Landed

Martha Wilson is Canadian correspondent for the Japan Times (Tokyo) and
a Toronto-based freelance editor and writer.

Landed is a stream-of-consciousness tale that takes the reader on
journeys with three generations of the Anderson family and touches on a
wide variety of topics, from the Vietnam War to today’s ecological
warfare. Rose, the matriarch of the family, exudes “quiet good
grace” and staunch courage; the other characters are equally well
delineated.

Although Donovan is excessively fond of one- and two-word sentences and
paragraphs, her language has a richness that rewards the patient reader.
Her grounding in poetry is evident on every page, and her images are
like calm grey watercolors, both trembling and still. The trials of
family life represent territory that she mines over and over. It’s
painful to watch Rose settle into old age without getting more of the
few things she wants. Her sons, Ray and Luke, lead fragmented lives, and
her granddaughter, Aurora, has her own axes to grind. Landed is a bleak
tale of love and belonging, delicately told.