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To whom do we offer refuge -- and why?
After a life that rubbed up against the century's great events in New York City, Mexico, and Montreal, 96-year-old Cassandra MacCallum is surviving well enough, alone on her island, when a young Burmese woman contacts her, claiming to be kin. Curiosity, loneliness, and a slender filament of hope prompts the old woman to accept a visit. But Nang's story of torture and flight provokes memories in Cass that peel back, layer by layer, the events that brought her to this moment -- and forces her, against her will, to confront the tragedy she has refused for half a century. Could her son really be Nang's grandfather? What does she owe this girl, who claims to be stateless because of her MacCallum blood? Drawn, despite herself, into Nang's search for refuge, Cass struggles to accept the past and find a way into whatever future remains to her.
About this Author
Merilyn Simonds is the author of 20 books, including the nonfiction classic The Convict Lover, Gutenberg's Fingerprint, and most recently, the novel Refuge. The founding artistic director of Kingston WritersFest, Simonds is an influential champion of writers and writing. She lives with writer and translator Wayne Grady and divides her time between Kingston, Ontario, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Reviews
"Do you believe what you see with your eyes or what you see with your heart? That question, raised by Simonds' layered and nuanced account of an extraordinary life, will provoke thought in skeptics and believers alike." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Against the backdrop of almost a century of Canadian, Mexican, and American history, Simonds explores the sometimes unknown, astonishing, and enduring-against-all-odds connections between siblings, parents, and children that span generations and the globe." -- Booklist
"Real people and events are woven into this work of fiction, enhancing its intrigue and authenticity without removing the spotlight from Cass. Cass's obsession with scientific experimentation and examination ... infuses the story with detail, insight, and depth." -- Foreword Reviews
"Artful and allusive." -- Quill & Quire
"A silk scarf of a novel, which catches on far-flung places and deep heartaches, and gathers them into an old woman's gnarled and feisty memory. Merilyn Simonds shows how mysterious we remain to ourselves and to each other after even a century of living." -- Elizabeth Hay, author of Giller Prize-winning Late Nights on Air
"This page-turner of a novel vividly captures some of the great historical moments of the 20th century through the intimate gaze of its vibrant heroine, Cass MacCallum. Merilyn Simonds is equally at home whether writing about 1930's Mexico or New York in the war years or Montreal or the Canadian countryside. Her beautiful, lucid prose brings to life these worlds and the unforgettable characters she peoples them with. Refuge reminds us of how the gift of sanctuary shapes both those who offer it and those who receive it. A landmark achievement in Simonds's already illustrious career." -- Shyam Selvadurai, author of Books in Canada First Novel Award-winning Funny Boy
"Revolving around a single unlikely hub -- the restless and irascible Cass McCallum (whose motto might be: living is hard, but loving is harder) -- this journey through the 20th century is energized by fateful encounters with people, places, history, and nature, all of which invite us to reconsider the world we think we know, and the kinships we think we share, even with those we hold most dear." -- John Vaillant, Governor General's Award-winning author of The Jaguar's Children
"This novel patiently accrues richness and layered resonance in the manner of a long life -- in fact, like the almost century-long life of its stubborn, vital heroine. It also explores in personal and intimate terms the most important issues of our time: the nature of borders and belonging, and the plight of the refugee." --Steven Heighton, author of the Governor General's Award-winning The Waking Comes Late
"Simonds paints a portrait of two intriguing women who have more in common than is at first obvious. Without being overly sentimental, it's a moving and deeply satisfying tale." -- NY Journal of Books
"A novel that went by so fast I had to stop and start over again. Simonds is one of those (few) writers who can pull off fiction and fact." -- Owen Sound Sun Times
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