FINDING HOME: A Novel

by Eric Wright

Will Prentice, who immigrated to Canada from England thirty years ago, realizes that sometimes you have to leave home to find it. The week after his wife asks him for a divorce, Will returns to England to attend his mother’s funeral. Embarking on a driving tour of the English countryside, in part on a quest to unravel a secret from his mother’s past, in part trying to see how much of England he remembers, and where he belongs, he begins to reexamine his life back home in Canada. His driving companion is his uncle’s grandson, Fred, a recent Cambridge graduate at a crossroads in his life who is interested in Canadian Studies.

As Fred drives Will through various English boroughs, Will talks him through a journey across Canada, from the fishing villages of Labrador to the rainy coasts of British Columbia, reawakening Fred’s imagination and defining the heart of his own passion. Eric Wright’s portrait of two countries, Britain and Canada, supposedly similar but literally an ocean apart, asserts Canada’s uniqueness and reminds us that home is not only geography and landscape, but also a state of mind. Finding Home is a sensitive and optimistic look at Will’s search for a new beginning after work and kids that will resonate with anyone who has ever had to face an uncertain future.

Genres: Canada

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2007

About the author

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Eric Wright was born in London, England and immigrated to Canada in 1951. He is the award-winning author of seventeen crime novels, including his first novel, The Night the Gods Smiled, which won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, the Crime Writer's Association's John Creasey Award, and the City of Toronto Book Award. His memoir, Always Give a Penny to a Blind Man, about growing up poor in working-class London, was published in 1999.

Reviews

[Rebecca Upjohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Wright’s humour and marvellous characterization are showcased in this novel of a man’s journey to discover where he belongs at a point in his life where many things are changing. The parallel cross country portraits of place and people in England and Canada are full of facts and anecdotes that kept me turning the pages. Solving the underlying mystery of his parents’ story provided the through line. Ultimately this novel is about family and where it intersects with identity.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful change of pace. A bit Bill Bryson like in his observations of England (his birth home) and Canada (his home for all of his adult life), Wright has written a mystery novel that reads like a memoir and travel guide all wrapped up in introspection and humor.

[Hnolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this well written book, Will, an ex-British Canadian, goes home to bury his mother and unravel a mystery she left behind. As he travels across England with a distant cousin, he reminisces about Canada and tries to sort out where he belongs. I found myself laughing thinking of some of the things Will went through and wanting to get to the truth of the mystery.

[Pembsgirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the places to stay and eat in England and will definitely take note of them - I assume that they are real??
The differences between the British and Canadian perspective were interesting..
Overall, the book was a gentle read and the story was OK.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Canadian Author, great read. If you read it with an English accent you'll do fine :p Travelogue of England and a finding your niche in life. Amusing summer read.