Author Marina Endicott to kick off UNB Saint John s 2015-16 Lorenzo Reading Series
Author: Communications
Posted on Sep 16, 2015
Category: UNB Saint John , UNB Fredericton
Author Marina Endicott will read from her new novel, Close to Hugh on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Ganong Hall Lecture Theatre.
Marina Endicott began her career in theatre in Canada and England, before starting to write drama and fiction. Good to a Fault, her second novel, won a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book (Canada/Caribbean), was a finalist for the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize, as well as a CBC Canada Reads contestant. Her third novel, The Little Shadows, was longlisted for the 2011 Giller Prize and shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award.
In Endicott’s new novel, Close to Hugh, a cast of engagingly eccentric characters explores what it means to love and be loved regardless of age or sexual orientation. Chapter headings, such as ‘I Get a Kick Out of Hugh’ and ‘I’ve Got Hugh Under My Skin,’ evoke a golden era of crooned tunes and ageless innocence reinforced by the title. Yet this simple humour is in sharp contrast to the modern setting, complex narrative voices, and gender diversity throughout the novel. The Hugh/you puns cunningly conceal/reveal the theme of a life lived in the second person until love unites Hugh with himself. As his life unfolds, so does a world defined by hope, possibility, and kindness.
The reading is hosted by the Lorenzo Reading Series and supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.
For more information contact Alison Hughes at (506) 654-3753 or email aehughes@unb.ca.