Canada Day Books

This is one of your classic British first-hand journals of the Napoleonic period. What makes this one unique is the fact that its set in the War of 1812. John Le Couteur, a junior subaltern of the 104th Foot, provides an entertaining account of his life up to and including service in British North America.

As a cadet officer of the New Royal Military Academy he was not one of your standard gents who purchased rank in the army. Still, we have every indication that our hero comes from a good family, and his numerous connections and frequent name dropping does drag the narrative a bit at times. In fact, were it not for the time spent on campaign, one might come away with the impression that a British officier of the period spent most of his time at soirees and convvial company! Certainly the difference between garrison life at Kingston, and campaigning on the Niagara frontier makes for considerable contrasts.

It is important to remember that Le Couteur belonged to a particular class, and despite his humble entrance into the army, his station in life ensured a respectable reception at most eastblishments of the day. This was especially so in British North America where an officer had good status. While Le C does his rounds in the social set and flirts with the girls, we are reminded of the harsh realities of war. First the epic march in the dead winter of the 104th from Halifax to Montreal and then Kingston, Ontario was one of the major feats of the war. Le C provides a full chapter to chronicle that episode. The difficuties of finding lodging and having to accomodate living with numerous strangers seems almost a daily process for a time when barracks were not common features of garrisons. Officers had to roam about for suitable lodging, in contrast to the other ranks who camped on the open ground.

We see action with our hero first at the mis-managed raid on Sacketts Harbor where Governor-General Provost lost a significant opportunity to burn the US fleet. Then we see the 104th marching up to support their comrades at the chaotic night battle at Lundy's Lane, the bloodiest of the war. This is followed by the very costly siege at Fort Erie where Le C finally breaks down in tears at the tragic mishap of the assault. In general Le C has a somewhat patronizing view toward the Americans, a view held common by most British officers. The US forces are often referred to as the derogatory "Brother Jonathan" implying a silly, or uncouth country bumpkin. This term seems a carry over from the American Revolution. American actions in the war of 1812 were cloddish, but the British had their faults too as our narrator points out. In general he cites a universal relief at the cessesstion of hostilities in early 1815, claiming it to have been unnatural to fight against "Brother Jonathan".

Those wanting a detailed account of the battles on the Niagara Frontier during 1813-14 won't really find that here. Le Couteur writes from the perspective of his own situation, which was that of a junior officer. The narrative is rich however with personal expereinces, and lively discourse. We find many interesting accounts of skirmeshes since our hero was in the Light Company and fought many small actions. Le C's yearning for the numerous beauties he finds himself in company with reads almost like a Jane Austin novel at times. His lowly status and pay prevents their ardent desires for marriage. One suspects however that he enjoyed his time with the ladies!

Donald Graves, a fine historian of the conflict, provdes expert notes and a good setting for the context of this journal. Those wanting a lively account of a British officer who fought an unpopular war to defend Canada against US invasion should enjoy this work. It was because of the efforts of Le Counteur and others like him in the British army that Canada did not become just another state in the Union!

Richard Day has written on excellent book from a poststructuralist perspective on the Canadian state's discourse of multiculturalism and the ways in which its rise in postmodern society results in both the shift away from the NATION-state (singular) to the MULTINATION-state (plural) and how that tension tends to also call the legitimacy of the state into question on multiple fronts even while it temporarily strengthens it to adapt to the "problem" of diversity. This book will be of interest to those interested in theories of multiculturalism, alternative histories of Canada and the applied philosophy of Nietzche, Foucault and Deleuze and Guattari.

Thought Canadian history was boring? Thought nothing much happened between the first and second world war? Think again. This well-written book details the lives of girls and women, from the way parents were encouraged to raise their babies to how teenagers managed to keep well-clothed in the depression. It is full of vivid detail, primary sources, and images. Truly, a wonderful, fascinating, fabulous book. It gave me lots to talk about with my grandmother. :) Very readable, my father enjoyed it too!

