As for Me and My House (New Canadian Library) [Mass Market Paperback]

Sinclair Ross (Author), Robert Kroetsch (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1989 | Series: New Canadian Library

“It’s an immense night out there, wheeling and windy. The lights on the street and in the houses against the black wetness, little unilluminating glints that might be painted on it. The town seems huddled together, cowering on a high tiny perch, afraid to move lest it topple into the wind.”

The town is Horizon, the setting of Sinclair Ross’ brilliant classic study of life in the Depression era. Hailed by critics as one of Canada’s great novels, As For Me and My House takes the form of a journal. The unnamed diarist, one of the most complex and arresting characters in contemporary fiction, explores the bittersweet nature of human relationships, of the unspoken bonds that tie people together, and the undercurrents of feeling that often tear them apart. Her chronicle creates an intense atmosphere, rich with observed detail and natural imagery.

As For Me and My House is a landmark work. It is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand the scope and power of the Canadian novel.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

?It?s an immense night out there, wheeling and windy. The lights on the street and in the houses against the black wetness, little unilluminating glints that might be painted on it. The town seems huddled together, cowering on a high tiny perch, afraid to move lest it topple into the wind.?

The town is Horizon, the setting of Sinclair Ross? brilliant classic study of life in the Depression era. Hailed by critics as one of Canada?s great novels, As For Me and My House takes the form of a journal. The unnamed diarist, one of the most complex and arresting characters in contemporary fiction, explores the bittersweet nature of human relationships, of the unspoken bonds that tie people together, and the undercurrents of feeling that often tear them apart. Her chronicle creates an intense atmosphere, rich with observed detail and natural imagery.

As For Me and My House is a landmark work. It is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand the scope and power of the Canadian novel.

About the Author

Sinclair Ross was born on a homestead near Shelbrooke in northern Saskatchewan in 1908. He dropped out of school after grade eleven to work in a bank. After working in many small-town banks in Saskatchewan, he transferred to a bank in Winnipeg in 1933. In 1941 he published his first novel, As For Me and My House, with its evocation of prairie life during the Depression. The prairie is the major setting for his two collections of short fiction, The Lamp at Noon and Other Stories and The Race and Other Stories.

From 1942 until 1946 Ross served with the Canadian army in London, England. In 1946 he returned briefly to Winnipeg before settling in Montreal, where he continued in banking until his retirement in 1968.

Ross’ later novels, The Well, Whir of Gold, and Sawbones Memorial, continue his exploration of prairie life and its power to challenge as well as sustain its inhabitants.

Upon his retirement Ross lived in Greece and then in Spain. He returned to Montreal in 1980, and two years later moved to Vancouver.

Sinclair Ross died in Vancouver in 1996.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: New Canadian Library (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0771099975
• ISBN-13: 978-0771099977
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,843,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent--but not great--Canadian novel, January 18, 2004

By 

K Scheffler (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: As for Me and My House (New Canadian Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

Whether As For Me and My House can be considered one of the "great Canadian novels" is somewhat questionable, but there is no denying that it is a profound, complex and evocative work of literature.

Set during the Great Depression, the story revolves around the domestic life of the Bentleys, who have come to a small, isolated Saskatchewan farm-community of Horizon, where Philip Bentley has taken on role of being the town's new minister.

Ministering is something that Philip, in fact has little desire to do, and is instead obsessed with painting, to the point where his wife--through whose perspective the story is told--is neglected. There relationship is essentially broken, but the reasons for this are not simple, and this essentially is the focus of the story.

Throughout the novel, Mrs. Bentley--who is never named because the work is written in the form of journal entries--continuously explores their history, their personalities and the effect of their confined lifestyle upon themselves and one another.

Over the course of their residence in Horizon she comes to realize that the break-down of their relationship, is not so much the fault of Philip's conduct, as we are first led to believe, but fact that both have allowed themsleves to become victims of circumstance.

As For Me and My House is definitely a work worth studying, but like I initially stated, I question whether it can really be considered one of the great Canadian novels.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wind, Earth and Dust, November 17, 2002

By 

Divinia (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As for Me and My House (Paperback)

As For Me and My House provides a descriptive tale about a preacher and his wife during the depression. Written by the hand of the wife, who remains nameless, the book incorporates vast imagery to help portray the feeble lifestyle they were trapped within. Mr. Bentley, unable to motivate himself to move beyond his unsatisfying profession as a preacher, lives in unhappiness, bringing his wife into oppression with him. Animal imagery is prevalent, as the town and its people are described in such terms. They all cower and protect themselves; with the exception of Judith, who "scales the wind" at the beginning until she discovers her own sexuality and becomes the earth....Can air continue to have 'life' when submersed into the ground?

3.0 out of 5 stars Remember it was written in l941!!!, August 27, 2011

By 

Kate from Fishkill - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: As for Me and My House (New Canadian Library) (Paperback)

I ordered this book because of a list on the Web. It listed books selected as worthwhile reading. It was and I am glad I stuck to it BUT it was slow and boring in some spots. There were periods that I found myself during chores during my appointed reading times. I did feel strong emotions come through in the main characters but many times, I wanted to shake both of them or light a fire under them. Writing "back in the day" was much, much different from todays action from page one. Much more introduction and a heap more of words. Very stiff and v.ery formal. A hard read