Stone Angel Author:Margaret Laurence (Manawaka, Bk 1) The Stone Angel is the first of Laurence's "Manawaka" novels. Hagar Shipley relives her life by narrating memories as she battles to come to terms with herself before she dies. Hagar at 90 is a proud, powerful, tyrannical woman suffering the indignities of old age. The Stone Angel is shaped by the alternating rhythm... more »s of Hagar's voice, searching through her past and returning to her present condition; her widely ranging tones reveal the labyrinths of her pride. Hagar's character and voice are justly praised as Laurence's most inspired creations. As she tells her story, Hagar also looks back to Manawaka (a fictionalized small town that Laurence has placed in Manitoba), recalling and recreating the effects of the town's constricting mores and her own family's position in the rigid hierarchy of Manawaka's deeply puritan society, and in doing so tries to come to terms with how the very qualities which sustained her have deprived her of joy. Mingling past and present, she maintains pride in the face of senility, while recalling the life she led as a rebellious young bride, and later as a grieving mother. Laurence gives us in Hagar a woman who is funny, infuriating, and heartbreakingly poignant.« less
Wow! This is an amazing look at an older woman who is facing the last part of her life. She reflects on her life journey and her relationships. It blew me away, and I'm definitely going to read more of this author.