What Is Left the Daughter

by Howard Norman

Howard Norman, widely regarded as one of this country’s finest novelists, returns to the mesmerizing fictional terrain of his major books— The Bird Artist , The Museum Guard , and The Haunting of L —in this erotically charged and morally complex story. Seventeen-year-old Wyatt Hillyer is suddenly orphaned when his parents, within hours of each other, jump off two different bridges—the result of their separate involvements with the same compelling neighbor, a Halifax switchboard operator and aspiring actress. The suicides cause Wyatt to move to small-town Middle Economy to live with his uncle, aunt, and ravishing cousin Tilda. Setting in motion the novel’s chain of life-altering passions and the wartime perfidy at its core is the arrival of the German student Hans Mohring, carrying only a satchel. Actual historical incidents—including a German U-boat’s sinking of the Nova Scotia–Newfoundland ferry Caribou , on which Aunt Constance Hillyer might or might not be traveling—lend intense narrative power to Norman’s uncannily layered story. Wyatt’s account of the astonishing—not least to him— events leading up to his fathering of a beloved daughter spills out twenty-one years later. It’s a confession that speaks profoundly of the mysteries of human character in wartime and is directed, with both despair and hope, to an audience of one. An utterly stirring novel. This is Howard Norman at his celebrated best.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Canada, Audiobook, Literary Fiction, Historical, World War II

264 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2010

About the author

Howard A. Norman (born 1949), is an American award-winning writer and educator. Most of his short stories and novels are set in Canada's Maritime Provinces. He has written several translations of Algonquin, Cree, Eskimo, and Inuit folklore. His books have been translated into 12 languages.

Reviews

[☮Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good! Loved the protagonist Wyatt, the Nova Scotia setting at the start of WWII, the ugliness of prejuduce (against Germans) depicted, the U-boat attacks, the small town feeling similar to what you find in a Richard Russo novel-- everything. Bronson Pinchot narrated and he was just perfect. He is really very talented with his accents and characterizations.

I was all set to give this 5 stars but the last couple of chapters sort of fell flat for me. Even the narrator seemed less enthusiastic about it.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Publisher Says: Howard Norman, widely regarded as one of this country's finest novelists, returns to the mesmerizing fictional terrain of his major books—The Bird Artist, The Museum Guard, and The Haunting of L—in this erotically charged and morally complex story.

Seventeen-year-old Wyatt Hillyer is suddenly orphaned when his parents, within hours of each other, jump off two different bridges—the result of their separate involvements with the same compelling neighbor, a Halifax switchboard operator and aspiring actress. The suicides cause Wyatt to move to small-town Middle Economy to live with his uncle, aunt, and ravishing cousin Tilda.

Setting in motion the novel's chain of life-altering passions and the wartime perfidy at its core is the arrival of the German student Hans Mohring, carrying only a satchel. Actual historical incidents—including a German U-boat's sinking of the Nova Scotia-Newfoundland ferry Caribou, on which Aunt Constance Hillyer might or might not be traveling—lend intense narrative power to Norman's uncannily layered story.

Wyatt's account of the astonishing—not least to him—events leading up to his fathering of a beloved daughter spills out twenty-one years later. It's a confession that speaks profoundly of the mysteries of human character in wartime and is directed, with both despair and hope, to an audience of one.

An utterly stirring novel. This is Howard Norman at his celebrated best.

I CHECKED THIS BOOK OUT FROM THE LIBRARY. USE THEM OFTEN, THEY LIVE AND DIE ON OUR PATRONAGE.

My Review: When an author of Howard Norman's stature uses the epistolary storytelling technique, the chances of disappointment...always higher when this difficult-to-master form is used...shrink back into insignificance. As expected, then, this read was a master class in what and how to make of the epistles in question.

Wyatt's parents aren't alive as we meet him. I got a strong intimation that he, looking back on a whole family's life pretty passionately (if unhappily) lived, didn't feel they were alive before they each committed suicide for mixed-up love of the same woman. If I had to guess (Author Norman doesn't over-explain anything, ever) I'd say Wyatt's life more complicated than most from the very beginning. His letter to his largely unseen daughter, however, is all about putting forward the facts of her paternal family's life as he recalls them. It felt to me as though Author Norman's telling of the tale was direct and honest; so Wyatt, then, wasn't aware even in retrospect of his life's peculiarly high levels of complexity.

