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jayelpr's review against another edition
5.0
I came across this book in a independent bookstore in NOTL. I’m not sure what compelled me to read it, but I’m glad I did. A story of two sisters during the 1930s, one living in small town Ontario and the other NYC. The back and forth between the two sisters made a good read.
sandiet's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable read about life in the 30's in Whitfield, Ontario. Clara Callan teaches at the same school she attended years ago. Her sister Nora is a radio actress who moves to New York to find her career and fortunes, Their story, particularly Clara's is told through a series of letters between the sisters, Nora's friend Evelyn and Clara's diary. Clara has a hard life and is faced with unfortunate incidences and some very bad decisions, but in the end she decides what is right for her and she doesn't base those decisions on what people would think. The men the sisters chose to involve themselves with were not smart but for the times in which this book was set it was courageous. I was only giving this book 3 stars, but the afterword wrapped it up much nicer than I expected. All in all a good book club read which would have great discussion.
ncteixeira's review against another edition
“Clara Callan”, by Richard B. Wright
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW: rape, abortion, adultery
This was another book that I had sitting unopened in my library since its release in 2001. A hardcover and first edition.
And I’m very happy for finally feeling that it was time to read it.
And what a compelling book it is. I was completely enthralled. Some parts were moving.
Not so much for the story (there is no plot but it’s about two small-town sisters and their life-changing experiences on the eve of the Second World War), but for the writing, the storytelling and for its epistolary form, which can be so hard to give depth to a story or characters.
The work here is superb, hence my ratings.
The flow was perfect, although the year of 1937 felt a bit long and repetitive (the book is divided into 5 years: 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 & 1938), and the characters felt real and were all likeable or believable.
This book won the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Award and the Trillium Award.
It’s in my opinion a gem.
Hardcover (first edition by Harper Flamingo Canada): 414 pages
ebook (Kobo): 492 pages (default), 142k words
juliardye's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book engaging. It's a series of letters between two sisters in the 30s before WWII. The younger sister has recently moved to NYC, while the older sister stayed behind in Ontario. I think I enjoyed it more because I recognized street names in both places. I got a little annoyed with the main character half way through the book, but she turned herself around by the end.
horthhill's review against another edition
4.0
'Clara Callan' by Richard B. Wright surprised me: I quite liked it. Written as a series of diary entries by Clara and various letters to and from Clara, the novel covers four years in the late thirties. While Clara seems to aspire to a quite life in a village, her glamorous radio star sister keeps Clara on her toes. Not that Clara needs the help: she finds illicit romance on her own in the gothic confines of small town Ontario.
penandpencil's review against another edition
3.0
This story takes place in the 1930s and is all about character, Clara Callan seems so real because she is such a mix of qualities, and often morally ambiguous and confounding. Wright does a good job with Clara's voice but I wonder about all of the accolades this book has received, it is sort of half-literary, half-soap opera. The afterward was unnecessary and sort of spoiled the book for me, it felt out of place and only seemed to reinforce what we already knew about Clara. I was also saddened by her daughter's perception of her, although I have to admit it was Liz's truth.
Wright does a good job of showing how oppressive small town life can be and the limited choices that women (especially unmarried) would have had at that time. Really like the way that real historical events were woven into the narrative. Clara's behaviors and decision to keep her secrets is in such contrast to the TMI culture we live in today. Liked the Gladstone hotel shout out!
Wright does a good job of showing how oppressive small town life can be and the limited choices that women (especially unmarried) would have had at that time. Really like the way that real historical events were woven into the narrative. Clara's behaviors and decision to keep her secrets is in such contrast to the TMI culture we live in today. Liked the Gladstone hotel shout out!
marie_gg's review against another edition
4.0
When I was a few pages into this fine Canadian novel, it struck me how much I have always enjoyed epistolary novels. Clara Callan is told entirely in diary entries and letters between two sisters and a few other people in their lives.
The sisters grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada, raised solely by their father after their mother died. After the death of their father, the younger sister, Nora, moves to New York City to become a radio actress. The older sister, Clara, stays in the small, insular town of Whitfield, working as a schoolteacher.
