Sometimes it is good to take a step back, read a book you have read before, even if it is only to consider just a particular novel made such a splash (sorry for the pun) when it was initially published. However, if you have not already come across The Town That Drowned during the last ten years, all the more reason to pick up a copy. I’ll lay bets that will be far easier than putting it down once you have begun this seemingly simple coming-of-age story set in the 1960s about a teenage witness to events that rock the world of her family and small New Brunswick community.
Fourteen-year-old Ruby Carson falls through the ice only to ‘see’ her entire town, buildings and people, floating underwater with her. Shortly after this embarrassing mishap news breaks of a massive dam to be built where they have made their homes and livelihoods for generations. The entire town is to be swallowed by the rising water. Tempers flare, and suspicions surface as Ruby attempts to sort truth from fiction while keeping a watchful eye on her autistic younger brother navigating his own very individual journey. Through Ruby, a clear-eyed and kind teenager, we get a ringside seat to the petty jealousies and the kindnesses of the people of a small town faced with unimaginable upheaval. The story was apparently inspired by the construction of the Mactaquac dam on the Saint John River.
When The Town That Drowned was initially published in 2011, it rapidly became an instant classic, winning the prestigious Commonwealth Book Prize, the Frye Academy Award and the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. It was also shortlisted for several other literary awards and longlisted for the 2013 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
The Town That Drowned has more than stood up to the test of time, remaining a well-crafted and nuanced coming-of-age story as well as an insightful glimpse into the way how decisions made far away can impact people without power over what descends on their community.
Riel Nason is an award-winning textile artist producing more than 125 quilts. Her work is displayed at Quilt Canada. She has also written short fiction for literary journals as well as three books since The Town That Drowned. Her most recent novel is Waiting Under Water, published last year. The author lives in New Brunswick with her husband, son, daughter and the family’s cats.
The Town That Drowned is not just a very good read but a disarming depiction of the human need to have somewhere to call home and the subsequent fear when that is threatened. For me, this book echoes some of the very best writing in painting a picture of a specific region and time; think Alice Munro’s work with its quiet resonance and subtleties and, in this case, the dilemmas facing a girl coming of age as her family and community face upheaval.