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One Book One Burlington
   

We’re pleased to announce the adult fiction novel chosen for
One Book One Burlington 2008

The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart
Reserve your copy   OR   a Book Club Kit!  [more info]


On this page:

• What is OBOB?

• Further Reading

• Search BPL's Catalogue

• About the Author

• Audio-Visual Items

• Selecting the Winning Title

• Vimy Ridge

• Web Links

• Did YOU Guess the Book?


What is One Book One Burlington (OBOB)?

It's an annual community-wide reading program for adults that is designed to promote reading and discussion of works of fiction by living Canadian authors. Everyone in Burlington and area is invited to participate by reading the selected book, joining in a book group discussion and attending special library programs to be announced here this fall. Meanwhile, reserve your copy NOW, and read this amazing story that the Burlington Community Selection Team unanimously agree... you will not be able to put down!

We’re pleased to announce the adult fiction novel chosen for
One Book One Burlington 2008 - The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart .

Reserve your copy  OR a Book Club Kit!  [more info]

Join the One Book One Burlington group on Facebook for some lively discussion!

  
The Stone Carvers

About the Author, Jane Urquhart

Jane Urquhart

Jane Urquhart

Jane Urquhart was born in Little Long Lac, Ontario, and grew up in Toronto. She is the author of five internationally acclaimed novels: The Whirlpool, which received Le prix du meilleur livre étranger (Best Foreign Book Award) in France; Changing Heaven; Away, winner of the Trillium Award and a finalist for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; The Underpainter, winner of the Governor General’s Award and a finalist for the Rogers Communications Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize; The Stone Carvers, which was a finalist for The Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award, and longlisted for the Booker Prize; and A Map of Glass, a finalist for a regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book.

She is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Storm Glass, and four books of poetry, I Am Walking in the Garden of His Imaginary Palace, False Shuffles, The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan, and Some Other Garden).

Her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages. Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award, and is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Urquhart has received numerous honorary doctorates from Canadian universities and has been writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa and at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and, during the winter and spring of 1997, she held the Presidential Writer-in-Residence Fellowship at the University of Toronto. She has also given readings and lectures in Canada, Britain, Europe, the USA, and Australia. Jane Urquhart lives in southwestern Ontario.

~ With thanks to McClelland & Stewart Ltd.

Web Links to Information About Jane Urquhart



Battle of Vimy Ridge, Vimy Ridge War Memorial & Sculptor Walter Allward (1876-1955)

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

More than 100,000 Canadians fought in the battle for Vimy Ridge. On the morning of April 9th 1917 the four divisions of the Canadian Corps moved to take the ridge at Vimy, after days of preliminary bombardment. The task was daunting, even impossible, yet it succeeded thanks to careful planning and the use of innovative tactics. The cost in lives was horrendous.

In the attack, all four divisions of the Canadian Corps jointly advanced on the ridge, as they came under heavy fire from three German defensive lines. The main position was in Canadian hands by the end of April 9. And during the three to four days that followed, the Canadians pushed the German front line east until it was a safe distance from the Ridge.

After three days of fierce fighting, there were 10,602 Canadian casualties, including the 3,598 dead.

They were "ordinary Canadians often doing the extraordinary," said Canadian War Museum curator Tim Cook in Ottawa. "And I think that if we can understand those Canadians and what they did, maybe we get a better sense of our own collective past." It is important to note that many of the men and women who served in this conflict were volunteers.

In 1922 France ceded 1 km2 of Vimy Ridge and surrounding area to Canada where, in 1936, the soaring monument to the 66,000 Canadian dead in WW1 was inaugurated by King Edward V11

The following is a list of interesting sites to learn more about the battle which many see as a defining moment in Canada's history.

Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge

The ground on which the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge sits, as well as the surrounding 100 hectares of land, were given to Canada by France in 1922 in gratitude for sacrifices made by Canada in the First World War and for the victory achieved by Canadian troops in capturing Vimy Ridge in April 1917. This memorial was built by the people of Canada as a tribute to their countrymen who fought in the Great War and, particularly, to the more than 66,000 men who gave their lives.

The monument was designed by Canadian architect and sculptor, Walter Seymour Allward. His design was selected from 160 others submitted by Canadians who participated in a competition held in the early 1920s. Work began on the monument in 1925 and eleven years later, on July 26, 1936 it was unveiled by King Edward VIII. It cost approximately $1.5 million, including site preparation and the building of roads.

~ Photo and text with thanks to Veterans Affairs Canada

The story of its construction is an interesting one. Listed below are some excellent Web sites about the sculptor Walter Allward and the creation of the Vimy Memorial.
Walter Allward photo

Web Links to Information on the Battle of Vimy Ridge & War Memorial

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Further Reading From BPL Collections

Fiction - Read More!

Non-Fiction - Read More!

World War I & War Memorials

Hamilton & Ontario History, Architecture, Stone Carving


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Look & Listen - Audio Visual Items at BPL

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Web Links to Various Subjects Related to The Stone Carvers



Search BPL's Library Catalogue - Suggested Subject Headings


2008 OBOB Community Selection Committee

The featured book was selected from a shortlist of six books by a Community Selection Committee composed of Burlington Public Library staff and local residents who love to read! Members of this book-loving group included Laura Arseneau, Richard Bachman, Councillor Carol D'Amelio, Deborah Dennison, Kristin Glasbergen, Chris Howard, Chris Mallion-Moore, Heather Niblock, Susan Sgro and Dianne Warrick. They unanimously agree that you will not be able to put this book down!

2008 OBOB Selection Team

The Selection Team

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Guess the Book Contest

Prior to the announcement of the winning book, we challenged our community to guess the book from these 3 clues. Were you able to guess - or can you see how these clues might relate to The Stone Carvers?

Clue #1

Clue #2

Clue #3
clue 1
clue 2
clue 3

What Did Burlington Read LAST Year?

  • Lori Lansen's Rush Home Road was last year's selection. Take a a look at what Burlington's Biggest Book Club was reading in 2007 - BPL's 2007 OBOB Blog

Based on the international One Book, One Community program.

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