 |
Canadian Authors - General fiction - |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Truth Teller |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The Truth Teller byKatherine Govier Random House Canada 403 pages, 2000 ISBN 0679310266 Reviewed by Zaheera Jiwaji Read our profile of Katherine Govier and reviews of her other works If Katherine Govier believed in rebirth like the Greeks did, she would return as a historian. In this impeccably researched novel, Govier's sixth, the narrative moves from contemporary upper class Toronto to ancient Greek mythology with equal ease. THE TRUTH TELLER returns to a theme that is familiar in the author’s writing: how the past and the present coexist. In this case, the past is the ancient past. At the Manor School for Classical Studies, run by the married couple Francesca Morrow and Dugald Laird, wealthy children of Toronto's upper-class are immersed in the learning of Greeks, Romans and the Renaissance. Francesca and Dugald are not the truth tellers of the title. They appear to be a happily married older couple, highly esteemed and erudite, devoted to their school. Yet this is an illusion that they cling to, unaware of the cracks in its foundation. Other characters include a group of four female students, each one troubled and damaged. They symbolize the despair of children in conflict who are ignored by parents and by society. One girl, Cassie, guides us from illusion to truth. Nicknamed Cassandra (of Greek mythology), her visions of the future are doomed to be ignored like her namesake. The narrative shifts to suspense as Francesca and Dugald travel to Greece with their students on an annual study tour, where the couple's finest and worst will be displayed. When the group reaches Delphi, the various characters begin to unravel and spin out of control. The Old World is a catalyst for their awakening, and Govier paces the dramatic and eventful climax perfectly. THE TRUTH TELLER introduces characters that elicit surprising responses from the reader. Francesca and Dugald are antiquated versions of what is fake in our society: the pressure to lead a false and so-called perfect life, instead of a flawed and genuine life. Govier demands that we look beneath the surface at our modern society and at how children - especially girls - are treated. A powerful novel, THE TRUTH TELLER emerges as a triumphant tale. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||