I mks in Yeview POSSIBLE STORMS - University of British Columbia

BOOKS IN REVIEWOne of the most successful of the storiesis the carefully constructed "Roses," afictional representation of Ann Diamond'scritical observation: "Québec is Canada'sunknown 'Other,' where all evil is to originate.We're like the wife in an extremelypatriarchial marriage. Our concerns havenever really been incorporated into themainstream consciousness. And if you'reEnglish here your situation is even moreambiguous." Joan, a writer, goes to Montréal,because she wants to discover "thereal Québec" and assimilate into its fascinatingintellectual milieu. She tries hardbut it is difficult for her because she remainsbasically an anglaise, because of the"language thing," because of the differencesbetween love and amour. Ann Diamondhas proved again that she is certainlyamong the most promising anglophonewriters in Québec. Her stories areset in a concrete milieu yet they surpassthese boundaries and can be read as perplexingtales for adults.Anne Cameron is best-known forDaughters of Copper Woman, but amongher other acknowledged works are Dreamspeaker(1979), The Journey (1982),Stubby Amberchuk and the Holy Grail(1987). Daughters of Copper Womanran into its thirteenth edition in 1989. Inthis collection of tales the legends of theNootka Indians are told. Anne Camerontransmits to us what she received from theSecret Society of Women and was allowedto share with outsiders.The first half of the book familiarizesus with the creation myth of the NootkaIndians; our common ancestor from thedawn of time is the omnipresent and omniscientCopper Woman : "With the loomshe weaves the pattern of destiny," andshe will never abandon us. Indeed, herpresence is felt all through the book. Weare all related to her from either of thetwo genealogical lines: the children ofhappiness or the children of the fourcouples.The second part of the book is muchcloser to us in time; before it reaches thepresent, however, two important eventsare pointed out which shattered the harmonyof the matriarchal society. First,hundreds of years back, men started todominate women and thus violate thepeace of the society. Second, the whitemen arrived and tried to destroy and wipeout the community. Life became fragmentedand moral degradation followed.But wisdom survived.While reading the book, we too, gainwisdom. Unnoticed, we become part of thecommunity listening to these legends. Wehear different voices: the first part is inthe third person narrative, then we hearGranny and her granddaughter talking inturns, and thus producing tales withintales. We also hear the monotonous rain,the crackling of the fire, Granny knitting,the kettle boiling. Eating is often mentioned,reminding us of the potlatchfestivities. The descriptive passages andGranny's talking flow into one another.In the end, it becomes clear that actuallyall the narrators are inspired by the OldWoman.This again is a book about womenwritten from the viewpoint of women andfor women. The book is a moving remythologizationof women's spiritual, mentaland physical universe. The women weread about testify to the hardships andjoys of womanhood, the experience of loveand solitude, the challenges women havehad to face even as warriors, and the waysthey "Endured and Survived." They haveeducated younger generations; this theyregard as one of their obligations. Realvirtues are taught to us: ability to love,friendship, sharing, accepting, listening toeach other. One wonders to what extentAnne Cameron shares the apprehensivefeeling of Ki-Ki, the grandchild, concerningthe future of the book. Ki-Ki andAnne Cameron have much in common.Granny's, and thus Copper Woman's en-203