The Macken Charm [Paperback]

Jack Hodgins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 1995

It is the summer of 1956, and although Rusty Macken is eager to leave rural Vancouver Island – and his family – for university, the events of Glory’s funeral will not make it easy. Over the course of a single day, the rambunctious Macken clan gathers at the site of the burned-down seaside hotel that was once the family base to mourn and remember the glamorous city girl who married the wildest Macken of all but never quite adapted to their country ways. By the time the sun comes up on the following day, Rusty may have participated in something of a miracle. At the very least, he will have been forced to confront the uneasy secrets of his own heart. Compassionate, hilarious, and wise, The Macken Charm brilliantly captures the joys, the frustrations, and the rich human drama of family life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Macken Charm proves [Jack Hodgins] to be one of the best writers of novels in this country.…”
–Quill & Quire (starred review)

“The Macken Charm takes up the theme of the family with wild exuberance.…Hodgins is a funny writer and, in the comic tradition of W.O. Mitchell, Paul Quarrington and other tall-tale spinners, he can make you laugh out loud. He can also make you cry and there lies the gift of the storyteller.”
–Kitchener-Waterloo Record

“Written in flawless prose – word for word, Hodgins is one of the country’s best writers.…”
–Books in Canada

“It is a fine, funny, sad and readable [novel], a great yarn, the kind only an expert storyteller can produce.…”
–Ottawa Citizen

“An engaging tribute to family and community and lost innocence.”
–Montreal Gazette

“A rollicking novel.…”
–Canadian Literature

“A joyous, vigorous, humorous novel that, in the best traditions of comedy, hovers precariously but purposefully on the brink of the tragic.…The Macken Charm is a bravura performance, and deserves a wide readership.”
–CBRA

“[Hodgins] brilliantly evokes time and place.…”
–Vancouver Sun

“Entertaining.…This is a colorful, imaginative story.…”
–Winnipeg Free Press

“Hodgins has written a powerful novel about grief and beauty, about what has been lost and how to redeem yourself after failure.”
–Ottawa X Press

From the Inside Flap

It is the summer of 1956, and although Rusty Macken is eager to leave rural Vancouver Island ? and his family ? for university, the events of Glory?s funeral will not make it easy. Over the course of a single day, the rambunctious Macken clan gathers at the site of the burned-down seaside hotel that was once the family base to mourn and remember the glamorous city girl who married the wildest Macken of all but never quite adapted to their country ways. By the time the sun comes up on the following day, Rusty may have participated in something of a miracle. At the very least, he will have been forced to confront the uneasy secrets of his own heart. Compassionate, hilarious, and wise, The Macken Charm brilliantly captures the joys, the frustrations, and the rich human drama of family life.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (September 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0771041853
• ISBN-13: 978-0771041853
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,918,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A family madness . . ., January 26, 2001

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Macken Charm (Paperback)

Writing of events in small, isolated communities is inherently difficult. While many books are produced depicting that environment, the results are too often contrived stories, lacking reality. The true existence of such communities, on the other hand, is usually too mundane for successful story telling. Drama seems lacking; the people's lives seem too common for a writer to tackle and present in a way to capture reader attention. Unless the writer has exceptional ability.

If you pick up The Macken Charm you will encounter such a writer. You will meet a man who's spent his life in such a place, yet who has the aptitude to convey how much drama such lives can endure. There's nothing false or contrived in the events surrounding Glory's funeral or the times preceding it. Hodgins has given us the lives of this remote community through the eyes of the youthful Randy Macken. Randy, torn in many directions over relations with his family, the blood relatives and the married-in ones, coincidental with his wish to escape the isolation in the nearest big city - Vancouver. It's an old story, but Hodgins deals with it in ways rarely achieved by today's urban writers. His ability to see the family's interactions through the eyes of this young, if discerning, man reveals the talent of this writer.

Although Hodgins' portrait of Randy Macken is valid and captivating, it's the presentation of Randy's cousin Toby that shows Hodgins at his best. A figure that could have been buried in dramatic surrealism, Hodgins brings this tragi-comic figure to life in subtle steps. Toby's entry is sly, almost a backstage insertion into the day's events. But he's a central figure in Randy's life and in the minds of Barclays, Mackens, Aaltos and the rest. To discover why, pick up this book and spend a quiet day reading and reflecting on people you probably know. You will discover one of North America's finer authors, one whose books you will seek out as treasures to be added to your shelves.