Tuesday 15 May 2012

Post 2:

          
              The book The Divine Ryans is a coming of age story about 9 year old boy named Draper Doyle Ryan. His father has recently died leaving his widowed mother Linda, and his sister, Mary, to move into his Aunt Phil's house. Under the constant eye of Aunt Phil and the recurring presence of minister Father Seymour, Draper struggles to live up to the Divine Ryan name. The Ryan's being a highly respected Catholic family who run the local funeral parlour and newspaper. The author guildes Draper though several rites of passage. Draper has an ice hockey face-off with his physically superior sister Mary, a disaster in church with a visiting archbishop, a surreptitious extended shopping spree to purchase replacement underwear and a misadventure boxing match, as one of 'Father Seymour's Hundred'. Drapers life unfolds while he struggles with being haunted by his dad's ghost and attempting to reconnect with him. Uncle Reg, the voice of reason, guides Draper through his struggles. Enjoying puns and adjusting famous quotations and situations to fit random circumstances, Uncle Reg makes sense of Draper's life.

           This book contains universal themes. Draper grew up in this book, discovering himself and growing comfortable in his own skin. We all grow up, facing that struggle to figure out who we are in this world and who we want to be. The Doyle family also fights against the loss of Draper's father, and the decline of their businesses. It's a universal feeling to experience loss. Everyone has lost someone. In addition, with the recession still in context, families repeatedly deal with a struggling income. The themes displayed in The Divine Ryans are universal and something everyone can relate to.

                                                                


WAYNE JOHNSTON


            Wayne Johnston was born on May 22, 1958 in St. John's, Newfoundland. His parents were Arthur Reginald Johnston and Genevieve Everard Johnston. He was one of five siblings in a strong Roman Catholic family. His books are largely based on what he experienced as a child growing up. He began his career working on pre-Med student but quickly changed and obtained a BA in English from Memorial University. Continuing his studies, Wayne received a MA (creative writing) from the University of New Brunswick. Wayne Johnston is an acclaimed Canadian writer. He has won awards like, The Charles Taylor Prize, and his books repeatedly have hit the bestsellers list. Some of his written works include: The Divine Ryans, The Story of Bobby O'Malley, The Time of Their Lives, Human Amusement, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams and Baltimore's Mansion: A Memoir.




Helpful Link


ALLEN, BRCE. "The River That Might Have Been-The lure and lore of Canada's outpost Alantic  province are unforgettable conveyed by two brilliant novel from Newfoundland." World and I Mar. 2000: 268. Canadian Perodicals Index Quarerly. Web. 15 May 2012.

Taylor, Jim. "Wayne Johnston." Twenty-First-Century Canadian Writers. Ed. Christian Riegel.        Detroit: Gale, 2007. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 334. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 June 2012



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