In The Highland Book of Platitudes, Marlais, there's an entry that reads, "Not all ghosts earn our memory in equal measure." I think about this sometimes. I think especially about the word "earn," because it implies an ongoing willful effort on the part of the dead, so that if you believe the platitude, you have to believe in the afterlife, don't you? Following that line of thought, there seem to be certain people—call them ghosts—with the ability to insinuate themselves into your life with more belligerence and exactitude than others—it's their employment and expertise.

With all the arousal hormones Wyatt's story begins with, and given the fact that he's writing to his twentyish daughter, this is a story pretty much guaranteed to be about the erotic charge that a messy life provides and more importantly about its costs. Wyatt's unrequited love for a person in his family circle who is not a relative is the stuff of life. I suspect it was deeply relatable to anyone who's ever been part of a blended or a found family. The object of his affections, herself an added person (one whose family isn't a birth family), falls madly in love with someone socially inconvenient: A German émigré, and this story's set during World War II. So there's another level of relatability, as what adult has made it this far without an unrequited love?

My whole life, Marlais, I've had difficulty coming up with the right word to use in a given situation, but at least I know what the right word would have been once I hear it.

The problem this inability brings with it, or perhaps the character trait it points up, is that of passivity. Wyatt is not a doer but a done-to. Nothing that happens in his (passive, epistolary) account of his life to the daughter he doesn't know is as a result of his actions. The one truly, damningly awful thing he's involved in, and for which he is now seeking his daughter's forgiveness, is a result of his inaction, his inability to stand for something.

I realize I've sometimes raced over the years like an ice skater fleeing the devil on a frozen river.
–and–
I refuse any longer to have my life defined by what I haven't told you.

But what he does, this man of inaction, is write the young woman a letter. How typical of him...make an effort but make it ineffectually. What a letter does is enable him to remain inactive yet still offer, as if from behind a wall, an accounting of the young woman in question's heritage. What happens as a result? We never know; Author Norman's story is of Wyatt, not Marlais.

You'll have to decide if that's a deal-maker or -breaker for you. I fall on the line between those poles. I need to feel a story is complete, fulfilling its brief, to really lose myself in it. The musicality of Author Norman's line-by-line creation can draw one along for a good while but there's always that need to have some story pay-off for me. I was not all the way satisfied...I wasn't dissatisfied...there was a strange liminality in this tale of passive inaction's consequences. I would recommend you read the book. I wouldn't recommend it to you, however, of you're in the mood for a propulsive plot-driven thrillride. Does the read repay the effort? It did for me—mostly.

I think Author Norman turned me into Wyatt!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I love all of Howard Norman's work. "The Bird Artist" is one of my favorite books, and I've loved his others too.

Like all of his books, "What Is Left the Daughter" is beautifully written. It's a book full of incredibly rich dualities and symbolism, yet I'm sure it could be just as effective read by someone who chooses not to analyse it.

Written as a letter from an older Wyatt Hillyer to his 21-year-old daughter, the book opens with the suicides of both of Wyatt's parents, who jump from different bridges at about the same time. He is taken in by an aunt and uncle who live nearby in tiny Middle Economy. His uncle is a sled- and toboggan-maker, and he teaches Wyatt the craft. They have an adopted daughter, Tilda, a book-loving woman trying to become a professional mourner, with whom Wyatt falls in unrequited love. She is in love with a young German emigre studying philology (words) at a nearby university. German U-boats are sinking Canadian craft, bringing the huge war to the tiny town.

"I believe if you sully the sea it will come back at you ten fold," Wyatt's uncle says early on. And the water, the library, the bakery are the canvas in which Norman paints his characters with a precision that amounts to a kind of literary pointillism. The novel takes on the mysteries of love and death and war with lovely subtlety.

It's a book that may stay with you forever. I hope I've done it, and Mr. Norman, justice, because they matter to me.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh! This is one of the best things I've read. Beautifully written, one of those quietly powerful stories--I don't ever want to forget it. I underlined lots of fragments and made notes on the back pages, just a list of details that I want to stay with me.
There's lots of classical music referred to and since that's not my genre, I would find the piece on the internet and play it alongside my reading. That's fun (and educational!). I always thought the title of this novel was pretty and intriguing. But the entire thing is pitch-perfect. There's not a wasted word, not even when a character says, "you know;" even that is necessary and adds to the cadence of the language, of the story-telling.

"The soup was delicious," I said.
"You've said that twice. The second time convinced me less, but thank you," my aunt said.

Meticulous Spelling

I lifted the trunk and placed it near the front door. My aunt went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. "I'd better bring Donald out some tea," she said. "Some tea for my husband of thirty-seven years, now sleeping in the shed."

