We, Jane
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Shortlisted for the 2022 Amazon Canada First Novel Award
Longlisted for the 2021 Giller Prize
Shortlisted for the 2021 BMO Winterset Award
Shortlisted for the 2021 Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction
Shortlisted for the 2021 Concordia University First Book Prize
Shortlisted for the 2022 ReLit Award for Fiction
A remarkable debut about intergenerational female relationships and resistance found in the unlikeliest of places, We, Jane explores the precarity of rural existence and the essential nature of abortion.
Searching for meaning in her Montreal life, Marthe begins an intense friendship with an older woman, also from Newfoundland, who tells her a story about purpose, about a duty to fulfill. It's back home, and it goes by the name of Jane.
Marthe travels back to a small community on the island with the older woman to continue the work of an underground movement in 60s Chicago: abortion services performed by women, always referred to as Jane. She commits to learning how to continue this legacy and protect such essential knowledge. But the nobility of her task and the reality of small-town life compete, and personal fractures within their group begin to grow.
We, Jane probes the importance of care work by women for women, underscores the complexity of relationships in close circles, and beautifully captures the inevitable heartache of understanding home.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A secret sisterhood is at the center of this profoundly moving debut novel. When young, aimless Marthe meets an older woman named Ruth and returns with her to her Newfoundland home, she discovers more than a mentor. Ruth is a “Jane,” part of an underground network of abortion providers which dates back to the ’60s. Through her connection with Ruth and her mission, Marthe finds a sense of purpose—and a sisterhood—that changes her life forever. First-time novelist Aimee Wall paints an inspiring portrait of women’s bravery and love. Powerful and uplifting, We, Jane is a testament to the way women can help and heal each other across generations.
