I think I may have finally hit my saturation point with Dawkins. I was blown away by The Selfish Gene, humbled by Unweaving the Rainbow, and mobilized by The God Delusion, but something about The Greatest Show on Earth felt a bit like a scratched record. Perhaps that’s the point of it it, though. You can almost hear his exasperation as he sat down to write it: “All right, fine. Let’s go through this one. more. time. for anyone who still doesn’t get it.”

 
Dawkins can never be faulted for a lack of research, clarity, or precision, but the tone of the writing made me cringe. For a book that aims to lay out the evidence for evolution, it’s remarkably snide to those who seek that evidence, who would presumably be the target audience. Instead it preaches to the choir (har har), giving ammunition for atheists to use in campfire arguments with doubting creationists. Instead of taking those on the fence of the issue under his wing to explain the elegant simplicity of evolution, Dawkins cuts up those who still believe in opposing ideas. If I was looking for answers and explanations, I wouldn’t want to be berated because of my ignorance.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m completely behind Dawkins in both the science of the matter and his exasperation with creationists, but a book aiming to put to rest any argument against evolution will only be dismissed if its plan of attack is to wound the pride of its opponents.

More positively though, the book is an amazing resource for readers looking to solidify their understanding of evolution and why the arguments against it don’t hold water. A barrage of examples are well explained and are often fascinating (don’t miss the discussion of the Lenski experiments beginning on page 117). If you’ve ever struggled to articulate a piece of evolutionary theory that you’re not crystal clear on, this book is for you.

My day job is in the social services, and it is a complex world to work in.  The clients I serve are incredibly resourceful and resilient in the face of enormous barriers, but it can be disheartening, frustrating work nonetheless. There are rarely simple answers to the problems we work together to solve.

That’s one of the reasons why, settling in to my plush red armchair in the sun-filled room of my home office, I always look forward to diving in to the latest manuscript I’ve been sent. Each one seems to contain nothing but solvable problems, one after the other. A misplaced comma here, a bit of inconsistency there – these things are easy to fix, and I get great satisfaction from doing so. It’s incredibly rewarding to support people to communicate in the best way they can.

As a social worker, I get to be present in some monumental moments in people’s lives. I get to witness people making enormous strides forward, exemplifying dedication and commitment. As a freelance editor of mostly book-length works, I’m one of the first readers of a writer’s project, and that’s a very exciting position to be in. I’m always astounded by the amount of work that writers have invested in capturing stories on a page. I like to imagine the process that went into the writing; I wonder how the writer came up with this particular plot twist or that particular turn of phrase. While not every work resonates for me as a reader, I have a great deal of respect for the dedication involved in the work I get to edit, and take pride in playing my part in making it shine.

 The tasks involved in both of my jobs are vastly different, but they also share more in common than I ever imagined would be possible. Whether it’s working with a service user who’s making changes in her life that take enormous strength and perseverance, or assisting a writer to express her vision with clarity and focus, my clients always know what’s best for themselves. It’s my job in both “worlds” to make sure their vision for their life story, in whatever format, comes through loud and clear.

Signs of life,
in the realm of hungry ghosts.
Through black spruce,
a far rockaway of the heart.
The greatest show on Earth.

Post your title poetry or send it to us directly. We’ll post the best ones here!

To kick off our new blog I thought I’d write a short review of one of the best pieces of fiction that I’ve read in a while. A few weeks ago Sarah recommended to me Patrick deWitt’s The Sisters Brothers. I was skeptical, I admit, because of the shiny Governor General’s Literary Award sticker on the cover. There’s something about me that looks at these celebrated pieces of contemporary writing and shies away. I suppose it’s an ego thing, always thinking that my taste in reading (or music or film or…) is somehow more esoteric and anything so praised could only be pulp. As has happened once or twice before, I was completely wrong.


The book follows the exploits of two muddling hired guns, a pair of brothers named Charlie and Eli. What makes this book different from a typical bank-heist spaghetti western is the first person account of their journey through the eyes of Eli, the loyal but somewhat dimmer brother. Instead of following the typical ruggedly handsome vagabond, we find ourselves trudging through life with a pot belly on the back of a dim-witted horse, wondering what love is and finding pleasure in brushing one’s teeth.


At times dark, at others hilarious, I found myself in the happy position of not being able to put the book down. In case you’re worried that this blog will be nothing but fluff and praise, let me assure you that this is a rare occurrence. Fiction has to really grab me to make me want to continue and protagonists often have a way of making me not care about them at all. This book is an exception and was exactly what I needed after slugging through another thousand page George Martin novel.


DeWitt’s writing is elegant, if simplified, and the book will take just a few hours to get through. I’ll be tracking down his other novel shortly. In retrospect I shouldn’t have been surprised that the book was so great. After all, he lives in Portland, Oregon. I’m becoming increasingly aware that everything coming out of that place is wonderful.


Have you read The Sisters Brothers? Tell us what you thought!

If you see something here that you’d like more information on, please don’t hesitate to send us an email.

Happy writing!