Kim Echlin on being a woman, Toronto culture and all that jazz
Thursday, March 5, 2015 – An exciting day for book lovers across Toronto and the GTA! In celebration of International Women’s Day, the spring season of The eh List Author Series opened with award-winning author Kim Echlin discussing her latest novel, Under the Visible Life. Joining her on stage as host and interviewer, was CTV’s Marci Ien.
Under the Visible Life (2015) is the story of two jazz musicians, Katherine Goodnow and Mahsa Weaver- Najibulla, one from Hamilton's east side and one from Karachi. Both children of mixed-race paren'ts, the two women find music and fulfillment in friendship and family in a story that is as unexpected as it is poignant.
The evening commenced with Sarah Upshur, Echlin’s daughter, joining her mother to read a passage from the book. With revealing insights on motherhood, sisterhood, paren't-child dynamics and friendship, the passage illustrated the love, vulnerability, passion, struggle, and determination woven into Katherine and Mahsa’s characters.
With discussions on racism and feminism dominating news casts and social media, it isn't surprising that Echlin and Ien found themselves exploring how these themes are entwined in the novel. As they engaged in an introspective discussion on Toronto culture versus cultures abroad, religion, racial discrimination, and (in)tolerance of women’s behavior, it became evident that Echlin’s own feelings mirror those of her heroines:
“I like the feeling of toughness in a women. And I like women being able to think about being fearless and sort of stepping into their lives. Stepping into the things they want to do. And I hadn’t put it together with hope but maybe that stepping into your life is about hope because you wouldn’t do it if you didn’t think that you could.”
One topic that was a must to discuss: music. Echlin’s stories frequently feature a jazz soundtrack playing in the background. In this novel, that soundtrack is very much in the foreground and carries a central role. “I chose jazz as the particular form of music because of its restless nature and its history… it is deeply entrenched in a social history of resistance and for that reason jazz felt right for this book.”
Echlin has written a number of novels, including The Disappeared (2009), which was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won'the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award for Fiction. Ien voiced her admiration for Echlin’s work, stating:
“Kim is a wordsmith of the highest order. The characters she creates not only touch the heart, they pierce it. Just amazing. To shape these experiences and to have us care about these characters the way we do with Kim’s books is an extraordinary gift. And an extraordinary talent.”
We could not agree more! Works written by Echlin include:
Since 2009, over 250 established Canadian authors and exciting new voices have shared conversations at Toronto Public Library branches. The next conversation in The eh List Author Series takes place at City Hall Branch with the award-winning Helen Humphreys, discussing her latest novel, The evening chorus, on Thursday, March 12, 2015. If you are on Twitter, you can follow the conversation with the hashtag #ehList.
Enjoy the on-stage conversation with Kim Echlin and Marci Len on the Toronto Public Library’s YouTube channel.
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