"Don't sell yourself short," she said. "The way I see it? A poem reaches out exactly halfway, then you reach out halfway, then see what happens."

"No. Donald's dangerously tilted. Me, I'm just all envy, in case you didn't notice."

"Sit in the car with me, Hans," I said. "I'll explain 'jiffy' to you. I could tell you liked that word. See how I'm getting to know you?"

Detour, detour, detour into late evening; finally, I was just grateful I'd left enough stew for supper a second night. Especially that French stew, because the flavors settled in more deeply. Have you ever noticed how that works with leftovers?

"I always wanted to be read to."
"Then this is your big moment."

"Good Lord, Charlie," Hermione said, "marry me."
"Do I have to tell my wife?'
"That question shows remorse in advance," Hermione said. "Forget it."

My whole life, Marlais, I've had difficulty coming up with the right word to use in a given situation, but at least I know what the right word would have been once I hear it.

'Don't forget: now and then, life can be improved upon.' letter from Cornelia Tell to Wyatt

music:
Beethoven Quartet No. 9 in C Major and Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major
Schumann Piano Quartet in E-flat and Piano Quintet in E-flat
Schubert Impromptu in A-flat
Beethoven Sonata in F Major
Arcangelo Corelli Violin Sonata opus 5
Bach unaccompanied cello suites

my rambling notes from the back page:
platitudes
radios
philology
don't sully the sea
bridges, water
death, murder, suicide, obituary, professional mourner
library
bakery--cranberry scones
molasses tea
carrot soup
rain
ghost child
detritus gaffer (don't sully the sea)

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 5 out of 5]

... some ancient parable or other in which an elderly woman listens to her son hold forth about how much heartbreak, sour luck and spiritual depletion can be packed into a life. But talk as he might, the man from the parable fails to address the one thing his mother is most curious about. "What of your daughter?" she asks. "Have you seen her? How is her life? Do not doubt that wonderment may be found when you find her again." Turns out, the man hasn't seen his own daughter in ages. "Rain, wind, hunger, thirst, joy and sorrow have visited her all along," the woman says. "yet her father has not." She listens more, all the while experiencing a deeper and deeper sadness, until finally she says, "And what is left the daughter?" She doesn't mean heirloom objects. She doesn't mean money. She doesn't care about anything like those. She says, "I think you have a secret untold that keeps a distance between you and her and the life you were given."

This is page one, and the beginning of a letter from a father to a daughter. A daughter he has not seen since she was quite small. It is a beautifully told, sometimes heart-wrenching story. As it progressed I sometimes I found my throat closing and my eyes spilling over with tears.

The major action of the book takes place in the early days of World War II, though it is the influence of the war on these people's lives, and their reaction to it, not the war itself, that is important. The father, and therefore the central character, is Wyatt Hillyer. Through his words, we come to know him intimately. The other characters we know through his eyes, his impressions and telling of them.

I have not read this author before, but even before I finished this, I was looking at his author page. I will definitely be reading more of him.

[Maciek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howard Norman's What Is Left the Daughter is structured as a long letter written by Wyatt Hillyer to his daughter Marlais for her 21st birthday in 1967. Wyatt's letter is a confession why he has consciously chosen to not have contact with her, and an account of his life and the events leading up to her birth.

Orphaned at the tender age of 19 when both of his parents committed suicide by jumping off the same bridge, Wyatt had to move away from the big town of Halifax to the small village of Middle Economy in Nova Scotia, where he would live under the care of his aunt and uncle and work in his uncle's toboggan business. There he meets his cousin, Tilda, also a fellow orphan adopted by Wyatt's family, to whom he feels immediate attraction. But Tilda has other plans: aims to be a professional mourner in Nova Scotia and is interested in a German student, Hans Mohring, whose parents have fled the Nazis to Denmark and who came to Canada to study philology. It's 1942 and the war in Europe rages at its full fury, and the threat of German U-boats sinking ships in Canadian waters is very real to residents of the Atlantic provinces - among them Tilda's father, who is an amateur stenographer and fanatical listeners to war news on the radio, jotting down every iota of information and growing increasingly more suspicious of Hans.

