A Fit Month for Dying [Paperback]

M.T. Dohaney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2000

A Fit Month for Dying is the third book in M.T. Dohaney’s highly praised trilogy about the women of Newfoundland’s outports. Fans of The Corrigan Women and To Scatter Stones will embrace this new book, while those reading the author for the first time will discover her characteristic bittersweet humour. Tess Corrigan seems to be living the good life. She is a popular politician, the first woman to serve as a Member of the House of Assembly. Her husband Greg is a successful lawyer and son Brendan is a seemingly happy hockey-mad twelve-year-old. Originally from the village of The Cove, the family is now comfortably ensconced in Newfoundland’s capital city of St. John’s. Urged on by Greg’s mother Philomena, Tess sets out to unravel her convoluted family tree. She searches out her natural father who is living in a retirement community, or as he calls it a “raisin farm,” in Arizona. Ed Strominski was an American serving at the Argentia Naval Base when he married Tess’s mother Carmel. Charming and outgoing, his one flaw was neglecting to reveal the small detail that he already had a wife. The stigma of growing up as the daughter of the abandoned “poor Carmel” has shaped Tess’s life. Involved with her own family problems and with her political work, Tess has no inkling of trouble when Brendan begs her to let him quit the Altar Servers’ Association at their St. John’s church. Always forthright, Tess insists that he fulfill his responsibilities to the organization. Her decision sets into motion a series of betrayals, revelations, and realizations that change forever her family and the village of The Cove. After a confrontation with the father of one of Brendan’s friends, Tess is shattered by the disclosure that her son has been abused by their trusted priest, Father Tom. Shame and grief envelop the family and their world becomes as turbulent as the seas of Newfoundland. Deeply held beliefs are destroyed as the characters begin to challenge long imposed systems of cultural, political, and spiritual authority. But out of the ashes of Tess’s life a small phoenix of hope arises in the form of Greg’s brother who, on his way to a feed of capelin, reveals to her his own story of abuse and survival. Buoyed by his story, Tess begins to gather strength to rebuild her life, her family, and her faith in human nature.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Tess Corrigan seems to be living the good life. She is a popular politician, the first female Member of the Newfoundland House of Assembly. Originally from a tiny coastal village, she now lives in St. John’s with her husband and their son, a hockey-mad twelve-year-old. Growing up in a religious community, Tess has suffered the shame of being the child of a bigamous marriage. She decides to track down her father, an American charmer who wed her mother without revealing that he already had a wife. Preoccupied with this quest and her work, Tess has no inkling of trouble until a revelation by an acquaintance sets into motion a series of betrayals, recriminations and admissions that shake her life to its foundations.

About the Author

M.T. (Jean) Dohaney was born in the small village of Point Verde, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. She moved to Fredericton in 1954, where she completed her BA in English at the University of New Brunswick. She holds both a MA and PhD in literature from the University of Maine and Boston University, respectively. In 1988, she released her first book, The Corrigan Women, which was followed by To Scatter Stones in 1992, A Marriage of Masks in 1996 and A Fit Month for Dying in 2000. She is presently working on script for the feature film, Come Back Paddy Riley, with Amnon Buchbinder, based on a chapter from A Fit Month for Dying.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions; No edition edition (November 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864923120
• ISBN-13: 978-0864923127
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,936,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, January 20, 2003

By 

brenda (sydney , Nova Scotia Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Fit Month for Dying (Paperback)

This was a great book, I thoroughly loved it! The writer captured both the humour and language of Newfoundlanders! In fact, it captured Nflders. much better than "The Shipping News" ever did. I read with delight as Tess described life in the Cove as a child then as she returns to visit her in-laws. The author writes with such an ease, the language is fluid and the story develops well. At first, I thought the story and the betrayal was going to be about Tess's search for her father but I was pleasantly surprised to read it was only a backdrop in the story. I never suspected the "family trouble" but I did figure out Danny's problems while he was home for his father's death. The author certainly packed a lot of story into a small book!! I am going to look for the previous book, "The Corrigan Women" to read in the VERY near future!! Very highly recommended.