LOST IN SEPTEMBER

by Kathleen Winter
 
I still don’t know exactly how I feel about this book, or even what its purpose is.  But in the interest of reading and reviewing broadly, I want to share it with you.
 
The narrator of the story is James Wolfe, the British General who won Quebec from the French in 1759 at the Plains of Abraham (a very famous battle in French Canadian history).  But mysteriously, the first chapter is set on “September 2, 2017.”  There is no explanation why or how James Wolfe is alive and living in Montreal more than 250 years after his death.  Is he a ghost?  It seems not as he is living in a tent with a woman named Sophie who is helping him get his veterans' benefits from the government.
 
As the book unfolds, we find that each September Wolfe is drawn to visit the site of his last and most famous battle, but each year fails to actually make the journey to Quebec City.  The purpose of this visit remains a mystery, along with what happens to him between Septembers.  He meets other interesting characters, and we learn quite a lot about the life of James Wolfe and the wars in which he fought.
 
To be completely fair, a bit of the metaphysical mystery is untangled as the book concludes—an untangling I won't reveal here.  The writing is creative and poetic and beautifully conjures  up Quebec in September. If any of this interests you:,Read it!  But if you are frustrated by undefined premises, this is not the book for you! (Lily)