Martha baillie s novel the incident report is made up of such logs, miriam, her protagonist, seeing fit to order her life to fit the confines of these reports. The incident report by martha baillie nook book ebook. The reports describe strange notes left scattered around the library for the narrator who also begins to tell her life story in the reports by one rigoletto. In a toronto library, home to the mad and the marginalized, notes appear, written by someone who believes he is rigoletto, the hunchbacked jester from verdis opera. Author mariam baillie tells the story of miriam, a public librarian in the city of toronto. Martha baillie born 1960 is a canadian poet and novelist baillie was born in toronto, ontario. She studied history, french and russian at the university of edinburgh, and completed her studies at the sorbonne, paris and the university of toronto. Set in the heart of toronto, at the allan gardens public library, home to the mad and the marginalized, the novel is both a mystery and an erotic love story, told in 144 brief lyric reports that ricochet off each other to form an utterly unusual and compelling novel. Miriam is a public service assistant at allan gardens library, a fictional branch located in a. Martha baillie is the author of four novels and has been published in canada, germany, and hungary. Her novel the incident report was nominated for the scotia bank giller prize and was on the globe and mail best books list. Martha baillies hypnotic novel follows heinrich schlogel from germany to. At seventeen she left for scotland where she studied history and modern languages french and russian at the university of edinburgh. In a toronto library, home to the mad and the marginalized, notes appear, written by someone.
I very much doubt that i would have stumbled across this book had it not been for maxs blog, and that would have been a shame as its a little gem. Go search best sellers gift ideas new releases deals store. The incident report takes the pulse of our fragmented urban existence with. Reports on bizarre public behaviour intertwine with reports on the private life of the novels narrator. Strikingly original in its structure, composed of highly distilled, lyric reports in which you discover if rigoletto, th.
In a toronto library, home to the mad and the marginalized, notes appear, written by someone who believ. Browse author series lists, sequels, pseudonyms, synopses, book covers, ratings and awards. Her novel the incident report was longlisted for the scotiabank giller prize. A story told in a series of incident reports is a wonderful idea there. Martha baillie born 1960 is a canadian poet and novelist.
Martha baillie the winnipeg international writers festival. He emerges two weeks later to find that, although he has not. Martha baillie in a toronto library, home to the mad and the marginalized, notes appear, written by someone who believes he is rigoletto, the hunchbacked jester from verdis opera. Martha baillie and some musical guests present the incident report at 7. The incident report by martha baillie the incident report takes the form of 140 incident reports filed by miriam gordon, a librarian at a local branch of the toronto public library. The incident report is a novel of gestures, one that invites the reader to be astonished by the circumstances its characters confront.
What has the author martha baillie written answers. Martha baillie has written numerous books, including the incident report, which was nominated for the scotiabank giller prize. Shifting constantly between harmony and dissonance, elegant in its restraint and excitingly contemporary. I rarely keep books after i finish reading them, however, this book will have a permanent place on my bookshelf for future rereadings and rerereadings.
As its title suggests, martha baillies fourth novel consists of a series of incident reports written by miriam gordon, a 35yearold employee of the toronto public. Miriam, a librarian in a downtown toronto library, writes her reports, 144 in all, that chronicle her lonely life, and events from the library. Her most recent novel, the incident report, was a globe and mail best book and. Buy the paperback book the incident report by martha baillie at indigo. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. Martha baillie s the incident report pedlar press, 2009 pedlar press presents the incident report as though it is exactly what it purports to be.
The incident report, both mystery and love story, daringly explores the fragility of our individual identities. I had no idea how impressive such a slim book could be. The incident report by martha baillie librarything. The incident report, martha baillie the week before i left my internship, i checked out six books from the university library, and the only two paperbacks the incident report and mothernight, of which more later had nothing on their back covers except for quotations about time. Format martha baillie author martha baillie is the author of four novels and has been.
The incident report by martha baillie overdrive rakuten. Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Perhaps a way to order chaos indeed, as her job sees her engaging in bizarre and sometimes dangerous interactions with those on the fringes of society. As you point out, so many booker and giller books were wordy traditional historical novels, a category that rarely generates any excitement from me. The incident report, by martha baillie kevinfromcanada. Martha baillie author martha baillie is the author of four novels and has been published in canada, germany, and hungary. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Her novels include the incident report, the search for heinrich schlogel, and if clara. In a toronto library, home to the mad and the marginalized, not. This new novel by martha baillie employed in the toronto pub. Whenever anything goes sideways in library land, whether it is a disruptive patron, theft, vandalism, or other malfeasance, your hardworking library workers must document the occurrence.
Reports on bizarre public behavior intertwine with reports on the private life of the novels narrator. Strikingly original in its structure, comprised of 140 highly distilled, lyric reports, the novel depicts the tensions between private and public storytelling, the subtle dynamics of a socially exposed workplace. As its title suggests, martha baillie s fourth novel consists of a series of incident reports written by miriam gordon, a 35yearold employee of the toronto public library. Martha was born in toronto and now lives there with her daughter and husband. The books, soiled by what looked like common semen, we bagged in. Martha baillie was born in toronto, in 1960, and educated in a frenchenglish bilingual school. Easily share your publications and get them in front of issuus.
Its incredibly easy to read, whips by at a breathless pace, but packs a whallop. The incident report by martha baillie, 197 pages bibliophilic challenge. Read the incident report by martha baillie available from rakuten kobo. Click to read more about the incident report by martha baillie. Martha baillies hypnotic novel follows heinrich schlogel from germany to canada. Martha baillie, author of the incident report, on librarything. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. The incident report takes the pulse of our fragmented urban existence with detachment and wit. An interview with martha baillie, author of the search for. In her novel told entirely in the form of library incident reports, author martha baillie has created a unique narrative.
Sometimes, because the material is so easy to access, one forgets that a writer wrote it, a writer conceived the plot, a writer was behind it. The incident report toronto public library overdrive. In torontos allan gardens, author martha baillie reads from her latest novel, the incident report. Her nonfiction piece the legacy of joseph wagenbach was published by. The words love and fuck, printed in large, dark letters, decorated the.
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