Sawbones Memorial

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.

Mention the name of Sinclair Ross to most literary-minded Canadians, and
they will immediately mention his first novel, As for Me and My House,
that has become a Canadian classic; probe further, and they will
probably recall some powerful prairie-realist short stories. But Ross
published three other novels, and the last one, Sawbones Memorial
(1974), though never particularly successful or even well-known, is a
remarkable tour de force worthy of the creator of Mrs. Bentley.

Like As For Me and My House, it is set in a small prairie town, with
the same prejudices and narrow-minded attitudes. And the plot, centred
on the town doctor retiring at the age of 75, conforms to Ross’s brand
of rather dour realism punctuated with occasional elements of melodrama.
But the presentation is highly original. The action takes place at Doc
Hunter’s retirement party and is continuous, the time taken to read
the book corresponding to the time occupied by the party. It is narrated
wholly in the form of dramatic dialogue; we pick up the story through
the statements, veiled hints, and recalled memories of the participants.
The novel is therefore of interest to connoisseurs of fiction, but it is
also readily accessible to those who want a human and absorbing short
novel.

The University of Alberta Press has recently reprinted all these
lesser-known writings, and should be congratulated on making these
almost forgotten books available once again. This reprint contains an
informative and thoughtful introduction by Ken Mitchell, the prairie
writer who has long been an admirer of Ross.