FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
Two Strand River
by Keith Maillard, Harper Perennial, 314 pp
Review by Alan Egerton BallTwo Strand River, the Canadian minor classic of gender ambiguity, has just been re-released. Since the 1976 debut of this milestone story, academic pigeon-holers have labelled the work magic realism and marginal literature. Practitioners of the cold, literary post-mortem have plunged knives deeply into this vital myth. Fortunately, they have failed to persuade Keith Maillard to render up a mutilated cadaver in revision. Further judicious editing might reduce unnecessary repetition, but this thought-provoking work rests on a robust, cleverly camouflaged skeleton designed with skill.
Nineties males are called upon to show their "female," more vulnerable side. Females, to prosper in a "man's" world, took to wearing military-tailored power suits with masculine shoulders. Are the cultural mores of dress and behaviour pinned on the sexes any more valid to the inner being than a price tag is to the contents of a book? A female dresses and acts to follow a conventional masculine model. Is she a dyke? A male cross-dresses or adopts effeminate gestures. Is he a fag? Are those questions even important? Maillard challenges attitudes on gender by making his protagonists the anti-stereotypical male and female.
Our perception of others is tied up with our perception of ourselves. The thinking reader will recognize himself, or herself, in parts of both of Maillard's characters - any two people have aspects of commonality, even if they are superficial.
I feel sad for individuals who were made to read this book as part of an academic course. Two Strand River should be discovered without such compulsion and underlying intent.
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