Norman's novel is quiet and understated: true to its form the tone is one of reflection and reminiscence, proper for a recollection of an older man remembering his dramatic youth. I had a hard time caring for any of the characters, even taking into account the fact that the whole novel is a subjective presentation of a series of Wyatt's memories. Wyatt himself was to passive and spineless to be a protagonist to root for, Hans was too distant a character and Tilda never felt quite real. I expected much more of the setting, which I thought was very underused - Atlantic Canada provides for memorable locale, with its rugged coastlines, foggy shores and unpredictable weather, combined with almost Gothic fishing villages with their closely knit communities - represented brilliantly by Annie Proulx in her The Shipping News and by Canadian writers such as Alistair Macleod, famous for writing about his native Cape Breton Island. In comparison, Norman's portrayal seems much like a small town cliche - reducing the setting to a plastic canvas instead of a rich background.

The novel's biggest flaw is perhaps the storyline itself, which I found to be ultimately predictable and lacking novelty - even the period it's set in couldn't save it. That being said, Howard Norman is definitely an elegant writer who can craft fine sentences, and I would like to read his other novels where he hopefully does something with them.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is Left the Daughter is one, long letter written by Wyatt Hillyer to his daughter Marlais. He writes because "I refuse any longer to have my life defined by what I haven't told you." The story begins with his parents double suicide over their love for the same woman. It goes downhill from there.

I expect grief and horror from a book set during the war, but usually that is accompanied by great human courage and sacrifice. This story seemed to be all senseless acts of violence and grief inflicted on innocent people by their loved ones. There were no heroes here and I didn't find much redemption either. The characters had little depth and I never felt like I understood them. Not a book for me, but it has been well reviewed by others. Perhaps if you are interested in the history of this time then the perspective of the war from Nova Scotia could be unique.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more like 2.5. This novel should have had much going for it, it starts with two suicides, there is murder, a ferry sunk by a u-boat and another death, and adultery, but there is just a depth of emotion missing in it that really bothered me. The writing was fine, the book was relatively easy to read, but the first person narrative just left me cold. It is hard to become invested in a novel, when one doesn't really feel like they know the characters in this almost emotionless novel.

[Misha · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading the book, I was so sure it would be a 5 star read . But by the time, I had reached the middle, it became a little dull at parts.Don't get me wrong! This is still an amazing novel, just not as great as I expected.

This book is written in the form of Wyatt, the narrator's letter to his daughter - a sort of confession.
Wyatt is someone I sympathized a lot with. His parents' double suicide changed his life forever. What I really admired was Wyatt admitted to all his mistakes and never held back from admitting everything to his daughter.He described his life in an unbiased, honest manner which made me genuinely care for him.

What is Left the Daughter also offers a glimpse on the prevailing paranoia during the war. Suspicion, hatred, prejudice prevailed in the hearts of people. A German was detested no matter what, even if innocent of all wrongdoings.

Though it seemed to drag at times, it is still a beautifully written book that will linger in your mind. Its heartbreaking and won't be easy to forget.

Favorite Quote:
"In The Highland Book of Platitudes, Marlais, there's an entry that reads, "Not all ghosts earn our memory in equal measure." I think about this sometimes. I think especially about the word "earn," because it implies an ongoing willful effort on the part of the dead, so that if you believe the platitude, you have to believe in the afterlife, don't you? Following that line of thought, there seem to be certain people—call them ghosts—with the ability to insinuate themselves into your life with more belligerence and exactitude than others—it's their employment and expertise."

Overall:
Haunting and thought-provoking...

Recommended?
Yes! Especially if you loved Atonement by Ian McEwan

[Lawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A father writes a letter to his daughter whom he has not seen since she was two. It is his story to her of her family, their tragedies, and their love for one another. Set against the U-Boat war fought around Nova Scotia, Norman provides a unique look at life on the home front during the Atlantic War. The sinking of a civilian ferry will bring shattering changes to the small town of Middle Economy, Nova Scotia and the family at the heart of Norman's story. Norman's use of the epistolary style quickly becomes an intimate conversation with a man with whom you want to spend an afternoon, sipping tea and eating scones, smoking an occasional Chesterfield, surrounded by the music he has come to love through the years, played upon an ancient gramophone. Even the hiss of the phonograph needle becomes part of the background noise that lures you into the story protagonist Wyatt Hillyer is compelled to tell. Simply excellent.

[Ron Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nobody screams in Howard Norman's new novel, although they should. This Washington writer maintains such a measured tone that his story seems shocking only in retrospect. At the time, you lean in, trying to catch every word, lulled by his voice as he describes the most ordinary lives that just happen to be punctuated by macabre accidents and bizarre acts of violence.

