book up. Thanks, Raincoast, for all you do for Canadian literature.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

a·nom·a·ly (-nm-l) n. pl. a·nom·a·lies

Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.
One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify: “Both men are anomalies: they have... likable personalities but each has made his reputation as a heavy” (David Pauly).
anomaly. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved October 25, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/brows...

Each in her own way an anomaly, the Riggs sisters grow up with the intense love/hate bond that sisters often have (and hopefully grow out of). In addition, the older sister, Glynnis has a disabled leg and Carol is an albino making school at time a torturous experience. Each must suffer the casual cruelties of their classmates and learn how to survive the emotional damage that is done. As they get older the two girls take distinctly different paths to discover their true place in the world.

Set in the 1970's in Canada, this first novel is smooth, polished and just a little quirky. I highly enjoyed it.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, and liked the way various anomolies threaded their way through different aspects of the characters and their families. But the metaphors were sometimes a little too obvious, and the characters were slightly less than convincing for me. They seemed to think in a language that was too sophisticated. In fact I was never quite sure what age they were at any given time because they were not well-defined by their actions. They seemed to grow up without changing in ways one would expect.

[Cheryl Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book on the sale table at Chapters, a $4.99 bargain. What appealed to me is that it's a debut novel by Anne Fleming, and since I dream of one day publishing my first novel, I am hoping for some insight into what grabs a publisher's eye. "Anomaly" was a nominee for the Governor General's Award.

[Carrie Bulger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at the library thinking it sounded interesting and it was. The style is Picoult-esque (i.e., each chapter a different character), so if you enjoy her/it, then you will like this book.

[Dafina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book officially got me out of my reading slump! I honestly couldn’t put it down and I was super entertained. The only bad thing I can say is that the ending was pretty unsatisfying.