Awaiting execution for treason after she was Queen of England for just nine days, sixteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey looks back on her short life. She had some happiness as a child, but her parents were distant. A cousin of the Tudor ruling family, she spent some time at court as a young girl. Eventually, her parents had her married to a man she didn't love, or even like. Meanwhile, England is caught in turmoil, as the young Protestant king, Edward, dies. Jane's male relatives scheme to have her crowned Queen of England instead of Edward's Catholic half-sister Mary, although Jane wants no part of it. Powerless to determine her own destiny, she is forced to accept the crown of England and is caught up against her will in events that can only end in tragedy.

This excellent historical novel brought to life the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey; as a big fan of historical fiction about young female royals, I found it particularly interesting. She was just a young girl who had no say in her own future and wrongly lost her life as a result of a plot she had no real part in. I highly recommend this novel to young adult readers who like to read historical fiction about royalty; I think it would particularly appeal to readers of the Young Royals and Royal Diaries series.

This is the best nutrition book I've ever read! You need nothing more than this book. He knows all about nutrition. This book is so spectacular! It's not like any other book on the planet! It's better than all those put together. He gives you the importance of the right foods in your body. This book helped me sleep better when I regulated my food alkaline intake. I'm using a certain type of vegetable instead of salt and I feel better knowing I'm eating the right foods. This is the one and only book you need for nutrition. This book is the best "investment" I've made for my body, ever!

This book explains how to get every where as well as the history of these great places to visit. This book is a must for tourists to Montreal as well as locals. I would recommend it to all.

Frances Martin Day, Phyllis Spence, and Barbara Ladouceur, eds., Women Overseas: Memoirs of the Canadian Red Cross Corps (Overseas Detachment). Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 1998. Women Overseas is a collection of memoirs of 31 women who volunteered to work with the Canadian Red Cross Corps overseas during the Second World War. Included here are also stories of Canadian Red Cross Corps personnel who served in the Korean War. The individual stories are based on recollections many years after the war, notes from diaries and letters, and archives of the Red Cross Overseas clubs of Victoria an Vancouver. As some of the contributors have since passed away, the book becomes a legacy many people who have veterans in their families wish they were able to have on paper. For example, we have the contribution of Audrey C. Kitching, who became the wife of Major-General George Kitching after returning home. The reader is presented with the lives of these volunteers in their various wartime phases: civilian life prior to joining the Red Cross; training in Canada and awaiting word to travel to Great Britain in the ocean-going convoys characteristic of wartime; descriptions of experiences in France or Italy, or in the case of the 1950-1953 war, in Korea. Even if a reader's first interest is the military history of the Second World War, this book offers much information about such topics as the build-up to D-Day in June, 1944 or the extent of civilian casualties in Normandy after the June-August, 1944 war, where an estimated 40,000 civilians were killed. From the memoirs there are narrations of incidents when the Red Cross staff would meet wounded soldiers being evacuated out of battle, with the mud of the battlefield, as one author describes, still permeating their clothing and boots. In such encounters, the women at the field hospitals expressed surprise at how much the soldiers felt a need to talk about their battle experiences and under what circumstances they became wounded. While other books provide more of a structured account of how the hospitals and evacuation routes were established, the reader does learn much from Women Overseas about the workings of General Hospitals, or the more forward field hospitals, and Casualty Clearing Stations. And much is presented about the workings of the Canadian Red Cross Overseas: the duties as ambulance drivers, escort officers, food administration, and handicrafts officers, working with such groups as blind veterans. The organization is described as finding much success in its work in Great Britain and on the continent in its work with soldiers and civilians, as well as in its liaison with its counterparts among the allies. Examples of the dangers of the work are also described in the memoirs. For example, in her account of "Sunny Italy wasn't warm or sunny", Dorothy Falkner Burogoyne Doolittle, from St. Catherine's, Ontario, describes what had happened to the No. 14 General Hospital that had been sent to Italy before her group. They were on a convoy that was bombed in the Mediterranean in early November, 1943. "No lives had been lost, but they had lost all their possessions, and word had got back to London that the Red Cross girls at No. 14 needed anything and everything." Women Overseas accomplishes much more than was perhaps intended as a record of personal accounts of the Canadian Red Cross Corps (Overseas Detachment). The reader is presented with a work that educates about Canadians in the Second World War through biographical narrations of women who were part of the support structure both for our soldiers and for civilians in such countries as Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Italy during the Second World War. As an important addition, so as not to neglect the Korean War, the addition of those memoirs are also most welcomed. Such a book offers great ideas for further research. On a personal note, Helen M. Egan's chapter, "We found the drivers very protective of us" mentions a reference to Jean Lamb, who "had already worked in Italy with the Canadian offensive which had pushed up from Sicily, but she had returned when the order came through that all married girls had to return to London." My father was a batman to a Captain Lamb in Italy, until the officer's death. Now I have something close to home to research. It is such little aspects of the vast and complicated story of Canadians in war that help a person continue with an interest to learn more and more.

