Summer of my amazing luck

i immediately became best friends with all of the characters. even the ones who kinda made me roll my eyes a little. everyone was so warm and vibrant and alive that i connected to all of them in some way almost immediately, and so, i really felt it when their stories were recounted. or when times got tough.

there was commentary on the welfare system in the 90s. there was some moralizing, and there were some shots at a system that seems determined to hurt and kill people. but, rather than get bogged down in frustration, the novel expresses this angst and frustration through occasional outbursts from lish. little bits of an insane response while living through insane circumstances of poverty and life on the dole. which is great, because it's hard not to become frustrated or even angry about how cruel and absurd being on welfare is. but the novel remains largely focused on the stories it tells, of lucy, of lish, and of the other women at half-a-life. and it mostly treats the hypocrisy and incongruity in the system with a quick joke for a cheap laugh. which contributes to the warmth in lucy's narrative.

it was also a loving tribute to poor single motherhood. to the joys and the hardships of surviving and taking care of your kids. the dedication of the mostly young mothers. the adversity they just kinda shrug off and live with to protect their kids, time after time after time. the stigma of being on welfare, and the consequences of that stigma in how men treat them. but also the joy in the little weird things kids do. grass tipping from dill's head and confusing him, as he leans down to pick more grass, to put more grass on his head. the little noises and quirks. lish's precocious kids absolutely loving to learn, loving school, and putting on little performances and playing games as they grow up.

this was a wonderful novel to get absorbed into and i'm very lucky that my girlfriend was sweet enough to lend it to me <3

I loved this book. This may be my favourite Toews novel so far. Toews has a wonderful and humorous way of illustrating her characters' resilience in the face of hardship and tragedy. Also, the details she uses create such verisimilitude, I almost believe that Half a Life is an actual place, and the characters in it are living, breathing human beings. For instance, the Sikh caretaker, Singh Dillon, is called "Sing Dylan" by the residents of Half a Life, and this quirky little detail seems so odd and funny that it simply must be real. Lish's ever-present spider-pin, that is shined up for special occasions, is another such detail.

In my work, I know a lot of single mothers, and I hear about their stories and their struggles, so this novel rang very true for me. However, although it deals with people in difficult circumstances, it's not a Sad Sack sort of book. It made me laugh out loud many times.