Description
Book SynopsisThis book explores the understanding of freedom developed in the later novels of celebrated Canadian author, David Adams Richards. Many reviewers highlight two interconnected features in Richards novels: a seemingly rigid determinism of setting and sociodemographics, and a resulting hopelessness. In contrast, Richards describes the quest of human life and the purpose of his novels as a search for freedom. This book explores the account of freedom that is developed through the course of four of Richards's works: The Friends of Meager Fortune, Mercy Among the Children, The Lost Highway, and Crimes Against My Brother. Following the Augustinian thread that informs Richards's writing, we argue that rather than presenting an understanding of human life that is bleak or hopeless, Richards instead reveals an argument wherein one's happiness and freedom is found in the midst of love.
Trade ReviewOverall, the authors make a convincing case that Richards’ novels, while they portray a universe in which the protagonists are beset by cruel twists of fate and in which their own willful choices often undo them, ultimately do contain seeds of hope and an underlying belief in the efficacy of love and self-sacrifice. * VoegelinView *
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction I. Meager Fortunes Indeed: The Friends of Meager Fortune II. Seeking Mercy: Mercy Among the Children III. Travelling Lost Highways: The Lost Highway IV. Conclusion: Crimes Against My Brother V. Postscript: Principles to Live By