I loved the book. It made me feel like I was having a very intimate conversation with an old friend.

I'd heard of the movie but only decided to read the book after reading a blurb about it in a magazine recently. The start of the book is rather slow, meaning there's not a lot of action drawing you into the story, but once you reach the middle and end of the book there is a wonderfully subtle anticipation created. Only a truly talented author could weave a story with so many layers.

You get a multi-dimensional character portrait of the narrator, Mr. Stevens, as you move through the books various memories and Stevens' inner dialogue. This book leaves you both satisfied and grateful for such a magnificently subtle story. The imagery is great and the dialogue both funny and poignant. I loved it.

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki in 1954 and moved to Britain at the age of five. He was awarded the OBE in 1995 and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1998. "The Remains of the Day" is his fourth novel, was first published in 1989 and won that year's Booker Prize.

Opening in July 1956, the story is told by Mr Stevens - a butler approaching the end of his career. He has been based at Darlington Hall for many years and, for most of his time there, had served Lord Darlington. While the outside world has changed dramatically since Stevens started out as a butler, the changes within the walls are proving a little more difficult for him. Following the death of Lord Darlington a few years previously, the stately home is now in the hands of an American called Farraday. Unsurprisingly, Farraday is a great deal less formal than Lord Darlington and Stevens isn't quite sure how to relate to his new boss. Furthermore, when once there were twenty-eight members of staff at Darlington Hall, there are now only four. Sections of the house have now been put 'under wraps' - effectively closed down - with fairly radical alterations to what would have been each person's 'traditional' responsibilities. Stevens has become rather worried when some small errors creep into his own work - these, he feels, stem from the slightly flawed staff plan he developed.

Stevens is taken by surprise when his new employer suggests he takes some time off and borrows the car - to the point he, initially, doesn't take the suggestion seriously. However, he starts to change his mind when he receives a letter from Miss Kenton, Darlington Hall's former housekeeper - the first time in seven years he'd heard from her. Technically, Miss Kenton has been Mrs Benn since she left Darlington Hall in 1936 - though it seems, her marriage has recently ended. In her letter she spoke of her time at the Hall as the happiest period in her life and, reading between the lines, Stevens believes she may be willing to return as a member of staff - an appointment, he believes, that would iron out the kinks in his staff plan. Accordingly, having organised a meeting with his former colleague, Stevens takes a road trip to the West Country. "The Remains of the Day" follows Stevens on his trip and, as he looks forward to his meeting with Miss Kenton, he looks back on their shared times together at Darlington Hall.

