"Lorna Crozier takes great pleasure in the world and her pleasure becomes ours. This book knows a great truth -- that nothing is known until it is held: in our hands, or our mind, or our heart." -- Anne Michaels
"Lorna Crozier raises the objects of everyday life into things of alien beauty. Each page opens onto a new marvel." -- Esi Edugyan, author of Half Blood Blues
In a series of playful and startling prose meditations, celebrated writer Lorna Crozier brings her rapt attention to the small matter of household objects: everything from doorknobs, washing machines, rakes, and zippers to the kitchen sink.
Operating as a sort of literary detective, she examines the mystery of the everyday, seeking the essence of each object. She offers tantalizing glimpses of the household's inhabitants, too, probing hearts, brains, noses, and navels. Longing, exuberance, and grief colour her reflections, which at times take on the tenor of folktales or parables.
Each of the short portraits in The Book of Marvels stands alone, but the connections are intricate; as in life, each object gains meaning from its juxtaposition with others. Crozier approaches her investigations with a childlike curiosity, an adult bemusement, and an unfailing sense of metaphor and mischief. With both charm and mordant wit, she animates the panoply of wonders to be found everywhere around us and inside us.
Authors
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- C817/.54
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- General Note
- Poems Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9781926812762 9781926812755
- LCCN
- PR9299.2.U28
- LCCN Item number
- B66 2013eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (131 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00230550 (OCoLC)808199783 (CaOOCEL)444236
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Contents 9
- A 14
- Air 14
- Apple 16
- B 17
- Bed 17
- Bicycle 19
- Bobby Pins 21
- Book 22
- Bowl 23
- Brain 25
- But 32
- Button 33
- C 34
- Ceiling 34
- Chair 35
- Chin 37
- Clothes Hanger 38
- Coffee Pot 39
- Starts with the Letter K 40
- Collar 41
- Crowbar 42
- D 43
- Darkness, Its Origin 43
- Dictionary 44
- Doorknob 46
- E 48
- Eggs 48
- Eraser 49
- F 52
- Feet 50
- Flashlight 52
- Fork 53
- Fridge 55
- G 56
- Glossography of G 56
- Gum 57
- H 59
- Hands 59
- Happiness 61
- Hat 63
- Heart 67
- Hinge 68
- I 69
- Ice 69
- Ironing Board 71
- J 73
- Jell-O 73
- K 75
- Kitchen Sink 75
- Knife 76
- L 77
- Lamp 77
- Light Bulb 78
- Linoleum 79
- Lobe 80
- M 81
- Measure 81
- The Midnight News 82
- Mirror 85
- Moon 86
- Mop 87
- Mouth 89
- N 91
- Navel 91
- Needle 92
- No 94
- Nose 95
- Nose: A Story 96
- O 98
- Objects 98
- P 100
- Plate 100
- Q 101
- Quicksilver 101
- R 102
- Radiator 102
- Rake 103
- S 104
- Scissors 104
- Screw 105
- Shakers 107
- Shoe 109
- Shovel 111
- Sky 112
- Snail 113
- Snow 114
- Spoons 115
- Stone 116
- Stool 117
- Stove 118
- T 119
- Table 119
- Toaster 120
- Tooth 121
- Towel 122
- U 123
- Umbrella 123
- V 126
- Vacuum 126
- Vagina 127
- W 129
- Warts 129
- Washing Machine—New, Front-Loading 131
- Water 132
- Wheelbarrow 133
- X 134
- Y 135
- Yo-Yo 135
- Z 137
- Zipper 137
- Notes 142
- Acknowledgements 143