Fiction Pick of the Week: The Sentimentalists

The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud 2009

The Sentimentalists portrays the relationship between a woman and her dying father. Portrayed as charming, tenderhearted, gruff, but well intentioned, Napoleon, the father, seems haunted by his experiences during the Vietnam War. The unnamed narrator describes several projects that her father begins with enthusiasm, but, unable to complete, ultimately gives them away. By giving these objects away, the daughter wonders what he might be depriving himself and his family of?
Abandoning her job and boyfriend, the narrator returns to the only place that feels stable, the home of her father's friend, Henry. And it is at Henry's place that she and her sister settle their father when he can't look after himself. Much of the book is spent there; a small town that was moved after the valley was flooded. The narrator often boats on the new lake looking for remnants of old farm buildings, wondering and exploring what defines a person's life? Is it what we remember? Is it what has happened to us? Is it the stories we tell others about ourselves? Or what our intentions were? Ultimately, after exploring Napoleon's war stories, she accepts that she loves her father unconditionally. This is a novel of thoughts and impressions.
Surprise Giller Award winner for 2010