Customer Reviews

GRAND CANARY.

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The change of scene novel seemed to be a staple among the mainstream novelists of the 1930s and 1940s, particularly those who hovered, as Cronin did, in the nether regions between the merely popular novelist and the "literary" novelist. In Grand Canary, we see some of the stock devices of Cronin novels--a driven young doctor, the caustic impact of passion, the struggle for redemption. Yet, instead of the outward struggle through medical school and inward struggles amid doubt, Catholicism and Protestantism which usually informs a Cronin novel, we are here exposed to a trip to the Canary Islands. This is rather a stark contrast from the Irish and English scenes more familiar to Cronin readers, and the book's atmospherics seek to invoke a certain "other-island-worldiness". One cannot help but note that Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh in this era were both using exotic locale as a canvass for resolution of a spiritual inward conflict, and it is quite safe to say that this is nowhere near as satisfying in evoking an exotic place as, say, Greene's Power and the Glory. But for those of us who enjoy a Cronin novel, such academic discussion is of secondary importance--the real question is whether the novel is a good read. The answer is simple: Cronin's use of locale and certain "mystical" elements detracts from the reader's interest in his characters. We have precognitive dreams, yellow fever, destined encounters of newly enchanted lovers, a missionary gone astray in a first exposure to the pleasures of the flesh, and the victim of unrequited love martyring herself in the name of familial duty. It's all rather like a parody of a Somerset Maugham tropical clime short story, except that we have Cronin's idiosyncratic faith-based vision rather than Maugham's skepticism putting the puppets through their paces. The novel is by no means a bad read--some of the characters are quite intriguing, if a bit "set piece" in design. But the plot devices and cardboard side players are less than we expect from Cronin, and perhaps less than we expect from ourselves when we seek out light fiction to read.

Although this book was not as interesting as many of Cronin's other books(The Citadel, The Green Years, etc.), it was pretty good. It tells the story of a doctor accused of malpractice who went on a cruise in the canary islands to calm down and escape publicity. On the boat, he meets the young, beautiful, Mary Fielding, and they obviously fall in love. He is later given a chance to save her life and be the wonderful doctor he always was. The plot is rather boring and predicatable, but the characterization is excellent. All the people he meets on the boat are very interesting and that is the strong point of the book. I recomend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Cronin's other book, but don't expect anything too wonderful.

Now I know why I always liked AJ Cronin.This book was up to his usual standards,and anyone who has experienced defeat in the healthcare fields can feel the protagonist's pain.We see someone who started out trying to drink himself to death finding his focus,even love,and proving himself worthy to continue in his chosen profession,and even learning the truth after facing great despair and ostracism.