Kirjahaku

Spanning generations, River of the Brokenhearted explores the life of this formidable woman, a pioneer before the age of feminism, and her legacy as it unfolds tragically in the lives of her son and grandchildren.

From literary legend David Adams Richards comes the breathtaking final instalment of his epic Miramichi Trilogy. When John Delano is asked by the sister of Orville MacDurmot to investigate his violent death and the accusations of murder that haunted his final days, Delano embarks on a journey that will pull him deep into Miramichi's shadowy history and the pasts of those who conspired against him. Bullied as a child for his meagre upbringing and blindness in one eye, Orville broke from his humble roots to become an internationally renowned archeologist, a position those along the Miramichi treat with both pride and resentment. Not one to suffer fools gladly, Orville finds himself progressively at odds with the region's elite, who wish to use his eminence for their own gains and enlist him for their political causes. As resentments old and new fester, suspicion grows and a book titled Darkness increasingly seems the origin of a crime unlike anything the Miramichi has witnessed before, Orville finds his reputation--and his life--in danger. When the remains of a young woman and man are discovered on a rugged shoreline where Orville has been working on an archeological dig, his enemies finally see their opportunity to destroy him. In a saga crossing decades, continents and generations, yet rooted in the richly conceived world of Richards' Miramichi, Darkness explores the shocking lengths we travel to fulfill personal ambition, and the tragic price we pay to defend our moral principles.

With a voice as Canadian as winter, David Adams Richards reflects on the place of hockey in the Canadian soul. The lyrical narrative of Hockey Dreams flows from Richards' boyhood games on the Miramichi to heated debates with university professors who dare to back the wrong team. It examines the globalization of hockey, and how Canadians react to the threat of foreigners beating us at "our" game. Part memoir, part essay on national identity, part hockey history, Hockey Dreams is a meditation by one of Canada's finest writers on the essence of the game that helps define our nation.

Literary legend David Adams Richards follows the epic Miramichi Trilogy with a startling standalone novel of concentrated power. The Raskin brothers were once proud to be producers of a much sought-after material of great benefit to society--asbestos. But now their mine is under close scientific scrutiny, with reports of serious illness linked to the place. The world is changing, no doubt for the better... But in the shadow of the mine, the values of a whole community are transforming, in more sinister ways. The Raskins' nephew Byron, a war hero and man of wealth, urges the brothers to look for other, less toxic minerals to extract. But meanwhile his own world is unravelling in ways that are unlikely ever to be fixed. His wife Carmel, whom he vaingloriously believed he was rescuing with his marriage proposal, has become an intellectual and political poseur. She and her son Albert are contemptuous of the values of Byron and his kind, while still finding use for his wealth and property. Carmel and Albert, it seems, are heralds of a new world addicted to mimicry and empty self-promotion, to delusions and temptations. Its victims are growing in number: a college professor in town is falsely accused of sexual harassment; a young woman is slipped an hallucinogen at a party with appalling consequences for her and two boys. And what of poor, naive Eva Mott, the captivating beauty who wished to be like her talented cousin Clara? Her story and the book that bears her name will haunt you. The Tragedy of Eva Mott has all the power and brilliance--and many flashes of wry humour--of David Adams Richards at the very top of his form. It will attract controversy but its fierce authenticity cannot be denied.

From one of Canada's most celebrated and controversial novelists comes a tale of dark aspirations, betrayal and murder. When Jamie Musselman's father is found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, it doesn't take long for rumours and suspicions about Jamie to swirl through Miramachi. Why was Jamie also shot that night? Why was money discovered under his pillow? Was it true, as some of the boys at his school claimed, that Jamie possessed a cruel nature and had even once been spotted killing robins? As the years bend on, Jamie continues to maintain his innocence, but few others, aside from his fianc e, Gertie, believe him. Including the police, who finally arrest him. Including the judge, who convicts Jamie of murder. But nothing is ever as it seems in Miramachi, a place where vanity, resentment and crimes of opportunity are forever brewing, and unlikely alliances are continually being formed. In the weeks before the murder, a self-proclaimed revolutionary had returned to Miramachi after being expelled from university; a career criminal falsely claiming Indigenous heritage had been released from jail; and a hapless bully of a father--Gertie's father--had discovered there was money in the Musselmans' home, kept in the very study where Jamie's father was found dead. Is there more to the story than the townsfolk believe? Richly conceived and fearless in its examination of morality and justice, prejudice and corruption, Songs of Love on a December Night is an epic exploration of the evil we are capable of and of the redemption we can aspire to.

Playing the Inside Out is David Adams Richard’s distilled insight on the artist’s struggle for full access to artistic integrity by remaining an outsider to convention. Richards conjures forth his vision of eternal truths commonly held by all mankind, a Miramichi cosmic consciousness that he has been working at all his life. In an entertaining, remonstrating, and ultimately uplifting essay he identifies how conformity and laziness poison artists, and the great pressures that exist for writers to "join the herd." No one can possibly read this essay and not find comments or conclusions that directly relate to them. The writer’s challenge to find and protect one’s inner honesty is deeply familiar to anyone seeking to be faithful to the true sense of "I" that dominates motivation and judgement. So personal are the truths that Richards lays out, that anyone who reads will feel Richards’ passion and find value in his practical wisdom and encouragement. Playing the Inside Out is shrewd analysis; a personal advisory directed at artists and writers in particular. But Richards’ topic and manner of address are egalitarian. He is telling us to be who we are — honestly, consistently, and with heart.Depuis plus de trente ans, l’écrivain David Adams Richards puise dans l’expérience de la marginalité de la Miramichi pour approfondir l’intérieur de l’être humain, là où de loge le vrai. Dans cet essai, Richards dépeint le rapport de résistance créative qu’il entretient avec l’altérité stigmatisant qui menace l’authenticité et exprime son appétence d’aller au-delà des apparences. L’approche sociale et existentielle qu’il adopte dans son parcours littéraire et personnel privilégie la révélation d'un vrai possible, qu'il incarne assurément lui-même en tant qu’écrivain. Tel qu’il le fait dans son essai et à l’instar de ses romans, David Adams Richards contredit, déplace et transforme le discours hégémonique pour privilégier le vrai. L’écrivain nous raconte des histoires qui se déroulent dans un endroit qui devient seul lieu et tout lieu. L’esthétique du récit assume l’authenticité que possède une valeur d’expansion permettant d’accéder à des lois plus puissantes. La démarche de Richards s’inscrit humblement dans une tentative de sonder une réalité plus proche de l’être fondamental, voire universelle, au-delà des apparences.