Don't Hanker to Be No Prophet: Guy Vanderhaeghe and the Bible

More and more frequently, he is discussed as a historical novelist (such are the references to him in the Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature), especially since his last two novels, The Englishman's Boy (1996) and The Last Crossing (2002) are deeply and provocatively involved with the re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCanadian literature no. 191; p. 32
Main Author Sorensen, Sue
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Vancouver Pacific Affairs. The University of British Columbia 01.12.2006
Subjects
Bible
Canadian literature
Christianity
Literary criticism
Literature
Males
Novels
Poetry
Religion
Vanderhaeghe, Guy (1951- )
Writers
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Summary:More and more frequently, he is discussed as a historical novelist (such are the references to him in the Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature), especially since his last two novels, The Englishman's Boy (1996) and The Last Crossing (2002) are deeply and provocatively involved with the representation of western Canadian history. Vanderhaeghe encounters religion in a variety of ways: references in the short stories are often caustic, while The Englishman's Boy and The Last Crossing abound with ironic and violently parodic uses of Biblical ideas. Found in the neglected collection of stories The Trouble with Heroes (a 1983 book that is probably Vanderhaeghe's first collection, although it was released later than Man Descending), these two stories appear to discredit Christian faith, displaying believers as objects of ridicule, abandoned by their Saviour after the miracles are over.
ISSN:0008-4360