Canadian Writers and Their Works: Fiction Series, Vol. 5

W.J. Keith is a retired professor of English at the University of Toronto and author A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada.

The format of the ECW Canadian Writers and Their Works series is now
clear: four or five booklet-sized studies (also published separately) of
generically and chronologically related writers consisting of critical
surveys framed by biographical, contextual, and bibliographical
information.

This volume, devoted to novelists prominent in the middle years of this
century, is no exception. Approach and quality of treatment vary, but
the usual competence is there. John Orange’s treatment of Ernest
Buckler is informative though his concentration on intellectual
development and consistency deflects attention from Buckler’s
all-important stylistic exuberance and idiosyncrasies. Gary Boire gives
selective analysis of representative works by Morley Callaghan, though
his emphasis can be questioned: the stories are virtually ignored and
Boire accepts the author’s own rating of A Fine and Private
Place—this is, to say the least, odd. Still, a good view of
Callaghan’s artistic career emerges. Hugh MacLennan is an easier
subject, and Helen Hoy gives a model exposition: informative, organized,
and firm but just in its critical judgments. Finally, Alan R. Young
presents a bold case for Thomas Raddall’s claims to more serious
attention than is generally granted him, an argument that should impress
even those it doesn’t convince.

As usual, George Woodcock graces the volume with a smooth-flowing,
magisterial introduction that unites the studies and, where necessary,
registers alternative responses.

This is an essential volume for all libraries with serious holdings in
Canadian literature; students could not find a better place to begin
their critical literary explorations.