The Man Who Hated Emily Brontë

Susan Merskey is freelance writer in London, Ontario.

Hired to teach in a junior college, Will Franklyn has come to Montreal
expecting life to continue much as it had done in Nova Scotia, where he
grew up, or in Edmonton or Edinburgh, where he studied. But “in
Quebec, everything—all law, all logic, all human behaviour, is topsy
turvy.”

The book touches on several themes, including the preparations being
made for a conference on an Icelandic Saga to be held in Iceland,
lesbianism, sex change, impotence, and prostitution. All these elements
are interspersed into the normal college routine during the academic
year.

Will is the sanest, most grounded character in the book. His colleagues
in the English department all have their peculiarities, some more so
than others. In the end, true love prevails for only one couple, and as
everything comes to a surprising head after the conference, Gudrun, the
Icelandic Ice Maiden, proves herself the seer she has claimed to be from
the outset.

As with most comic fiction, this is a lighthearted look at many deeper
issues. Author Ray Smith, whose previous books include The Man Who Loved
Jane Austen, has demonstrated once again that he is a master of the
genre. As he leads us from reality into the absurd, his writing provokes
outright laughter on many occasions. Some readers may be offended by the
description of a sex change in progress and other sexual content. This
caveat aside, I would recommend the book—although I am still not sure
what the connection to Emily Brontл is!