Everything in "What Is Left the Daughter" sounds smothered in regret, worn smooth in the closet of a man's guilty conscience. It's a World War II tale that reminds us, again, of the innumerable tragedies spawned by war but born thousands of miles away from battle. The story opens, like his most famous book, "The Bird Artist," with a confession: "I've waited until now to relate the terrible incident that I took part in on October 16, 1942, when I was nineteen."

The narrator is 43-year-old Wyatt Hillyer, who will spend the next 26 nights writing this long letter to his estranged daughter. It's a petition for her understanding and forgiveness, which Wyatt knows he can't expect. "I have no way of knowing," he writes, "if, after you've read a paragraph or two, any curiosity you might've had will abruptly sour to disgust, or worse." We never learn how his daughter reacts to this strange testimony, but you'll find it hard to resist his earnest appeal.

An award-winning translator who teaches creative writing at the University of Maryland, College Park, Norman offers a kind of rough-hewn poetry throughout, starting with that Yoda-like title, "What Is Left the Daughter." Wyatt is not a pretentious narrator -- he dropped out of high school and works as a maritime garbage collector -- but he's a determined student of language, who prizes the frayed "Webster's" he bought from a pawnshop for a dollar. There's an antique patina to his diction, although it's not pronounced: passing allusions to "mute angels," a stillborn birth as a "ghost child" or a blacksmith "taut of build." In the opening pages of his confession, he refers to John Keats and Emily Dickinson, an indication of the ardor that simmers just below the surface of his carefully chosen words.

The odd disconnect between the novel's sober tone and its outrageous plot is on display as soon as Wyatt begins: "Let me say it directly . . ." Twenty-six years ago, on the day his parents discovered they were both having an affair with the same switchboard operator, they leapt from separate bridges in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Orphaned but almost a man, Wyatt moves in with his aunt and uncle and begins making mail-order toboggans. He also falls in love with their adopted daughter, Tilda, who works as a professional mourner at funerals. (Yes, the story is marked by distinctly unusual jobs; Howard Norman and Anne Tyler should open a Weird Employment Agency.)

Wyatt's unrequited love for Tilda remains the foundation of his entire life -- "She was too much beauty," he recalls -- but the story is propelled by his uncle's growing anxiety about the war. Like the father in Philip Roth's "Plot Against America," Wyatt's uncle senses the danger of Hitler early but then lets it unhinge him. Hypnotized by static-laced radio reports of the U-boats prowling Canada's eastern shore, he can think and talk of nothing else. "Your aunt complains that I'm becoming more and more agitated by the day," he tells Wyatt. "Truth is, she only knows the half of just how agitated I am." Soon, the walls of his workshop are plastered with newspaper headlines of U-boat attacks, a reflection of the obsession colonizing his mind. It's a sad portrait of justified alarm and corrosive rage that ruins those he most wants to protect. (It's also a disturbing lesson on a bit of obscure history about what our northern neighbors suffered during World War II.)

All of this develops with a muted but insistent sense of menace, which Norman signals by a series of surreal images, such as a bed covered in broken bits of Beethoven records. "This war," a neighbor tells Wyatt, " -- all of us are coming apart at the seams." When the "terrible incident" of Oct. 16, 1942, arrives, it's somehow shocking and inevitable, and Wyatt's culpability is brilliantly complicated. With just a few ordinary characters -- all strict, upstanding people, in a remote town that should feel safe and tranquil -- Norman catches a stray spark of war that incinerates several lives.

The structure of the novel, though, puts considerable pressure on Norman's ability to maintain momentum. The act that alters the rest of Wyatt's life comes just halfway through the book, and even though it's a short novel, that leaves the whole second half for the narrator's stunned reflection on that tragedy. "I've sometimes raced over the years like an ice skater fleeing the devil on a frozen river," he says, and that rushing survey of the years causes the story to flag as it sinks into the dark waters of his despair.

But trust him. More strange revelations await in Wyatt's plea to his daughter. The novel gains traction again as he nears the conclusion, vowing that "the truth is the truth, and in the end it can't be lost to excuses, cowardice or lies." It's a convincing demonstration of the truism he throws off so casually on the first page: "Life is unpredictable."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...

[Kristina Coop-a-Loop · Rating 1 out of 5]

What is Left the Daughter is one of those books I bought during my earlier buying sprees (2010) and never got around to reading. The dust jacket has beautiful artwork and I really like the title (although I want to put a question mark at the end of it). So I pulled it from the shelf a few weeks ago thinking I would give it a go. Unfortunately, I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored.

