Getting over Edgar [Paperback]

Joan Barfoot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1999

From one of the most distinctive voices in Canadian fiction, comes a major new novel imbued with Barfoot`s signature theme - that of an ordinary woman deflected from the course of her life by an extraordinary event. Gwen Stone thought her life had taken an abrupt nose-dive when Edgar, her husband of twenty years, suddenly decided he wasn`t suited to marriage and left her, for freedom and a shiny red convertible. Edgar`s freedom, however has been short-lived - and so has he. Seven weeks later, he and his convertible have been mowed down by a train, and Gwen is attending his funeral, swinging between caustic rage, despair and an unfamiliar sense of possibility. "So, `For the last time, Edgar, good-bye,` Gwen says in a clear, impatient, exasperated voice. She gives the casket an encouraging pat, straightens and marches briskly out of the room, past everyone gaping, through one set of doors, and down a hallway to a heavy set of wooden doors, out into the parking lot and sunshine...... She`s had enough. More than enough. She spreads her arms and lets loose a whoop into the shining, hot sky." From Edgar`s funeral Gwen moves on to her new life, and a few hours` solace in the arms of David, a friendly young bartender. David has his own troubles, and the brief encounter between the newly widowed Gwen, and the misunderstood (in his opinion) David, unexpectedly alters both of their destinies. "He could do that. He could take an hour and go for a walk in the sunshine. He could watch carefully for the elusive signal, wait for it, act on it. He could give himself one more outing. This may be how an alcoholic feels: just one more treat. What harm could it do, how much difference could it make? He deserves some recompense, a reward, doesn`t he? For being so good, for so long? He could walk right now across this barren floor and out that door, into the light and air." Gwen and David`s alternating stories, both humorous and surprising, have wonderfully satisfying resolutions.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joan Barfoot is an award-winning novelist whose work has been compared internationally with that of Anne Tyler, Carol Shields, Margaret Drabble and Margaret Atwood. Her novels include Luck in 2005, nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, as well as Abra, which won the Books in Canada first novels award, Dancing in the Dark, which became an award-winning Canadian entry in the Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals, Duet for Three, Family News, Plain Jane, Charlotte and Claudia Keeping in Touch, Some Things About Flying, and Getting Over Edgar. Her 2001 novel, Critical Injuries, was longlisted for the 2002 Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the 2001 Trillium Book Award. In 1992 she was given the Marian Engel Award. Also a journalist during much of her career, she lives in London, Ontario, Canada.

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552630110
• ISBN-13: 978-1552630112
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,554,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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