Stevens proves to be a very stiff, formal, nearly snobbish character - one who has become quite obsessed with 'dignity'. He (rather ridiculously) believes that only the English are capable of 'emotional restraint' required to being butlers - though, as time goes on, it becomes clear that Stevens' emotional restraint has cost him more than he cares to admit. His memories of Miss Kenton tend to focus on professional matters, and - while it began and ended a little badly - for many years, it seems they had got on quite well. Stevens' memories, of course, only tell half of that story. Lord Darlington, naturally, also features strongly in his memories. Stevens had been blindly loyal to Lord Darlington - under no circumstances would he disagree ever disagree with his lordship's decisions, publicly or privately. Darlington had fought in the First World War, though - being an honourable gentleman - believed the Treaty of Versailles was excessively harsh on the German people. He had become an important figure in the period between the wars - and, having played host to many influential people during this time, had even tried to shape Britain's foreign policy towards Germany. Unsurprisingly, his reputation has been in tatters since the Second World War. Stevens still feels Lord Darlington was a well-meaning man, though perhaps misguided - though still denies having worked for him several times during the book.

Ishiguro's books are definitely better than most you'll find on the bookshelves, and many people seem to rate this as his best to date. Personally, I think he's done better - particularly with "When We Were Orphans" and "Never Let Me Go". However, "The Remains of the Day" is certainly a worth reading and, despite Stevens' stiffness, it was hard not to feel sorry for him come the end of the book.

I love this book. I read one of Ishiguro's other novels, Never Let me Go, and I liked it. But I don't know if I loved it. The story was compelling, and very original, but I don't know how much I identified with the main character.

The Remains of the Day is a different story. The protagonist Mr. Stevens is the epitome of the professional butler- always prepared, composed, diligent, loyal. And he possesses the combination of dedication to and pride of his profession that he fondly refers to as dignity. The book places you as the reader of about a week's worth of entries in his journal which follow him on a sort of professional-errand-turned-cathartic-journey through the country. At first, I formed a deep respect for Mr. Stevens, and was completely taken by his deep expertise, superhuman work ethic, and rational mindset. Not to mention his charming manners.

However, there are subtle hints that he is not being wholly honest in conveying his thoughts and feelings. Not that he intends to deceive the reader; his dishonesty is completely internal, rooted in his tendency to rationalize and suppress all traces of emotions and doubts which would be detrimental to his profession. This becomes evident only because he recounts faithfully his dialogues with others. They are charged with emotions and intentions which go completely ignored by his explanations. At some points, he had me cringing with sympathy. But we must at least give him credit for not altering the dialogue in any conscious way.

As the journey progresses, the fresh air, kind strangers, and beautiful landscapes allow him to become more honest with himself-- to, for once in too long a while, put aside his profession to remember his humanity. It's a somewhat relieving development. However, it reveals the somewhat tragic reality of a life spent in total, blind dedication to one's work. He finally allows this reality to come crashing down on him at the end of his trip. Fortunately though, the book ends with some hope as he regains his composure and a renewed motivation for his profession.

There is a reason why there are so few books written about the lives of butlers: they're BORING! Indeed, half-way through and I think I shall retire this book in favor of re-organizing my linen closet.

In 1956, an aged traditional English butler near the end of his career goes on a five day road trip at the suggestion of his new American employer. As Mr. Stevens drives across the country to visit an old female college, he reflects back on his thirty years of service at Darlington Hall, taking comfort in the fact that he has conducted himself with dignity and served, in Lord Darlington, a great gentleman--but lurking within his reflections are growing doubts about Lord Darlington's true nature. The Remains of the Day lacks all sense of subtlety, and so its various aspects--the reflections on how Stevens has lived and should have lived his life, the nature of Lord Darlington--fall flat. However well intended, the protagonist is unlikable and the style is heavy handed, and so this book is disappointing and unsuccessful. I do not recommend it.

The character of Stevens is a relic from an older time, and his old fashion manners and beliefs are out of keeping with the current era. More than this, however, Stevens willfully blinds himself to anything outside of what he believes is proper to the role of a butler. He actively and intentionally limits himself to the confines of his social role until he becomes socially awkward, unable to express or even to feel emotion, unable to carry on personal relationships, unable to judge his previous employer, Lord Darlington. And though the character does, in the very last pages of the book, get an inkling clue about the harm caused by his life long self-fettering, this character growth is too little and too late. The book's protagonist and narrator is a character too unlikable for the reader to embrace. Granted, many of the book's more lively characters are pitiful or humorous, but Stevens is no better. He is awkward to read about, and left this reader feeling unpleasantly discomforted.