This book is written as one long letter to the narrator's daughter, explaining to her basically the story of her parents' lives. It's full of love, lust, and betrayal set against the backdrop of World War Two. Unfortunately, I'm bored senseless. It's not the book's fault. It's well-written. The characters are quirky and probably interesting. There's a very dry wit to the writing. I recognize the humor--I just don't think it's funny. This book isn't very long (243 pages) but I had to stop at page 60. Life's too short, too many books, etc. The book reminds me of Christopher Guest's movies Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. The same type of gentle, dry wit and sly observations on human behavior. I didn't like those movies either even though I recognized that I should have found them funny. This book is exactly like that. The failure is with me, not the book (or the movies).

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard Norman, one of America's premier novelists, has written a tour de force with WHAT IS LEFT THE DAUGHTER. Toward the end of the novel, the narrator quotes the phonograph record liner notes for Casals' performance of Bach's unaccompanied cello suites, "Casals succeeds in not allowing a single note of compromised sadness." The same could be said for Howard Norman in this haunting and deeply moving novel, written as a confession (apology, in the classic sense) from an aging father to his daughter. In Norman's other novels, there is a sense of resignation and inevitability, as people act from subconscious and deeply rooted motives. This novel retains that sense of fate and yet seems more at peace with it. Wyatt Hillyer is a matter-of-fact voice, even when relating the most distressing information, almost an observer of his own life. Norman's narration allows to to know people as we do in life, slowly and piecemeal. This is a novel to be read when one has time to give oneself over to the moment and allow another person to enter one's life. In other words, it's a great read.

[Britany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wyatt Hillyer's parents both jumped off two separate bridges on the same night, leaving him alone and orphaned. He goes to live with his Aunt, Uncle, and adopted cousin Tilda, who becomes the love of his life.

Set during WWII in Middle Economy, Canada, we have another perspective of this time period. Anger and uncertainty towards Germans and living by the side of a radio, waiting and listening for any news of the war.

I listened to this on audiobook, and I have to say the narrator was amazing! He really made this book interesting and the tones he used with the voicing of the different characters was brilliant. I would recommend this on audiobook! I was shocked and surprised by the turn of events that end up happening and the downside for me would be the ending-- a little disappointed that Wyatt never met up with his daughter- we never find out if he ever goes to meet her! I hoped and hoped that they would reunite and Wyatt would have someone in his life

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

So if we’ve spent any time together you’ll know that I (occasionally) refer to the book I’m currently reading as “the best book ever.” I recognize I have a problem with hyperbole; I’m conscious of my excesses (most of the time). And so it happens once again that of late I’ve been talking up a novel as perfect and exquisite, in this case, Howard Norman’s What is Left the Daughter. But then! Circumstances conspired such that I boarded a bus, finished the last three pages of the novel, and had an entire hour and a half WITHOUT A BOOK with nothing to do but stare out the window and contemplate the book. And the more I sat and thought about What is Left the Daughter the less satisfied I became, the more contrived the ending, the more affected the tone, the more moralistic the plot (as if morals were, in their own right, dissatisfying).

And so I find myself at something of a loss writing this review.

Norman does tremendous, really tremendous, work grafting small, quotidian moments together to form rich, idiosyncratic yet utterly believable characters. Tiny scenes, like that of eating lunch on a bus, paradoxically distill and explode character in ways typically reserved for the best short stories.

On the other hand the setting of small town - Middle Economy - Nova Scotia during WWII reads as a cliche of every small town you’ve ever read (think of a blend of Richard Russo, Alistair MacLeod and Anne Tyler), complete with tiny diner and eccentric neighbours (so much so, in fact, that for the first 30 pages I wondered - truthfully - whether I’d read the book before).

The plot, too, balances the brilliant with the bland. I won’t spoil the climax - as it is - but I was left gasping, shocked, and yet, convinced that it should happen that way (and so brilliant). But then the ending falls short. Another case of an author unwilling to do what is necessary in order to be truthful to the plot that’s preceded and to the created characters. And with that said, the last two sentences are thematic perfection.

And Norman’s book raises all kinds of interesting questions about a national literature: is it setting that determines national lit? author’s nationality? duration of an author’s visit? thematic preoccupations? what’s the point of national literature anyway? I’ll not answer any of those questions, because I don’t have to anymore.

So without being able to articulate a decisive reaction to the text I’ll ask instead ‘when do we stop reading?’ as I have a suspicion the characters of What is Left the Daughter and their decisions will continue to populate my waking thoughts for days to come - and maybe that means I’m still reading? And so I can hold out hope that I’ll make up my mind about the text sooner or later - except not wanting to actually have to decide. Maybe this is what we readers owe the brilliant (or the almost-brilliant in this case) books in our lives: that we take them around with us after, never wanting them to feel wholly settled, but rather perched just this side of comfortable.

