Some Great Thing [Paperback]

Lawrence Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1992

Disillusioned and apathetic after four years of college, fledgling reporter Mahatma Grafton returns to his hometown to begin work at a local newspaper. When a peaceful demonstration escalates into a full-scale police cover-up, Mahatma discovers the principles that have always eluded him.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lawrence Hill was raised in Ontario and has lived and worked across Canada, Spain, France, West Africa, and the United States. He has worked as a reporter for the Globe and Mail and The Winnipeg Free Press. He now lives in Burlington, Ontario with his wife and children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Turnstone Press (January 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888011679
• ISBN-13: 978-0888011671
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,973,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lawrence Hill is the author of the novels "Someone Knows My Name," "Any Known Blood" and "Some Great Thing" and of the nonfiction work "The Deserter's Tale" (with Joshua Key). He lives in Ontario, Canada.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars some great canadiana, October 1, 2001

By 

"spaceprincess12" (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Great Thing (Paperback)

Mahatma Grafton is a university graduate who, having no idea what he wants to do with his life, returns to his hometown of Winnipeg to work for a newspaper. Over the course of his first year on the job, he discovers purpose in his life, with the help of a colourful array of characters, including a welfare crusader, a burned-out fellow reporter, an unlikely french-language-rights activist, and a visiting journalist from Cameroon.
Aside from being incredibly well-written and entertaining, this book is an intelligent reflection of Canadian issues, including race, language, government policy and opinions regarding our American neighbors.
Some Great Thing is loosely connected to Hill's second book, Any Known Blood, which is also a fabulous read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A "black" comedy on Canadian culture!, November 12, 2010

By 

Paul Weiss (Dundas, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Great Thing (Paperback)

While not quite up to the level of his best-selling THE BOOK OF NEGROES, his debut novel, SOME GREAT THING is a perfect metaphor for the future of Lawrence Hill's writing. Just as Lawrence Hill was born to produce superb and important literature, Mahatma Grafton's father knew, from the very date of his birth, that he was destined for "some great thing"! Just as, when writing as a reporter, Lawrence Hill knew that he was destined to squeeze something more from his life, Mahatma Grafton, a young black man, also understood that he must at all costs avoid the cynicism and sleaze of tabloid "journalism" and find a way to write with integrity and self-esteem about those things he felt were most important to himself and to his potential Canadian readers.

One review I read termed SOME GREAT THING a "crackling good yarn". I think it's more a thinking man's noir comedy, a wonderful story of Canadian values and issues set in the context of biting satire peopled by a list of exceptionally colourful characters - a sleazy tabloid reporter who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the story (facts, of course, are beside the point!); a visiting black journalist from the Cameroons whose utter inability to understand Canadian culture and the dynamics of western male-female interpersonal relationships is both touching and absolutely hilarious; and a black judge who has worked hard to rise above humble beginnings as a railroad porter but demonstrates exceptionally bad judgment in his professional life and ultimately retires unhappy and unfulfilled. Of course, what self-respecting Canadian story would be complete without touching on the French language issue, in this case, through the eyes of an intriguing French language rights activist.

Winnipeg, Manitoba is the unlikely setting for SOME GREAT THING, a story that is so many different things - a compelling story of personal professional growth for a young black man struggling with himself and his abilities in the field of journalism; an essay on multiple aspects of Canadian culture but, most obviously, the issue of French language rights outside of the province of Quebec; and some fascinating history about black Canadians and their relegation to subservient, low paid jobs such as railway porters. Last but hardly least, SOME GREAT THING explores some pieces of the ever shifting relationship between Canada and its nearest and most friendly(?) ally, that behemoth directly to our south, the US of A!

SOME GREAT THING is great reading under any circumstances. But it would be especially interesting for those foreign readers who would like to learn a little more about what makes Canadians tick! Definitely recommended.

Paul Weiss

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It was a great book!, May 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Some Great Thing (Paperback)

I don't read much but I would like to say that this was a very good book. I read it for a school project and it was very interesting. I like the characters and it never makes you bored. Hope you like it just as much as I!