The Ritual Master I believe Canada is one of those countries that has a different representation depending on our imagination. For some, it’s all maple syrup and ice skating, for others it’s the US with more plaid patterns, a land of refuge for many and a Celine Dion empire for all.
When I got my hands on this collection of Atlantic Canadian stories of Winter, I was at a crossroads of many clichés. And the introduction settled all my concerns :
It is April 16 and I am skiing a trail along the Kennetcook River in Nova Scotia’s Hants County. With a metre of snow underfoot, it feels like February. I pass a frozen lake and six bewildered geese are standing on the ice wondering why they ever bothered flying back from Florida. A deer, no doubt very hungry, crosses the trail and further along on a sidehill facing the noonday sun, brown dirt is poking through patches of snow where robins are desperately pocking for nourishment. A strange, almost eternal winter is present. This seemingly never-ending season is upon us. And yet, this is Canada : a place where winter thrives – or at least reaches its apex. It is not for the faint of heart, but here I am, in a fine state of affairs, gliding effortlessly across an ice-covered landscape in the glorious early spring sunshine.
It is a book that reunites glimpses of everyday life, in order to honour what seems to be a random draw of the faits : a planetary tilt that brings freezing cold to Canada for roughly six months every year. It opened my eyes on the beauty of winter sports, and never ceased to amaze me as to the power human beings have to adapt.
The vast majority of the stories talk about a relationship between humans and nature, a rough and hostile natural frame, that somehow seems to dispense a life lesson each time. There are of course some Christmas stories as well, but the winter theme is the one that unites.
An ode to beauty being found under rough appearances, and to the special capacity that Canadians seem to have to embrace their homeland with all its less confortable angles. A natural introduction to a more refined knowledge of Canada, and a good way to lose some of our false impressions about a country that deserves to be appreciated for its unique beauty.
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