Bitter Sweet Taste of Maple

Robin V.H. Bellamy was an editor and bibliographer in Vancouver.

Now living in Montreal, Tecia Werbowski came to Canada from Prague in 1968. Her interests in language and the theatre are reflected in this novel, which is her first.

Bitter Sweet Taste of Maple is about twelve women who are employed at a social work agency in Montreal. It is logical and yet ironical that they choose to work in a “helping” profession, because all of them need more emotional support themselves. Some of them have immigrated to “the land of maple leaves” anticipating better lives than they had elsewhere; they find some opportunities are greater, but they miss family and friends sorely, and they feel isolated because the people they meet seem so reserved.

Sometimes the women are themselves responsible for their isolation. They choose to keep their private lives entirely separate from their workplace and so forfeit the comfort they could get from each other. At other times they get so involved in the dreams they create to ease their loneliness that they miss the chances for intimacy that do come their way. For instance, Jacqueline refuses to answer her doorbell when it intrudes on her recollections of Jean Pierre. In the morning she finds a note from him outside, next to a frozen rose.

Not everyone remains isolated by choice, however. Visiting an archaeological site in Egypt during her vacation, Ann falls into a deep hole and is unable to climb out. She writes on a postcard, “I have a feeling that the people in the village know about me. I shout and scream. In vain.” Her predicament is a metaphor for that of several of the isolated women in Canada: they don’t know how to get the attention they so desperately need. Ann eventually dies of thirst and hunger; by analogy, breaking through the social isolation is also vital.

Tecia Werbowski handles her materials deftly. The book’s structure, with a separate section for each woman, reinforces the theme of isolation. The characters are varied and engaging; their situations are rendered with both compassion and humour. Bitter Sweet Taste of Maple is enjoyable to read, and if its aftertaste reminds us to reach out to others more often, its achievement will be even sweeter.