{"product_id":"because-somebody-asked-me-to-observations-on-history-literature-and-the-passing-scene-9781771872584","title":"Because Somebody Asked Me to: Observations on History, Literature, and the Passing Scene","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCanadian literary great Guy Vanderhaeghe's eclectic and wryly insightful collection of nonfiction pieces spans his forty-year writing career.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMany editors and publishers over the years have asked Guy Vanderhaeghe for his thoughts on books and writers, on history, literature, and his own specialty, the historical novel. \u003ci\u003eBecause Somebody Asked Me To\u003c\/i\u003e has all the hallmarks of the author's fiction: it is intelligent, wise, wry, and a pleasure to read. These essays, reviews and occasional pieces are about the difficult craft of fiction, about growing up on the prairies, and about the struggle to find his own voice as a writer, as well as about novels by writers he deeply admires. And, throughout, he casts a bemused eye on the entire human comedy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn 1982, when Guy Vanderhaeghe's first book appeared, Canadian literature was beginning to be recognized at home and abroad as culturally engaging and significant. \u003ci\u003eBecause Somebody Asked Me To\u003c\/i\u003e gives readers a glimpse into those beginnings and how they shaped the author and his generation of fiction writers. The book also examines how the Canadian literary scene has shifted during the course of his career -- the economic, societal, and cultural changes that have made the old world of writing and publishing scarcely recognizable. \u003ci\u003eBecause Somebody Asked Me To\u003c\/i\u003e invites readers to ponder the transformations Canadian writing has undergone, where it is now, and where it might go from here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Thistledown Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/17\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781771872584\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 324\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs","brand":"Guy Vanderhaeghe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44683445731509,"sku":"9781771872584","price":16.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_5c9e9ea8-af5a-4a9c-b009-223470cfb4c6.jpg?v=1727795905","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/because-somebody-asked-me-to-observations-on-history-literature-and-the-passing-scene-9781771872584","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}