The writer Madeline Sonik discusses her new memoir Queasy (Anvil Press, 2022), with Joseph Planta.

Queasy by Madeline Sonik (Anvil Press, 2022). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Queasy

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Madeline Sonik joins me now. She’s just published a new memoir Queasy. It’s a terrific book of her years coming-of-age in the England of the 1970s. Madeline grew up in Windsor, Ontario, but when her father dies, her mother, her and her brother move to the England of her mother’s birth. Naturally, it’s a very different Britain, but for Madeline, there’s so much that she experiences, that she reflects upon, that one could easily spend hours talking to her about the various things in this book. For example, as an outsider, Ms. Sonik is able to look at the cultural, political, and historical of Britain, and give it the perspective of a North American. And she does so often in the book, with a clarity and perspective afforded her with the passage of time. So, its also timely as well. We see with such vivid recall and clarity, the lot of the working class in the 1970s, a time where there’s widespread trade union unrest, mass unemployment, IRA violence, inflation and high taxes. We see this through Madeline’s work as a chambermaid, and meet the friends and workmates along the way, a few who remain in her mind, some who have a formative influence on her life and work. I talk to Madeline about reading and writing, and more. Madeline Sonik is the award-winning writer of fiction, short fiction, and children’s writing. Her previous volume of personal essays Afflictions & Departures received the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize in 2012, and was a finalist for the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, and the Charles Taylor Prize. This new book is from Anvil Press. She joined me from Zurich, Switzerland. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Madeline Sonik; Ms. Sonik, good morning.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (24.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS