• Wonderfull

Wonderfull

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978-1-897126-19-6 | 2007 September | 234 Pages

ABOUT THIS BOOK

• Winner of the 2008/2009 London Reads Competition

• Shortlisted for the 2008 Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic

• Winner of the Trade Fiction Book of the Year Award at the 2008 Alberta Book Publishing Awards


When Emma Brodie, local prophet and mother of three, steals a boat and exiles herself to the middle of the bay for seven days and seven nights, she sets about a chain of strange and wonderful events in the sleepy village of Garfax—a village no longer listed on any official government document. Radios begin to speak secrets and unintended confessions, a rainstorm occurs that lasts for months, a young boy dies mysteriously in the surrounding woods after following the dictates of his heart, and Caleb Anson, the village’s prodigal son, returns after a long absence with a grand design to bring Garfax into “the future.”

This magic realist tale, where dead relatives play dominoes in the houses of their loved ones, is told by Emma’s youngest son Oswald, a shy, observant boy living in the shadow of his charismatic family. Wonderfull tells the stories of Garfax—which has become the stuff of legends to outsiders—and reveals how this village’s unlikely past catches up to its inevitable future.

“Not only is the double L in the title of this book fully intended, but it is equally well deserved.... I think these stories of Garfax are funny, quaint, and poignant, with a fresh, inventive quality to them. I also enjoyed the narrator's storytelling style, moving in and out of anecdotes so smoothly I often forgot where the story began and yet didn't feel lost at all. Or if I was lost, I was happy to be so.”
~ Tamara Kaye Sellman, author of Margin: Exploring Modern Magical Realism

“William Neil Scott has the writer’s single essential gift: he makes you want to see the world through his eyes. Funny, spooky, and moving by turns, Wonderfull delivers what its title promises.”
~ Sean Stewart, author of Perfect Circle and Mockingbird

“Nino Ricci, Thomas Wharton, and Yann Martel have all mined for magic in the Canadian experience. To this crew add William Neil Scott. Scott is a lucky discovery, a shiny new talent who rebuilds the awesome Canadian landscape in the reader’s imagination. Turn off your television and get ready to feel something.”
~ Natalee Caple, author of Mackerel Sky

Hello?

Can you hear me?

It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I’m not sure if you can hear me.

Not that you could respond even if you did.

You might need to turn me up.

Let’s try an experiment: If you can hear my voice, flick the lights on and off in the room you’re in. Doesn’t matter where you are. If you’re in a car, then flash the headlights. Or honk your horn. If you’re outside and all you’ve got is a lighter, strike it. And if you don’t have any light? Jump up and down. Wave your arms around. Call out. Laugh. Sing a song. Make it loud.

Now. Look outside. See if anyone else is doing it. See if the world is suddenly filled up with cries and car horns and flashing lights and people singing in the streets, flapping their arms like seagulls. Flickering candles that look like ground-bound stars of lighters being struck in wild succession.

Can you see them? Is it wonderful?