Wright paints strong multidimensional characters in the parts of the two sisters. I am like neither sister, and they are very different from one another, but I found myself admiring and relating to each sister.
Through their trials as single working women in the mid-1930s, they realize that they have more in common than they first thought. Each sister is strong and independent in her own way, even though that strength and independence is not valued by those around them (or by the sisters themselves).
Nora's friend Evelyn is a wonderful spunky character and her role adds depth to the story. With one exception (Clara's obsession with Charlie, which does not seem true to life to me, given her experience), I believe that Wright did an excellent job portraying the intimate lives of these women and their experiences in a Canadian small town and depression-era New York City.
I didn't want the novel to end!
The sisters grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada, raised solely by their father after their mother died. After the death of their father, the younger sister, Nora, moves to New York City to become a radio actress. The older sister, Clara, stays in the small, insular town of Whitfield, working as a schoolteacher.
Wright paints strong multidimensional characters in the parts of the two sisters. I am like neither sister, and they are very different from one another, but I found myself admiring and relating to each sister.
Through their trials as single working women in the mid-1930s, they realize that they have more in common than they first thought. Each sister is strong and independent in her own way, even though that strength and independence is not valued by those around them (or by the sisters themselves).
Nora's friend Evelyn is a wonderful spunky character and her role adds depth to the story. With one exception (Clara's obsession with Charlie, which does not seem true to life to me, given her experience), I believe that Wright did an excellent job portraying the intimate lives of these women and their experiences in a Canadian small town and depression-era New York City.
I didn't want the novel to end!
eososray's review against another edition
4.0
What a fantastic story. Told through Clara's diary entries and the letters that Clara and her sister in New York write to each other, it manages to convey a very clear sense of the time and place. From the small town life that Clara lives and the new and exciting life that her sister is discovering as an actress on the radio.
Through tragedy and hard times, the story never lost my attention. It was engaging and entertaining.
Through tragedy and hard times, the story never lost my attention. It was engaging and entertaining.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
5.0
5 STARS
"In a small town in Canada, Clara Callan reluctantly takes leave of her sister, Nora, who is bound for New York. It's a time when the growing threat of fascism in Europe is a constant worry, and people escape from reality through radio and the movies. Meanwhile, the two sisters -- vastly different in personality, yet inextricably linked by a shared past -- try to find their places within the complex web of social expectations for young women in the 1930s.
While Nora embarks on a glamorous career as a radio-soap opera star, Clara, a strong and independent-minded woman, struggles to observe the traditional boundaries of a small and tight-knit community without relinquishing her dreams of love, freedom, and adventure. However, things aren't as simple as they appear -- Nora's letters eventually reveal life in the big city is less exotic than it seems, and the tranquil solitude of Clara's life is shattered by a series of unforeseeable events. These twists of fate require all of Clara's courage and strength, and finally put the seemingly unbreakable bond between the sisters to the test." (From Amazon)
Makes my all-time Top 10 favourite books! It is beautifully written and has great characters and engaging plot. I recommend this book to everyone.
"In a small town in Canada, Clara Callan reluctantly takes leave of her sister, Nora, who is bound for New York. It's a time when the growing threat of fascism in Europe is a constant worry, and people escape from reality through radio and the movies. Meanwhile, the two sisters -- vastly different in personality, yet inextricably linked by a shared past -- try to find their places within the complex web of social expectations for young women in the 1930s.
While Nora embarks on a glamorous career as a radio-soap opera star, Clara, a strong and independent-minded woman, struggles to observe the traditional boundaries of a small and tight-knit community without relinquishing her dreams of love, freedom, and adventure. However, things aren't as simple as they appear -- Nora's letters eventually reveal life in the big city is less exotic than it seems, and the tranquil solitude of Clara's life is shattered by a series of unforeseeable events. These twists of fate require all of Clara's courage and strength, and finally put the seemingly unbreakable bond between the sisters to the test." (From Amazon)
Makes my all-time Top 10 favourite books! It is beautifully written and has great characters and engaging plot. I recommend this book to everyone.