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National Library News

September 1995, vol. 27, no. 9

Giant Magic

Timothy Findley
(photo: Elisabeth Feryn)

We had a visitor on May 23 at the National Library. To those who saw and listened he offered a trip to another world, and more than 200 people accepted the invitation of one of Canada's giants: Timothy Findley.

Despite his flu and evident discomfort, "Tiff", as he is known to his friends, transported us all elegantly into and out of the world created in his most recent novel, The Piano Man's Daughter. Brilliantly, he assumed the voices of the two main characters, Charlie and Lily, becoming each and both as he described the tangled threads of their relationship. Then, effortlessly, he would step back and use his unique gift for language to show them to us as they danced at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto in 1910.

At times during the reading, his listeners were absolutely silent. They were drawn into the drama, and became part of the creation. At other times, we chuckled at the humour, or sighed at the tragedy. At the end, we clapped appreciatively, rhythmically, as reader and audience became one.

The evening was magically satisfying. We thirst for those voices that tell us who we are and where we have been, and we are filled to the brim when such a voice answers. Those who heard a giant speak and accepted his invitation to another world transcended time and place and discovered themselves.