Homer in Flight [Paperback]

Rabindranath Maharaj (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Hilarious and poignant, Homer in Flight draws a brilliant picture of a chronic malcontent roving from high-rise to housing development along the 401 and the QEW. Homer remains utterly displaced, not because of what other people do or don’t do, but because he lives in his imagination instead of embracing an imperfect but fairly benign reality.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

“Run, you little bitch, run. You could run as far as you want, you can’ escape.” His uncle’s words ring in Homer Santokie’s ears as his plane gains altitude and Trinidad falls away below. He has escaped. His destination: Toronto. Homer trades a basement in Ajax for a Dixie high rise, a factory job for a position as a Hamilton school librarian. Marrying Vashti and moving into her sister’s house in Burlington, becoming a father, publishing his book — these successes should win Homer peace and security. But he craves more. Hilarious and poignant, Homer in Flight draws a brilliant picture of a man evading one imaginary crisis after another. Homer veers from bravery to bravado, from jollity to gut-wrenching anxiety and confusion. Articulate and annoyed, he wrestles mightily with the benign reality of his new life.

From the Back Cover

In this satirical and often humorous novel, Homerwad Santokie, long dissatisfied with his life in Trinidad, decides to emigrate to the land of promise — Canada. But leaving his homeland turns out to be not exactly what he had imagined. Homer in Flight follows him from a low-rent high-rise to a basement apartment in the suburbs, from a job in a Nutrapure juice factory to employment as a librarian. Although Homer eventually achieves a version of success — marriage, a good job and fatherhood — he veers from bravery to bravado, his grandiose dreams out of sync with his all-to-ordinary experiences. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions; No edition edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864922205
• ISBN-13: 978-0864922205
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,270,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

RABINDRANATH MAHARAJ is the author of three novels: A Perfect Pledge (published simultaneously in 2005 by Knopf Canada and in the US by Farrar, Straus and Giroux), which was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize; The Lagahoo's Apprentice (Knopf Canada, 2000) which was a Globe and Mail and a Toronto Star notable book of the year; and Homer in Flight (Goose Lane Editions, 1997) which was a finalist for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award; and three collections of short stories: The Book of Ifs and Buts (Vintage Canada, 2002), The Writer and His Wife (Peepal Tree Press, UK, 1996), and The Interloper (Goose Lane Editions, 1995) which was nominated for a Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Canada and Caribbean Region) for Best First Book. Born and raised in Trinidad, he immigrated to Canada in the early 1990s and now lives in Ajax, Ontario.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Maharaj describes the character and feelings of an immigrant, June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Homer in Flight (Paperback)

Rabindranath Maharaj introduces an interesting story of Homer, an immigrant to Canada from his native country. He explains the bribery and corruption in the government of Trrinidad and expresses the experience of immigration, weather, hardship. prejudice, changes in social structure and racism in Canada. Maharaj describes the character and feelings of a new immigrant. He analizes the martial lifestyle while being unsettled. He also clarifies the character of Wali and his wife because of their honest, positive approach and help for Homer to get a job in a factory. He describes the half portion of his novel more interesting, but the remaining half is slow and un appealing. The end of the novel was beautiful because of the big achievement of Homer to become a writer.