A Canoer of Shorelines

In this lyrical novel, Julie Martin and Rachel Hardy both have an attachment to Meadowbrook Acres, and both try to reinvent their lives in its ghostly, antique embrace. Julie struggles to define herself in an adult role, bucking against demons until an encounter with Grandma Mary helps her realize they’re mostly in her head. Rachel is also looking for definition and returns to her childhood home with the idea she might rewrite her past. The two women’s stories—Julie’s told through the main narrative; Rachel’s through others’ recollections and her journal—intersect in the most delicious way.

Dreams are a big part of life at Meadowbrook Acres, and the protagonists’ dreams overlap as their lives do. Indeed, the creaking house that is their centrepiece becomes a “dream house,” swollen with stories that haunt them both. The stories that have ferried them thus far take on new meanings, and a certain peacefulness pays a visit to this remote old home.