This is How We Love
CBC Books | | Posted: December 14, 2021 10:56 PM | Last Updated: July 21, 2022
Lisa Moore
As the snowstorm of the century rages toward Newfoundland, 21-year-old Xavier is beaten and stabbed in a vicious attack. His mother, Jules, must fight her way through the shuttered streets of St. John's to reach the hospital where Xavier lies unconscious. When a video of the attack surfaces, Jules struggles to make sense of what she sees in the footage — and of what she can't quite make out. While Xavier's story unfolds, so, too, do the stories that brought him there. Here, across families and generations, are stories of mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers; of children cared for, neglected, lost, and re-found; of selfless generosity and reluctant debt. (From House of Anansi Press)
Lisa Moore is a Canadian writer from Newfoundland. Her books include Caught, February, Alligator, Open and Something for Everyone. She has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize three times: in 2002 for Open, in 2005 for Alligator and in 2013 for Caught. Her novel February won Canada Reads in 2013.
- 33 Canadian picture books to watch for in spring 2022
- 40 Canadian books coming out in May we can't wait to read
- 66 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2022
- Lisa Moore's new novel, This is How We Love, to be published in May 2022
- Lisa Moore's new novel This Is How We Love reflects on family and the need for community and compassion
- Why Canada Reads inspires Lisa Moore to 'read everybody'
- Q&A with Flannery author Lisa Moore on branching out to young adult fiction
- Lisa Moore on why everyone can (and should) write a book
- Lisa Moore's 5 tips for writing a great short story
- 6 books Caught novelist Lisa Moore loves
- Why economic anxiety inspired Lisa Moore's new short story collection
- Lisa Moore takes The Next Chapter's Proust questionnaire
From the book
Xavier saw the streetlight blink in and out, over a shoulder, over the top of the heads, shafts of light, sharp and then splintering. He could see the side of a cheek, fists, the cuff of a jacket. He knew they were trying to murder him. He was waiting for it. They were landing blow after blow and his face was snapping this way and that, fists, two knees on his shoulders, someone pinning his legs and feet. Any pain from the knife was delayed. It came long after the knife.
The knife came twice. He expected it many times more. But the whole thing was interrupted.He didn't pass out when the boot stamped on his head, though his vision closed to a pinpoint. He could direct the pinpoint, like looking through the keyhole in a door, but it also had a mind of its own. It floated a few inches away from what he was trying to see.
He didn't see the knife. The knife came when he was being kicked in the head. He saw the boot coming and confused the sensation of the knife with the kick to his skull. There was a synaptic misfire and he felt the knife slide through his skull. But it had punctured his jeans and skin and maybe organs and wasn't anywhere near his head. It went deep. He could hardly believe it happened twice but at the same time he believed it.
Xavier heard the sirens. A roar of excitement went up each time the knife sank into him. The roar went up twice and was all the world like waves crashing on a beach, is what it sounded like.
From This is How We Love by Lisa Moore ©2021. Published by House of Anansi Press.