Kit's Law (43 page)
Q:
How does Sid’s belief in other kinds of law besides God’s law play into your own experiences and your own beliefs?
I’ve never lived the life my parents laid out for me. There were always too many grey areas that dispelled the notions of right and wrong. I’ve never believed in the literal translation of the Bible either, and so, given that I believe that God is in every decision and every act that I commit myself to, then it must be the right thing in that moment. Course, I’ve come to regret a few of those moments … but I like to believe that they’ve all brought a deeper consciousness, and for that, perhaps, they were worth it. Still, if I could live my life in hindsight, ohh, there are sooo many things I’d do differently …
Q:
All of your novels and many of your stories are set in Newfoundland or on the east coast. What is it about this region that continues to interest you? Can you see yourself writing about other provinces, other cities, other landscapes?
Actually, my most recent novel,
What They Wanted
, plays itself out mostly in Alberta. It’s not so much the place that inspires me, but the events that have made up my life. It is that I write about—the setting is incidental. Eventually, when those parts of my life have been written about, no doubt I will find myself in various other settings. Or, perhaps, I will never leave it … so much of me still resonates there …
Q:
I read somewhere that Shine is based on someone who plagued your own hometown and that Sid is modelled after one of your brothers and your son. Did people you know see themselves in
Kit’s Law
? Did the thought of them saying “Hey, that’s me” pose any challenges for you in the writing process?
I think most writers from small communities face the challenge of people believing themselves a character in your book. No doubt there are individuals who inspire characters, but mostly my characters are composites of several people, and at some point, graduate into their own character, a fictitious one. Having said that, Adelaide from
Sylvanus Now
was very much based on the life and character of my mother, as are Sylvia and Chris from
What They Wanted
based on the true story of me and my brother.
Q:
Your characters seem to be so much a part of you— they’ve walked the same landscape, experienced some of the same things. What happens to them when you’re done with the book?
They simply become different characters in another book (-:
Q:
What are you working on now?
I’m about to release a novel,
What They Wanted
. And have just started a new story … too soon yet to talk about, but, yeh … it’s one of those durn characters again …
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Despite’s Kit’s difficult upbringing, she’s fiercely loyal to her mother and grandmother. Where do you think she acquired this sense of family?
2. Nan explodes when Kit remarks that Josie stinks. Nan, madder than she’s ever been, tells Kit, “She might be a tramp but she’s better than them that made her so, for it’s a damn sight easier to clean rot off a crotch than the shame off a dirtied soul. Think about that before you starts hangin’ your head before the likes of Margaret Everleigh.” This is the last thing Nan says to Kit. Do you think this comment has an impact on Kit’s feelings toward Josie?
3. Both Sid and Kit are outcasts among their peers: Sid because of the way he talks and dresses and because of his overbearing mother and fire-and-brimstone father; Kit because of her parentage. Who do you think is better off?
4. Sid says to Kit, “Everybody’s afraid of something. Most times, whatever they’re afraid of never happens…. Do you think it might be better if they did send you to someplace else?” What, if anything, do you think Kit is afraid of? Would she indeed be better off elsewhere?
5. Doctor Hodgins tells May Haynes, “It’s in the hearts of people like you that miracles are born, and where would we be without miracles?” Where do you think Kit would have been without the actions of the adults in her community?
6. There is a very strong sense of community in Haire’s Hollow, and everybody knows everyone else’s business. Discuss the pros and cons of living in a community like this. Would you like to live in a similar situation?
7. “Timin’s everything,” Lizzy pronounces, “but sometimes, ’tis only the hand of God that can save ye.” Discuss the role of timing and God in the fates of Nan, Kit, and Josie.
8. When did you figure out who Kit’s father was? How did this affect the rest of the reading experience for you?
9. Do you think Doctor Hodgins had a responsibility to tell Kit what he knew about her parentage?
10. Doctor Hodgins says “Damned if I know why we expect to be happy all the time. Even when we were youngsters with everything being handed to us, we were never happy, always wanting more and bigger. But there’s more than happy, Kit. There’s peace. And pride. And those things measure good.” Do you think this is true? Can we ever be happy?
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