“so quiet out, city lights sentinels and a chorus of stars above, yelling their whispers at us, talking up dreams we forgot we had.” – Page 47, The Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust.
yesterday, Malcolm Azania, or Minister Faust, spoke about his love for creating characters that have distinct voices. his novel, as i’ve quoted from above, is unique in having multi-narrators - 11 or so, if i’m not mistaken. even as he was reading excerpts from his novel, you could see how he created different voices for each of the characters he read out loud. this lead me to re-read most of the novel in order to characterize each character’s voice. however, as i was reading, i found that i was beginning to note more on how the setting of the story was becoming a character in itself.
maybe it’s because i’m from edmonton and every little reference mentioned about the city made me feel giddy inside that the city I grew up in was getting some exposure (at least in a way that didn’t mention how edmonton was going to be a “world class” city). faust anatomizes edmonton in a way that makes the city seem more...”exotic” – even to someone whose grown up there. he gave the city voice that i didn’t know it had – a place that’s not as completely dead as i think it is. and while i know that it is a work of fiction, it did make be re-look at edmonton in a different way – which is what english380 has done for me so far.
i’ve learned about local authors, about a growing “underground” culture, and most importantly, i’ve been given a new perspective on edmonton. that the city was more than just a place i grew up and live in. it has a character hidden within it – one that i need to find and discover for myself.
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