Kanata (56 page)
| Q: | Canadians share a certain national pride, but we often find it difficult to put it into words. Do you have any thoughts on why we have such a hard time defining ourselves? |
The country is young, geographically diverse, linguistically complex, and increasingly multicultural. So it's hard to define. But like all countries, we have our foundation myths, from David Thompson's maps to Paul Henderson's goal. It's better to search for national meaning than to subscribe to uniform, sometimes jingoistic, notions of nation. As far as
nationalism goes, I think we have one of the healthier versions.
| Q: | In an era of Google Maps and GPS, what place do you think mapmaking, as an art and as a medium, has in today's world? |
It is less of an art, certainly. Though the bias and subjectivity that informed maps in the sixteenth century are still with us today. Back then, mapmakers would put drawings of spice trees or gold mines as a lure for explorers. Now we have MapQuest, which shows where the nearest restaurants are. In that sense, maps have always been less objective than we would like to think. Usually some point is being made.
| Q: | How has the novel been received? Does the literary reaction differ from that of the historical community? |
The relationship between historians and historical fiction is generally troubled and needlessly territorial. I sympathize with the historians' position, that sense of violation they feel when a character they're familiar with is brought to life using fictional tricks. But the aims of novelists and historians don't coincide. One of the reasons I used historical characters who had left extensive records themselves was to bypass historians' interpretations, which can be sterile and subject to the same biases novelists are prone to. Australian writer Peter Carey, whose novel
Parrot and Olivier in America
was
panned by historian Hugh Brogan, said that the historian “had no idea how to read a novel.” I empathize with Mr. Carey. There is a great deal of territoriality in play, and novelists are seen as interlopers. But we aren't working the same side of the street.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. “History is a series of accidents balanced against inevitable forces.” How is this statement illustrated in the novel?
2. Why do you think it's important for Michael to visit Billy Whitecloud in the hospital and tell him stories from Canadian history?
3. Throughout the novel, war and conflict are depicted in various art forms, such as murals, paintings, and movies. Discuss how any given representation of war reflects the time period in which it was created.
4.Â
Kanata
presents a fictional narrative based on actual people and events. Do you feel that this approach to storytelling is respectful to the historical figures in the novel and to their legacies? What does it say about the malleable nature of history itself?
5. Many of the historical figures in the novel suffer from such character flaws as alcoholism, violent tendencies, and mystical delusions. Discuss how these traits help or hinder the leadership of these men.
6. “Endurance is part of the national theme: that humbling geography, its overwhelming scale, the sheer weight on the collective psyche.” How is endurance, in physical, religious, or emotional terms, explored in the novel?
7. “We knew what we were against but not what we were for.” How does this statement reflect Canada as a nation, both in the past and today? How is this uncertain sense of national identity illustrated in the book?
8. “In the evening, [King] wrote in his journal, the obsessive history that he attended to each night, a version that concealed and revealed in equal
measure, like all histories.” Discuss the narrative nature of history as it pertains to the individual characters and to history itself.
9. Some people feel that Canadian history isn't as exciting as American history. How does a book like
Kanata
subvert that attitude? Which of the historical elements did you find most interesting or surprising?