Customer Reviews

The Diviners.

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
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The Manawaka cycle consists of the following books: "A Bird in the House", "A Jest of God", "The Fire Dwellers" "Stone Angel", and "The Diviners". It is truly a portayal the cycle of life for women.

I discovered Margaret Laurence while living in a log cabin in Canada at the height of my feminist awakening in the 1970's. Although steeped in far more radical authors such as Betty Friedan and Virginia Woolf, Laurence's Manawaka series touched me as no others, perhaps because I identified with each and every woman of her books. The startling part was that none of their lives looked anything like mine--not in the slightest. And yet I felt as if I were each character and came away with a bit more insight into myself. I loved the way she chose women who were unlike each other, but all of whom had contact with each other in some way. One was a main character in one book and a minor one in another book. One was a young girl, another a middle-aged woman, and yet another a dying elderly woman. One was the wealthy daughter of a town leader, the other the daughter of the garbage collector. And each woman learned something about herself and her life through the drama of the story. Laurence's solutions for each woman were far from simplistic, but each woman came to some resolution in her life. To read only one misses the eloquence of the series, the portrait of rural Manitoba and of people who inhabit the imaginary town of Manawaka. I wish that the series were published in one volume so that readers did not risk entering the characters from only one person's perpective. I have not read the books since the 1970's and yet hold them very dear. I am now inspired to reread them from the perspective of a 53-year-old. I have little doubt that they will only be that much more intensely felt. Perhaps I will write another review after my rereading of them.

It is understandable that high school students might be unmoved by her books and I agree with the reviewer who suggested they might not be appropriate for mandatory high school reading. They require a bit more life experience than most adolescents have, but I venture to guess that her message is universally understood by women of all ages who are introspective. I think a good introduction of Laurence for youths might be "A Bird in the House", about a child's perspective on a death in the family.

I cannot think of any books that have had a greater influence on my adult life as a woman. I hope that the entire series is republished.

I had to read this book for an English class and I've read it several times since of my own accord. Full of brilliant symbolism, this book employs some fascinating literary techniques. Laurence's use of Morag's "memorybank movies" is so realistic that you really feel as you read that you are growing up with her. Her discovery of herself and acceptance of her flawed loved ones, such as her adoptive parents and her off-and-on lover Jules, is one of the best aspects of the book. Her realization that not only can she deal with but she is also proud of where she comes from is something I love to read about each time. It's a great book to study carefully, after you've read it once. If you just skim the surface, you miss so much. Great regional flavor.

My last year of highschool we had to read The Stone Angel, and it was the only book assigned to me in highschool that I managed to finish ahead of sechduel. I have since been out of school for two years and when I found The Diviners I jumped at the chance to read it. And I loved it and everything about it, unlike the other reveiwers I was neither forced to read it nor was I looking for a book about a middle aged women to relate to. I read this book simply because Laurence is a great storyteller. She manages to wave the past and present flawlessly never losing the reader anywhere in between. I fond that the realisionship between Morag and Pique was much like the realisionship between Deliah and Cissy in Dorthy Alison's Cavedweller. So if you like The Cavedweller then you like this book. The same can be said for if you like Laurence's books you will Alison's books because she is the next step for Women's litature in North America!

I've read this book twice and I enjoyed it even more the second time. The characters are complex and interesting and their lives take unexpected twists and turns, making the story very realistic and very fascinating. The development of the storyline is such that you feel as if you are on the same journey as the characters, as the reader can't help to be emotionally connected to the little town and the main characters.

Laurence is a brilliant writer and this is her best work -- which is a big compliment since her other novels are incredible too.

I highly recommend this book, and especially to other Canadian women who will love Morag Gunn and relate to her life as a woman in Canada.

This book remains, to me, as one of the top-five books ever written by a Canadian, and probably the most beautiful book written about the prairies. Morag Gunn haunts our memories: she's a stern, creative, strong, industrious woman who survives out west and thrives out east. I can't describe the story to you; you must read it yourself to understand.

After viewing a film, "Taking Liberties", I decided to read THE DIVINERS because part of the story line involved it being banned from a high school English class. I cannot imagine why anyone would suggest this novel to a high school English class and I am a high school English teacher. The novel centers on a woman in her 40s and I believe that you need to be a mature reader to appreciate this novel. It is marvelous! I highly recommend it (read the other positive reviews for details). But reading reviews of THE DIVINERS and other novels by Laurence here at Amazon leads me to believe that many young Canadians are being turned off by Laurence because they are not ready for the themes and even the subjects of her novels. Some works need to be read later on in life.

Laurence was able to create characters of great depth, all diverse in their personality traits. Morag Gunn carries the story through reflection of her life, skipping back and forth from present time to past. This book takes place in Manawaka, a legendary town in Manitoba. Some secondary (as well as central) characters are also present in Laurence's "The Stone Angel", giving the reader a greater appreciation of the close relation between the books and the characters. A very involving read!

This is one of my favorite books, and I just finished reading it. It's all about the characterization of Morag Gunn, a somewhat eccentric, but undeniably strong woman. Laurence evokes emotions like desperation and loneliness and confusion and even, yes, sexual desire, without resorting to either sentimental cliche or philosophical essays. Highly, highly recommended.

The Diviners is one book that I could not put down! The present and past are intermingled in a heart rending story of love, fear, confusion and the struggle to find ones identity. Laurence is a master of protraying the abiguity of Canada. Morag Gunn is herself, a figure of ambiguity, and throughout the novel is faced with the dilemmas af her nation. A true insight into the life of a small town girl, struggling with the limitations forced upon her. An unforgettable piece of literature and one that Canadians should be proud of.

Margaret Laurence's novel, The Diviners, achieves a stark sense of reality through the use of tone and diction. Margaret Laurence draws from her own background to create the unique sense of style that is perceived when reading her novel. Through the use of her background information, her novel has the impression of being more real, something that one can relate too, much easier than of a novel of pure fiction. Tone and diction play a major role in any writer's novels, but is how they are used that makes the difference. In The Diviners, the tone and diction are satirical, which create the stark sense of reality needed to make this novel work as a whole. For instance, Morag, the main character, who also is a novelist, sets the tone of the novel, by instantly badgering at the way she cannot accurately describe the river, "its surface wrinkled by the breeze. Naturally, the river wasn't wrinkled or creased at all-wrong words, implying something unfluid like skin, something unenduring, prey to age," (4). Satire is chiefly implied by the way Morag immediately contradicts herself. Or though her use of diction, satire can be found in the way Morag depicts a close companion, Maudie, " A wonder she didn't sew by hand with needle, thread and tiny silver thimble. At night. By coal-oil lamp." (45). Morag appears to be mocking Maudie's way of getting things done. The diction in Morag's way of thinking is also satirical, "Women working like horses. Also pregnant most of the time. Baking bread in brick ovens, with a loaf in their own ovens. Looking after broods of chickens and kids. Terrible. Appalling." (77). Morag is reflecting upon the hardships of the women of the pioneer age and how hard their life was compared to hers, and if they could survive all that, then she too can survive. The way she thinks about everything is satirical, which makes the novel and the characters appear so lifelike. Another instance is when Christi, her adoptive father, dies and she is approaching the funeral home and sees the funeral sign that says "Free Parking for Clients", she uses diction in a satirical way to deal with the harsh reality of life and death, "Die now and get free parking forever. Almost worth it." (324). Morag applies humor to deal with the pain of Christi's death. Throughout this novel the use of diction and tone are applied to produce a reality that the reader can identify with.