The book of hers that I did re-read was Critical Injuries (2001), which was longlisted for the Booker Prize and the re-read was so rewarding that, since, I’ve wanted to revisit both Luck (2005) and Exit Lines (2009) I read each of them in a couple of days because I was so caught up in the stories (by which I mean, mostly, in the characters, for they are the heart of Joan Barfoot’s novels for me) and I knew that I was breezing past choice lines and observations that would resonate even more strongly if I’d only slow down to take another pass, but I was compelled to read on without hesitation. I haven’t re-read it, but I still remember the experience of wanting to read more, that overpowering sense of recognition. It was a story about the world I inhabited. What I do remember clearly about Family News is that I was struck by how much of the novel felt recognizable to me, familiar and immediate. The first Joan Barfoot novel that I read was Family News (1989), dating to a time when I only irregularly noted the books that I read in a coilbound exercise book, so I know that I sought out several of her books after that, but I don’t know which was the second.
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