[Lydia Presley · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a letter to his daughter, Marlais, Wyatt Hillyer begins with the following line:

"I refuse any longer to have my life defined by what I haven't told you."

And I was drug, hook, line and sinker, into the story as told by the man himself in a 200+ page letter to his daughter.

Wyatt Hillyer's life is a jumbled mess of tragedy - from the double-suicide of his parents to the loss of his one love during a time when Germans in Nova Scotia, even the innocent ones, are scorned and treated horribly.

This book is a fantastic look at the Canadian life during the second world war, touching on the fears of old men hunched over their radios and whispering about the U-Boats to the prejudices of the young over-zealots, attacking even those speaking with an accent. And through this letter there is one, main, important theme: that of a father telling his daughter all she needs to know about her past and her fathers past.

This is no story of redemption - Wyatt's actions he claims full responsibility for and I appreciated that so very much. In a book that could have been sappy and full of self-pity, I found none of that. It was refreshing to read a character who was so open and honest with himself and the others in his life, so frank when it came to talking about the deeds he's done and the crimes he's committed.

The author Frank Delaney (Shannon Ireland ) said "If your narrator is first person, have them make errors; it can endear them to the reader." and Howard Norman showcases this in fine form. WHAT IS LEFT THE DAUGHTER is a beautifully written, heart-rending novel that will have me thinking about its story for days to come.

[Roxanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very unimpressed. I expected a lot of emotion from a book set during the war, included 2 suicides, infidelity, murder and more death. I had a very hard time with Wyatt Hillyer. Wyatt is such a bystander (loser) in his own life. I just could not empathize with him from the very start when he did not show complete devestation from the loss of both his parents. I would have preferred a storyline including more depth into his parents. I love Canada, but the war issues just seemed to go on and on. I just tended to glaze over during these periods. Also, I'm not a classical music fan and this also seemed to go on and on. Thus, I'm again glazing over. It was just oversaturation of the two for me.

I did have a few chuckles (2 I think). Other than that, I don't think this book was worth my time. I know many others rated this book very high, I'm a hard sell and I think some of the subject matter was very boring to me.

[Katie Marquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all of Howard Norman's fiction, this book left me feeling delightfully melancholy. Norman is such an expert at tone and atmosphere. The gray, wind-swept fishing villages of Nova Scotia are perfect for these stories of lost love, death, crimes, delayed punishment, and existential confusion. I've noticed a trend now that I've read quite a few Norman novels, and it's that our narrator is normally a shockingly passive man. Strange events, and sometimes unspeakable actions, seem to simply happen to him. He is surrounded by eccentric family members and usually has a complicated relationship with the love of his life, who may or may not return his feelings. This was a thoughtful story, contained within the frame of a letter to an estranged daughter, and I highly recommend it. Beautifully written and expertly executed.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great way to close out one year and enter the next! The characters are well-developed and the story weaves in the context of the times (1941, WWII, anti-German sentiment). Reading this was like sitting in a confessional, listening to one man’s life — his loves, joys, wants, mistakes, losses, redemption — as he recalls and shares these stories with his long estranged daughter. It doesn’t end in a tidy way, but given the rest of the story I wouldn’t expect it to.

[Ashley Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wyatt got felt a raw deal in life and his daughter even worse! Interesting fiction with true WW2 events woven into the storyline.

[Martha☀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norman captures the soul of Middle Economy, a Maritime town ever-influenced by the sea and the weather. There is something so truly Canadian in his characters - their grounded hopes, their acceptance of dashed possibilities and their satisfaction with the status quo.

This is a tale of unrequited loves, all told through Wyatt. His parents died as a result of a truly bizarre love triangle and so he lost the love of his parents. He learns to love again with his aunt and uncle but those loves are both cut short. The love of his life fizzles and snuffs out. And then he loses contact with his baby daughter, his final attempt to love.

And yet - he carries on, hopeful and diligent. Wyatt accepts what has been doled out to him and, like the flotsam and jetsam of his work, he is pushed around by the tide anchorless.

I learned a huge amount about WW2 and the impact it had on the Maritime provinces. Pardon my ignorance but I didn't know that passenger ferries and other non-military ships were sunk by German torpedos and U-Boats in the St Lawrence river back in 1942. I now have some non-fiction reading to do on the topic.

