" - Nancy Schiefer, The London Free Press It is a thought-provoking look at one of the country's most respected writers. It is a collection of commentand complaint, enthusiasm and exultation that will appeal to readers already familiar withEngel's work and with her cast of mind. The scattered nature of the book suggests that it be read piece-meal. "An aspiring biographer interested in writing the life of Marian Engel would do well to study the late writer's copious notebooks, now compiled in comprehensive volume.Fans of the writer will also be pleased with Verduyn's scholarly offering, a treasure trove of information both about Engel's too-brief life and about the scaffolding upon which she built her well-earned reputation.Engel's notebooks are not to be scanned in one or two or even six sittings. Beran, American Review of Canadian Studies, Vol. " Marian Engel's Notebooks provides a wealth of material for reconsidering Engel's achievements. " - Laurie McNeill, Canadian Literature, 178, Autumn 2003 "Establishes the cahiers' public value as literary and social history. It provides insight into the literary life of one of Canada’s significant woman writers, including her connections with other Canadian writers, and will be of special interest to scholars working in the field of literature.Įditor's Choice, 1999 - The Globe and Mail, December 11, 1999 Marian Engel’s Notebooks: “Ah, mon cahier, écoute.” leaves readers with a vivid sense of Canadian culture during the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, they present moving documentation of a woman facing cancer and early death.Ĭhristl Verduyn’s illuminating introductory discussions to each of the notebooks unobtrusively guide us in the reading of these sometimes difficult writings. The notebooks also portray Engel’s surprising leaps of logic, her fascination with the bizarre, the eclecticism of her reading and the depth and variety of her thinking. The material collected in Marian Engel’s Notebooks: “Ah, mon cahier, écoute.” is a major step in redressing that neglect.Įxtracts carefully chosen by Christl Verduyn from Marian Engel’s forty-nine notebooks - notebooks Engel began in the late 1940s and which she maintained until her death in 1985 - track Engel’s creative development, illustrate her commitment to the craft of writing and document her growth as a major Canadian writer. Although she is recognized as a distinguished woman of letters, she has not been widely studied consequently we know relatively little about her and her craft. Marian Engel emerged as a writer during that period in Canada when nationalism increased and “new feminism” dawned.
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