The various tropes by which Ishiguro reveals Stevens's intentional self-limitations and the true nature of Lord Darlington are intended to be skillful and sly, but are instead unrealistic. Stevens will start into a recollection to make one point, only to have the reader--through an access of dramatic irony--take away a completely different point; the coherent series of events emerges too easily from Stevens's supposedly unrelated recollections. Even the writing style, in the form of a diary written in the various cities were Stevens's stops on his driving tour, is contrived: the entries are overlong, the dialog is too precisely worded.

In a way, Ishiguro has noble goals: by creating a character that refuses to engage in independent personal thought and feeling, he in fact emphasizes the importance of each. But, despite all attempts, The Remains of the Day lacks subtlety, and so fails to impact the reader. Stevens's limitations are exaggerated, he is not a sympathetic character but rather an unlikable one, and the "revelations" of Stevens's personal life and Lord Darlington's nature are both heavy handed and predictable from a long ways off. I do not dislike this book as much as it may sound--I think the premise is promising and the message is true, and the very readable narrative voice has a convincing old world sound to it. However, I cannot recommend the novel. It does not live up to its potential, it is heavy-handed where it needs to be subtle, and ultimately reading it felt like a waste of time. Stevens remains too self-limited to see the error of these limitations, and the reader is provided with no other admirable characters. In the end, the novel offers nothing more than the exaggerated retrospective of one man's attempt--and failure--to live a life of dignity.

I remember reading this and Whistle for Willy as a child. I was very happy to share these stories with my son. We both enjoy the unique illustrations and the easy to follow storyline. Classic.

My mom read to me every night as a child and our library of children's books were immense. I have vivid memories of approx 10 books out of hundreds and this is one of them. I agree with another reviewer that this book captures the quiet and stillness of a snowy winter day in the city. It is a simple book but my daughter loves it as much as I did back in the 80's.
The other notable books from my childhood were

Harold and the purple crayon

Animalia

Goodnight Moon

Runaway bunny

Go! Dog Go!

And this whole monster series that I can not recall the exact names of....something like Monsters ABC and one about manners....I dunno.

I really love Snowy Day though...

Ezra Jack Keats crosses social and cultural boundaries in this book when he creates a story where the hero is a black boy in a big city. The book is a vibrant story of a little boy named Peter and the excitement of the first snow of the season.

The story is simple and easy to read, but the illustrations are what bring this book to life. Ezra Jack Keats uses collage and marbling techniques to illustrate this book. The vibrant colors help us with the mood of the story. When Peter is happy the sky is a brilliant blue, but then he becomes angry and the sky turns black. We can sense Peter's excitement when the sky is grey with swirls. Keats uses the colors and textures of his illustrations to set the mood and help us understand the story.

The Snowy Day is a Caldecott winner from 1963. This picture book would be perfect for any child in early childhood. In addition, an elementary teacher may use this book with older students (grades 2-5) as an example of how illustrations can set the mood. In addition this book would make a great think aloud on making predictions, connections, or asking yourself questions.

I had long forgotten this book from my childhood, and when a friend recently brought a copy over as a gift for my daughter, I gasped in delight.
The memories came flooding back as I turned each page to reveal the familiar artwork, still as fresh and engaging as it was so many years ago.
I hope my daughter grows to love this book as much as I did as a child, and I'm so excited to have been re-introduced to such a fantastic story.

So this is pretty much one of the best books ever written. The story is sweet and magical in the way of nature, and the pictures are just to die for with Keats' imaginative and surprisingly expressive design that still has not quite been beaten since. The book, story and pictures together, provides a warm, homey feeling that immediately shows a life. Keats deserved this Caldecot.