Question #5: How does The Illegal stack up?

[[deleted user]]

Avid Lawrence Hill fans may have recognized a few characters in The Illegal– both Mahatma Grafton and Keita’s father Yoyo originally sprang from Hill’s imagination in his very first novel, Some Great Thing, published in 1992. Have you read Hill’s other novels? If so, how do you feel The Illegal compares to his other works of fiction? If not, are you more interested in reading Hill’s work after reading The Illegal?

[Maureen]

I have The Book of Negroes on my steadily growing pile of books-to-read but the only thing I've read of Hill's prior to The Illegal was a review of Sweetland (thanks to Allison or Susan!) in the Globe. It was so beautifully written that I was determined to read more of his work right then and there.

People have said that they prefer TBON but, as mentioned, can't really comment. I know I enjoyed this novel. Hill's certainly a talented and versatile writer. Perhaps his previous works were thought to be more literary and The Illegal is leaning more towards a book-to-movie?

[Rocio]

As Maureen, I cannot comment because I hAve not read any of his other books, but high up on my list is The Book Of Negroes, I hope to ge to it soon.

[Emily]

I am a Lawrence Hill fan, so I have read all of his books, including his non-fiction. I was so excited to see Yoyo and Mahatma again, even though Some Great Thing wasn't my favourite of his books. I love the little Easter Eggs that Hill leaves in his novels - characters from his previous novels, his almost outlandish references to Canada that nobody but a Canadian novelist would make... :)

The Book of Negroes is a singular work - the first book that made me truly interested in Hill's writing, like a lot of other people. I read it when it first came out, so I'm thinking of reading it again, as it has been a long time now!

The Illegal is very different from Hill's other works in a lot of ways - he often leans towards historical fiction, so having a novel set not only in the future but in a fictionalized place was quite a departure. When I think of his novels, though, a few key things come to mind: stories of overcoming injustice and revealing both the best and the worst of a given society or culture, humour, amazing and three-dimensional characters of colour, and rich storytelling. I think The Illegal has those things covered!

[Susan]

Oakville wrote: "Avid Lawrence Hill fans may have recognized a few characters in The Illegal– both Mahatma Grafton and Keita’s father Yoyo originally sprang from Hill’s imagination in his very first..."

I read The Book of Negroes and was fascinated by it, among many reasons being that i love historical fiction and learning about parts of Canadian history not taught (at least when I went to school).. I never wanted to put BON down and I never wanted it to end. The main character was amazing.

I hadn't read any of Lawrence Hill's other books until this one. One of the benefits of joining a book club! The Illegals is a good read ... not sure it convinces me to go back to Hill's previous works ... there are just so many books to read. That said, I continue to applaud how he shines the light on social conditions and just love some of the crazy references to things like "Tim Hortons" available around the world. As a local (and good) author, I will continue to support him.

[Allison]

Maureen wrote: "I have The Book of Negroes on my steadily growing pile of books-to-read but the only thing I've read of Hill's prior to The Illegal was a review of Sweetland (thanks to Allison or Susan!) in the Gl..."

Maureen and Rocio, Book of Negroes is certainly worth your time. I thought the first half of it was absolutely brilliant!

[Allison]

Susan wrote: "Oakville wrote: "Avid Lawrence Hill fans may have recognized a few characters in The Illegal– both Mahatma Grafton and Keita’s father Yoyo originally sprang from Hill’s imagination ..."

Susan, reading historical fiction is the only way I can seem to learn history. I agree with you too that while The illegal was a good read, it may not be Hill's finest. I very much enjoyed it though, and think he is quite a talented storyteller.

[Susan]

What a great discussion. I agree with so much of what has been said. Like Allison, I learn history much better from reading historical fiction. And that leads to an interesting discussion from a column that Lawrence Hill wrote in The Globe and Mail this past weekend after Harper Lee died. The title was "How Harper Lee helped Canadians ignore racism in our own backyard.:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/n...
His premise is that Canadian students should read about Canadian history rather than U.S. history. Perhaps they should read something by him rather than a story about racism in the U.S. south, although he doesn't make this direct suggestion.

I love Lawrence Hill's non-fiction writing, and could listen to him speak anywhere, anytime. He is so eloquent. I think his non-fiction is perhaps stronger than his fiction. I thought very highly of The Book of Negroes, but thought it was too long and had trouble with the ending. I'd never discourage anyone from reading it, though, as so many people love it. It's an important story, beautifully told. I'd say I preferred it over The Illegal.

In the CBC interview I've referenced in the earlier questions, Hill says that writing The Illegal in a fictional place allowed him to have fun and be imaginative. It must have been so different from writing his earlier works of historical fiction.

[Susan]

I just found an interesting interview with Hill in The Ottawa Citizen. Here's an excerpt:
"Why set The Illegal in the future in two fictional countries?

“Part of it was because of the weight and the struggles of The Book of Negroes, I wanted to write in a different way. I didn’t want to feel beholden to a specific geo-political reality. I didn’t want a reader to say ‘This isn’t Canada, it doesn’t work.’ I wanted to be able to pick and choose from the very worst of public policies.

“Fast forward a bit and imagine a country electing a government like the Front Nationale in France. It’s a bit more believable to have a dystopia, if it’s a year or two ahead of time.

“I made up the countries because I felt it would loosen up my imagination and allow my writing to be more playful and to allow me to draw from what’s going on around the world. I wanted to create a world that seemed to be a political nightmare with a really evil government coming to power.”

http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainmen...

[Dana]

Like a few others, this was my first Lawrence Hill book and I think I would like to read Book of Negroes now.... I really enjoyed his writing style! I have also wanted to read more historical fiction, so that will be a good start.