Baldur's Song
A Saga
- Publisher
- Turnstone Press
- Initial publish date
- Aug 2010
- Category
- Literary
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780888013736
- Publish Date
- Aug 2010
- List Price
- $19
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780888015105
- Publish Date
- Jul 2010
- List Price
- $16.99
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Description
Winnipeg's boom-town days at the turn of the nineteenth century come to life through the eyes of Baldur, a boy from Gimli, the Icelandic immigrant settlement on the southernmost shore of Lake Winnipeg. Both city and boy grow from innocence to savvy creatures of business as they mature, fall in love, and survive the politics of a competitive, cut-throat society.
Arnason's Leacock-nominated humour permeates this simply told story but takes a subtle turn under the drama of passionate young hearts struggling to find their places in the New World.
At the same time he discovers his musical talent whistling to the dead in the village graveyard, Baldur encounters his first and life-long love, Lara, a girl of mystery and fey spirit. Her father, Gudmundur Palsson, is an influential and intimidating community leader who gives Baldur his first big break as a musician, but later becomes a competitor when Baldur teams up with ambitious real-estate mogul Johnny Ashdown.
Notable characters like Ashdown, Palsson, and Lara bring early Winnipeg to life. Older neighbourhoods like the West End, Wolseley, West Broadway, and the Exchange District are immediately recognizable, and readers navigate the dirt streets and boardwalks with Baldur in Arnason's vivid narrative.
About the author
David Arnason was born in Gimli, Manitoba, in 1940. He has a Master’s Degree from the University of Manitoba and a PhD from the University of New Brunswick. He divides his time between Winnipeg, where he teaches Canadian literature and creative writing at the University of Manitoba, and Gimli, where he does most of his writing. He has also taught Canadian literature and creative writing in Tasmania, Trier, and Strasbourg.His works include two collections of poetry, Marsh Burning and Skrag, and four collections of short stories: Fifty Stories and a Piece of Advice, The Circus Performer’s Bar, The Happiest Man in the World, and The Pagan Wall.
Other titles by
Marshburning
The Best of All Possible Worlds
There Can Never be Enough
New and Selected Stories of David Arnason
Wild Animals I Have Known
The Imagined City
A Literary History of Winnipeg
The Demon Lover
King Jerry
Dragon and the Dry Goods Princess
If Pigs Could Fly
New Icelanders
A North American Community