The story is about the lives of a few people living in a small town north of Kingston, Ontario. Carl McKelvey, a "white trash male" as he describes himself, returns to the town after a three-year absence in the hope that he can live with his daughter again, and maybe even renew his relationship with his ex-wife, Chrissy. He carries deep in his heart his guilt of having driven his car into a tree, killing his mother, Elizabeth, many years earlier.
Elizabeth's sudden death ended not only an unhappy marriage she had with William McKelvey, a failed farmer, but also a secret relationship she had with Adam Goldsmith, Carl's real father. Elizabeth might have felt that the uncultured McKelvey ruined her life, or she might be too frightened to ruin her life herself by leaving him. In either case, her life has affected McKelvey, Adam and Carl so deeply that her influence is still felt eleven years later.
When Carl is attacked by Fred (Chrissy's boyfriend), Adam, even though reserved and gentle-natured, decides to do something for his son. Adam takes Fred in his car and drives him into the same tree that Elizabeth's car crashed into eleven years earlier. Both Adam and Fred are killed instantly. Carl learns about his relationship with Adam in a letter Adam left for him.
Receptionedit
The novel received positive reviews. Kirkus Reviews described the novel as "An extremely satisfying work, finding new depth in old themes, and offering a fitting memorial to a talented, deeply humane writer."[1] Publishers Weekly wrote that Cohen's "empathy and compassion, and his delicate depiction of loss and longing in a closely knit community, haunt his narrative."[2]
Referencesedit
^"ELIZABETH AND AFTER | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. 15 May 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
^"Elizabeth and After by Matt Cohen". Publishers Weekly. 31 July 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
External linksedit
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elizabeth, after, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Elizabeth and After news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2024 Learn how and when to remove this template message Elizabeth and After is a novel by Matt Cohen first published in 1999 by Knopf Canada His final novel it won the Governor General s Award for English language fiction just a few weeks before Cohen s death Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Reception 3 References 4 External linksPlot summary editThe story is about the lives of a few people living in a small town north of Kingston Ontario Carl McKelvey a white trash male as he describes himself returns to the town after a three year absence in the hope that he can live with his daughter again and maybe even renew his relationship with his ex wife Chrissy He carries deep in his heart his guilt of having driven his car into a tree killing his mother Elizabeth many years earlier Elizabeth s sudden death ended not only an unhappy marriage she had with William McKelvey a failed farmer but also a secret relationship she had with Adam Goldsmith Carl s real father Elizabeth might have felt that the uncultured McKelvey ruined her life or she might be too frightened to ruin her life herself by leaving him In either case her life has affected McKelvey Adam and Carl so deeply that her influence is still felt eleven years later When Carl is attacked by Fred Chrissy s boyfriend Adam even though reserved and gentle natured decides to do something for his son Adam takes Fred in his car and drives him into the same tree that Elizabeth s car crashed into eleven years earlier Both Adam and Fred are killed instantly Carl learns about his relationship with Adam in a letter Adam left for him Reception editThe novel received positive reviews Kirkus Reviews described the novel as An extremely satisfying work finding new depth in old themes and offering a fitting memorial to a talented deeply humane writer 1 Publishers Weekly wrote that Cohen s empathy and compassion and his delicate depiction of loss and longing in a closely knit community haunt his narrative 2 References edit ELIZABETH AND AFTER Kirkus Reviews Kirkus Reviews 15 May 2000 Retrieved 9 February 2024 Elizabeth and After by Matt Cohen Publishers Weekly 31 July 2000 Retrieved 9 February 2024 External links editElizabeth and After weaves a twisted tale nbsp This article about a 1990s novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte nbsp This article about a Canadian novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elizabeth and After amp oldid 1205485904, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
