That Time I Loved You
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4.3 • 15 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Life is never as perfect as it seems.
Tensions that have lurked beneath the surface of a shiny new subdivision rise up, in new fiction from the author of the Toronto Book Award—shortlisted The Wondrous Woo
The suburbs of the 1970s promised to be heaven on earth—new houses, new status, happiness guaranteed. But in a Scarborough subdivision populated by newcomers from all over the world, a series of sudden catastrophic events reveals that not everyone’s dreams come true. Moving from house to house, Carrianne Leung explores the inner lives behind the tidy front gardens and picture-perfect windows, always returning to June, an irrepressible adolescent Chinese-Canadian coming of age in this shifting world. Through June and her neighbours, Leung depicts the fine line where childhood meets the realities of adult life, and examines, with insight and sharp prose, how difficult it is to be true to ourselves at any age.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Leung (The Wondrous Woo) presents 10 sweet, sad, sympathetic stories set in Scarborough, Ontario, for a group portrait of immigrants, misfits, adults, adolescents, and teenagers, all of whom discover suburban comfort does not ensure happiness. The first story, "Grass," takes place in 1979, as 11-year-olds June and Josie ponder two suicides: Mr. Finley, the local softball coach, and Mrs. Da Silva, a housewife with an abusive husband. The girls cannot ask their parents for explanations, because death is one of many subjects parents prefer not to discuss with children. "Flowers" shows Mrs. Da Silva's last day, as she listens to flowers taunt her in her native Portuguese. In "Treasure," a woman named Marilyn who is admired by her neighbors turns out to be a thief. In "Sweets," June's buddy Naveen gets beaten up when he wears his sister's heart-shaped sunglasses to school. In "Things," comic book enthusiast Darren confronts a racist schoolteacher. "Wheels," "Kiss," and the title story explore June and Josie's changing perspectives upon their first experiences of womanhood. Linked by recurring characters such as Darren's Jamaican mother and June's grandmother from Hong Kong, together the stories track June's deepening understanding of the place she calls home. Crystalline prose, sharp storytelling, and pitch-perfect narration enhance Leung's accessible and affecting depiction of how cruelty undermines and kindness fortifies people's sense of community.
