Are we Canadian enough yet?
Or anti-American now
I had a recent discussion with some of my fellow Canadian writers recently on the relevance of social commentary in works of fiction. It’s an old dilemma – how to speak out on social issues without ruining the pleasure of reading a good book.
Writers from Charles Dickens to Margaret Atwood have met the challenge admirably by identifying disturbing or alarming issues of social justice while telling a story that holds the reader’s attention. Most of us have to work hard enough to write a good book that attracts readers and we don’t want to drive them away with digressions into issues they’re trying to escape from by getting lost in a good story.
For the writer, it becomes a trade-off between speaking out on important issues and accepting that it may reduce sales. I had a good demonstration of that trade-off with my novel, BAD BOYS IN BOSTON, last year. It was about the horrific abuses of human trafficking in the illegal sex trade and online pornography. The book blurbs and early reviews made it clear what the subject was, and that the author was appealing for wider understanding of the issues and helping to stop the abuse. Another writer told me not to worry, “Nobody is going to defend human trafficking.” However, a particular reviewer at IndieReader spent most of his long negative review complaining that he had every right to watch online pornography, and I had no right to tell him he was supporting criminals profiting from the abuses. Other readers just said, “No thanks, I don’t want to read about that stuff.”
However, most readers thought it was the best in the Dale Hunter Series, so far. Better written, a difficult story well told, intriguing plot twists and some fascinating family history revealed for the main characters. BAD BOYS IN BOSTON, was novel #4 in the series, and the next two, CRASH LANDING, released in December and WHATEVER IT TAKES, scheduled for publishing in June are even better, I think. Every novel advances the learning curve and I’m now in my tenth year of writing fiction, so I hope I’m getting better.
Back to addressing social issues in our writing. All the talk in Canada these days is about President Trump trash talking our Prime Minister and threating to shut down our economy with punishing tariffs. He’s pushed shy, quiet, polite Canadians to new levels of patriotic fervour and defense of everything Canadian. It already has us putting our money where our mouth is, shouting “Buy Canadian, boycott America!”
Unfortunately, as we already knew, both sides get hurt in a retaliatory trade war. We’re not all suddenly anti-American. We all have cross-border friends and relatives who may be on opposite sides of the political divide, but we’re all suffering the consequences on both sides of border. We don’t need to hate or fear each other. Let’s be more selective. Let’s recognize our common values and our beliefs in social justice for everyone and work together to stop the injustices.
Meanwhile, please show your support for Team Canada and Canadian writers and buy a book or donate to a charitable organisation that supports the causes you believe in.
As the Vice-Chair and Chief Cheerleader for Crime Writers of Canada, you can browse our list of members and be introduced to some excellent writers you may not know, in addition to some of our best-known – Louise Penny, William Deverell, Anthony Bidulka, Linwood Barclay, Rick Mofina, and many more. You can support the development and promotion of Canadian crime writers with a donation at: https://crimewriterscanada.com/…/page/page-content/donate
Please buy a book, or send a donation, or BOTH! Thank you for your support.
Enjoy your reading and writing.
Del
Del Chatterson
