Milksop: In Others’ Words, Part 2
Evan and I, We’ve Arrived?
I’ve discovered that, emotionally at least, writing a novel requires a fine balance. You want to have enough confidence, dare I say ego, to draft it, revise it, and put it out there—a process lasting years. Too much ego blinds you to flaws, both in yourself and in the work. Criticism and rejection become deeply personal; you imagine elaborate scenarios of revenge against agents, editors, and publishers. On the other hand, if you have too little confidence, the voices of oppression in your head will take a scourge to you, leaving you bleeding on the floor of your writer’s cell.
Oh, the delicate ego of the novelist! Even as I write, rewrite, and tinker with these sentences, I second-guess myself.
Especially when you’re coming of age as a writer, someone else’s appraisal of your work can restore that fine balance. In fact, it can buoy you, lessen the force of gravity you feel. That’s what happened when I recently received this endorsement for Milksop from Joseph Kertes:
“Who’d have thought that there could be a fresh take on the age-old tale of growing up, of finding oneself, of growing into oneself, of falling in love (even if it is with the wrong girl)? That is precisely the journey that Evan, the protagonist of this novel, takes. He is a clumsy city boy, the ‘milksop’ of the title, who is transplanted by his parents into the country only to discover what is good and right about this world, after believing that little of it could be true or possible. John Van Rys is a bold, honest and eloquent new voice in Canadian letters. We should welcome and celebrate his arrival.”
Wow! That’s got me floating, riding high on the breeze of these words.
All the more so because of who Joseph Kertes is and what he’s accomplished. Joe founded Humber College’s creative writing and comedy programs and was for many years Dean of the Creative and Performing Arts there. He’s published several award-winning novels, including Winter Tulips (Leacock Medal for Humour), Gratitude (Canadian National Jewish Book Award and the U.S. National Jewish Book Award for Fiction), and The Afterlife of Stars (a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice). Such a blurb from such a writer!
Coming of Age, Times Two
In my first ODD “In Others’ Words” post, I described Milksop as my debutante daughter. Joe’s endorsement suggests further that Milksop is a coming-of-age story in a double sense.
It’s the story of how Evan Mulder changes the summer he turns 18. Some of my favourite novels are coming-of-age stories, including classics such as Great Expectations and Jane Eyre. While I was drafting Milksop, I balanced my daily writing with nighttime reading from Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn, which narrates the coming of age of a young Irish immigrant, Eilis Lacey. Brooklyn was my “hero book” at The Novelry, and I read and re-read it, learning what was possible in this genre. But during this time I also read Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead, her retelling of David Copperfield. And when I read Cold Comfort Farm and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, it felt somehow that Milksop was a cross between the two, though still very different. All of which is to say, I immersed myself in coming-of-age novels as I wrote my own. (Interestingly, though I’d read J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye decades earlier, I decided not to re-read it while writing Milksop. Perhaps I didn’t want to risk being overly influenced by it.)
Evan’s coming-of-age story is also my coming of age as a novelist, as “a bold, honest and eloquent new voice in Canadian letters,” says Joe. Wow again. While Evan turns 18 in Milksop, my voice and I will turn 65 in a few weeks. I always was a late bloomer.
An Invitation to a Coming-of-Age Party
Milksop will be published on May 23. To celebrate Evan’s coming of age and mine, launch parties will happen simultaneously in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris (Ontario), Rome, Singapore, Mexico City, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tokyo.
Not!
On a little hobby farm near Dunnville, Ontario, Canada, I’ll be opening a bottle of wine to celebrate. Maybe I’ll even share it with my family. Perhaps I’ll raise a glass in a toast to Evan and milksops everywhere, as well as to you, dear reader.
You’re invited to join me by picking up a copy of Milksop. When you have it in hand, take a sip of your favourite beverage, then taste the opening sentence: “I’m dumped in a farm laneway, a dark tunnel beneath a canopy of trees.” There will be plenty more to chew on after that.
Joe’s endorsement will be immensely useful as my publisher and I promote Milksop. But as I mentioned in my previous post, your response would be even more helpful. I would love it if you would consider helping my coming out as a novelist by doing any or all of the following:
Pre-ordering a copy of Milksop: you can do that now at the Chicken House website. After April 23 you’ll be able to do so at your favourite independent bookstore, at Indigo, or at Amazon.
Once it’s published, check if Milksop is in your local library. If it’s not, you can suggest they add it.
Share your copy, or give a copy to your friends (and depending on your feelings about Milksop, to your enemies).
If you enjoy Milksop, shout it from literal and digital rooftops. Share your joy through word of mouth, by posting a review, and/or by sharing on social media.
Thanks for considering these actions!
As always, if the spirit moves you, please share your thoughts and this post.