A beautiful portrayal of character and place, ending with hope and renewal.

[Barb H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this story purportedly relates to WW II, in many ways that is only tangential. A young man's parents commit suicide within hours of each other by jumping from separate bridges. He is left to cope with this horrifying situation and goes to live with an aunt and uncle. His continuing existence is thus spelled out with letters he writes later to his daughter.

The novel is told in a gentle, frequently subdued manner, yet it contains many stirring and profound moments. The main character, Wyatt, is more reflective in his reaction to the numerous incidents that occur around him. It would have been expected that he would be devastated by at least some of these events, but the author did not convey this reaction.

Norman did portray the environment around his characters quite well. I could almost see and feel the pounding ocean, the storms and the little, close-knit town where the major part of this tale occured.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that requires some readers' discipline to keep reading because although the writing is beautiful, the action is basically an accumulation of prosaic details, and the characters are, let's say, odd and detached (easy to care about but hard to truly understand). But then you reach the end! And, against all reason, you award What Is Left the Daughter a bunch of stars in an attempt to encourage other readers to JUST KEEP READING because the writing, the prosaic details, and the odd characters are simply worth the work.

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I liked it, but I doubt if it leaves any lasting impression. I did learn a bit about Canadian German submarine warfare off the coast of Nova Scotia during WW2. This story is a letter of love and explanation from father to daughter. The daughter did not grow up with the father. The family situation is a puzzle that is unraveled so his daughter will better understand. Perfect narration by Bronson Pinchot. It sounds exactly as if the father were reading a letter he has written to his own daughter.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a librarian I heartily approve of this book. Sex in the library...even! Good exploration of how people become educated about the importance of kindness and human decency. The madness of war and how it makes folks of limited intelligence and experience react badly toward individuals they have lumped together as "the enemy."

[Peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

In just 243 pages, Howard Norman has told a very complete, satisfying, entertaining story. Easily in my top 10 for this year.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for books set in Nova Scotia in anticipation of our trip to the Maritime provinces. Howard Norman fit the bill. A former Canadian resident he now lives in Vermont.
The book takes place in Halifax and the little town curiously named Middle Economy initially during WWII. There is indeed a community named Economy still today.
The narrator of the book is Wyatt Hillier who loses both parents on the same day when they jump off different bridges in Halifax.
Wyatt goes to live with his aunt and uncle in Middle Economy where he apprentices with his uncle as a custom builder of sleds and toboggans. Wyatt is smitten with their adopted daughter Tilda.
The story proceeds at a leisurely pace as it follows Wyatt and the family. Uncle Donald is obsessive about war news. Tilda is practicing her trade as a professional mourner, paid to mourn at the funeral services of deceased persons without family to mourn for them. Throughout the life of the place and time unfolds. When the pivotal event occurred it came as a shock to me. You’ll have to read it to find out.
It’s a charming, quirky, quietly profound story beautifully read on the audio book by Bronson Pinchot.

[Veronica Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another deeply moving human exposition by Howard Norman... having stumbled on him only recently and read three of his books in succession, I am in awe. His writing is so subtle and lyrical, yet feels almost ordinary - and his characters so rich and nuanced, by the end of each novel, I feel like I deeply, truly know them. I am extremely pleased with his characters of 'average intelligence.' All too often, they are portrayed as less than intelligent, especially as compared to the overly brilliant hero of the tale.
What is Left the Daughter is 'written' by Wyatt Hillyer, a quite ordinary man, as a missive to his long-lost daughter. He might have lived an ordinary life, if life hadn't made other plans; such as his parents committing suicide when he was seventeen. He went to live with an aunt and uncle and would have been content to take over his uncle's business, if only he hadn't fallen in love with his adopted cousin, Tilda. If only his uncle wasn't obsessed with the events of WWII taking place in Europe. If only, if only...
Howard Norman explores the butterfly effect in ordinary lives so beautifully, I am grateful that he has produced such a vast body of work, that might take me years to get through.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well paced and interesting story. There is quite a bit of drama and emotional turmoil, but the way the story is told makes it easier to digest. I really enjoyed this take on the family saga genre.

There's a part of me that wishes it had ended in a more "wrapped up" way, but I think the unresolved nature of the ending actually rings true to life.

[Jessica Rosner · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Nova Scotia a man writes a letter to the daughter he never got to know.
He begins at the beginning, and takes us through his traumatic entry into adulthood, through his loves, friendships, jobs, war, and the messiness of post war life.
Simply gorgeous, never bleak (how is this possible?), always compassionately human.