The Momentum of Red

Virginia Gillham is university librarian and archivist at Wilfrid
Laurier University library. She is also a judge of national and
international figure skating competions.

Might we have here the blossoming of yet another outstanding Canadian
woman author in the tradition of Margaret Atwood, Carol Shields, Alice
Munro, or Jane Urquhart? In her second novel, Monica Kidd analyzes and
conveys the subtleties of human relationships and their attendant
emotions with a rare and accomplished skill. She uses her considerable
descriptive powers to create background and setting and at the same time
convey the sensitivity of her characters.

The book begins with the death in childbirth of the narrator’s wife.
Using the technique of interweaving two plot threads separated by 20
years, and insinuating herself into the emotions of a man with amazing
skill, the author conveys the enduring, forgiving, non-judgmental
relationship of a loving father with his only daughter.

The subject of violence against women is never far from the surface,
but Kidd delivers the powerful message without resorting to graphic
descriptions of brutality. Similarly, the subject of parental letting-go
and the fine art of parental always-being-there emerge from the
narrative without the need for overt description or discussion. Even the
glimpses of humanity in the villain, which lend an air of
verisimilitude, are created by action rather than descriptions of
emotion.

The Momentum of Red will leave readers hoping for more from this author
in the near future.