That Just Happened!

Moore, Brian.  The Luck of Ginger Coffey. McClelland & Stewart. (1960).

With only fifteen dollars to his name, Ginger Coffey is still optimistic about his chances of making it big. From dead-end jobs to a marriage coming apart at the seams, the harsh realities of life can never dent this luckless Irish immigrant’s dream of moving up in the world — or his heroic struggle to keep hold of people he loves most. The Luck of Ginger Coffey is a funny, compassionate, and unforgettable story, and one of the finest novels from a writer once described by Graham Greene as ‘my favourite living novelist.’”

I liked this book because of the tension running throughout it.  You keep expecting Ginger to fail, yet are convinced by his optimism that he is going to pull through.  One of those characters who is always letting himself get in his own way, he is obstinate in his belief that it is never his fault.  His wife and child are becoming increasingly distant and his prospects in the new country are falling away one by one.  Not deterred, Ginger blunders through life trying to make it big at the cost of his family.

Ginger represents the typical Irish immigrant and I think his story is one that still resonates today.  There are hundreds of thousands of immigrants entering Canada yearly, each person with their own hopes and dreams.  Canada represents a place free of persecution and a very open immigration policy.  Everyone talks about the American dream, but it is interesting reading about the Canadian dream.  What is it exactly?  It is the dream that Ginger Coffey himself has that keeps eluding his grasp.

This book was easy to read and I could not put it down.  The novel’s resolution is not what I expected, but once I read it I was satisfied with it.  Ginger Coffey must see the light and change before he loses everything, read on to see if he can save the ones he loves most.