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PAGE 18 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1993 How a book comes to be is sometimes of as much interest to me as why it works well. Jane Urquhart is a writer from Wellesley who, | wager, is about to become internationally known if she isn‘t already. Her path and mine have crossed at several points and | eagerly awaited her new novel about Irish immigrants to Canada. But I get ahead of myself. Jane was a student at University of Guelph in the late sixtiesâ€"early seventies. | was there at the same time though we did not meet. She married Tony Urquhart, the artist and fine arts professor at U. of Watertoo. Tony grew up in Niagara Falls, as did |, and my grandmother and his mother were both members of the same church group. it was his grandmother‘s diaries as wife of the Nia: gara Falls undertaker that lead to Jane‘s first novel,Whiripool. Jane read from this book at an author breakfast sponsored by Words Worth Books in October, 1986. She was the "opener" for a reading by Timothy Findlay. He was impressed by her book and has written glowing dustjacket praise for her subsequent books, Changing Heaven and now Away (McLelland & Stewart, 356 pages, $18.99 paperback}. . â€" Blown "Away" by Urquhart‘s novel My grandmother died in August 1991 and | was given her diaries. They were a daily recording of who carme to visit, called or wrote, what bills were paid, shopping and chores were done, and so on. | was inspired to write some book based on these and approached Jane for help. By the sparkle in her eye | knew she was excited about the work, though unsure how to help. We also talked about my teen years spent in Batawa, a factory town north of Trenton. That too she saw as a setting for a novel. No more was said about her own work in progress although she drops in to our bookstore regularty. As I mentioned in this space, Jane‘read from Away at a gathering of booksellers in Lonâ€" don in July. | was captivated by the passage from early in the book where the central character, Mary, is spellâ€"bound by the shipwreck which leaves a nandsome sailor to die in her arms on the shores of an Inish island. The locals including her mother and the priest surmise that Mary is "away‘. that her persona has been stolen to the spinit world by the dead sailor, and the physical body left behind is merely a shadow of her former TWST N° HAUSEN IS A FIRST CLASS OKTOBERFEST HALL WMITH A CAPACITY OF OVER 2000 PEOPLE. WE FEATURE NON STOP ENTERTAINMENT, DELCIOUS BAVARIAN BUFFET, BAVARIAN DANCERSSEVEN PIECE OOM PAH PAH BAND, SATELLITE DISH WMITH SIXTEEN SCREENS, OKTOBERFEST SOUVENIR BOOTH, AND MUCH MUCH MORE. GRAND OPENING AND KEG TAPPING FRIDAY OCTOBER 8 6:30 to 100 FAMILY DAY , MONDAY OCTOBER 11 NOON to 600 K1DS 12 AND UNDER FREE WITH PARENTS SIX TIME GEMUTLICHEKEIT AWARD WINNER FOR BEST LARGE FESTHALLE as awarded by Kâ€"W OKTOBERFEST CALL TODAY! ORDER YOUR TICKETS NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT. TCKET OFFICE HOURS: MONDAY TQ FRIDAY (CLOSED WEDNESDAY) ‘%00 ~ NOON 100 ~500 _ â€"â€" WeE ACCEPT CASH.CERTFED CHEQUE.V&A 519 886~7730 _ 341 MARSLAND DRIVE WATERLOO TWIST N‘ HAUSEN | | 9 530 to 10 After the reading I approached Jane and asked for her copy of the manuscript to read. (1 didn‘t dscoverfilweekqlmmwleypmviewcopies were not bding fnade available even to the pubâ€" lisher‘s sales staff.) | spread the pleasure of readâ€" Now, two weeks later during which I‘ve bee n up to my ears in opening a branch store at Kitchâ€" ener‘s City Hall, | still feel strongly that this is a book of substantial quality that should propel Jane ing Away over two weekends at the cottage. to international recognition and Canadian bestâ€" Why should you read it? Because it reaffirms the novel as an art form. As Timothy Findlay says, "The uses to which she puts her command of lanâ€" guage are beautiful and breathtaking." This is a saga in the Victorian tradition of Hardy or Bronte. It spans four generations and encompasses to settling of Canada and the murder of D‘Arcy McGee. Among the many important insights the novel raises is the parallel between the exploitaâ€" tion of the Irish by the English landlords and the invasion of the colonists on native soil. The risks taken by the Irish peasants who left the blackened potato fields behind for the frozen shores of Lake Ontario; the struggle to farm on the thin soils of the Canadian Shield; the enchantment of Mary‘s daughter with an Irish dancer...all are threads that form a rich tapestry. Away is a book not to be missed. s Jane Urquhart will be reading from Away this week on Morningside, and on November Sth at the Seagram Museum. Chuck Erion is a Waterioo bookseller and freeâ€" murspab&Qrdbet 14 | 730 to 100 GMWRENALLEF T sdhiéjocroesn 16 5:00 to 100 GEMUETUCHKET NIGHT FRIDAY OCTOBER 15 6:30 to 100 ‘ sPORTSMAN SPECIAL 10%0 FFifi’% K.WL.T. celebrates the opening of Stage One Tomorrow‘s Dreams Begin Today! * Tap + Jazz * Ballet * Kids in Motion Wed. 5â€"6 p.m. Ages 3 & 4 yrs. Wed. 6â€"7 p.m. Ages 5 & 6 yrs. Sat. 10â€"11 a.m. Ages 4, 5 & 6 yrs. * Ballet * Tap Fri. 6â€"7 p.m. Ages 3â€"6 yrs. Sat. 12â€"1 p.m. Ages 7â€"12 yrs Sat. 11â€"12 p.m. Ages 3â€"6 yrs. Sat. 12â€"1 p.m. Ages 7â€"10 yrs. Na% *bA i’t«b%e,-f ~ esd \ t $ T9 * ko ,, ) Call Now To Register for ages 3 to adult ALL SHIMANO * ___ FISHING RODS Bojangles Dance Studio "The Only Choicg” 884â€"5730 10 Wyman Road . Hours: WATERLOO, ONT. Mon.â€"Tues. Just North of Wed.â€"rn. _ 10â€"9 ‘Conestoga Mail, off King St. Saturday . 10â€"5 746â€"2650 Sun. gone fishin‘ _ RAINBOW SPORTS Jaz Wed. 6â€"7 p.m. Ages 7â€"9 yrs. Sat. 10â€"11 a.m. Ages 7â€"9 yrs. Wed. 7â€"8 p.m. Ages 10â€"12 yrs Wed. 9â€"10 p.m. Ages Teen & Adult ;.%} Tickets $10 & $8, or the door