Catherine Hernandez wrote her novel Scarborough as a love letter to her community — now it's on Canada Reads
Catherine Hernandez is a Canadian writer, author and playwright who was named by CBC Books as a writer to watch. She is the author of several books, including the dystopian novel Crosshairs and children's books I Promise and M is for Mustache. She is also the creator and star of the Audible Original sketch comedy podcast Imminent Disaster.
Her debut novel Scarborough is full of characters who are facing struggle but find support and grace in their community. Scarborough is a love letter to Hernandez's own Ontario community — and readers loved it right back. It was shortlisted for the 2017 Toronto Book Award, the 2018 Trillium Book Award and the 2018 Edmund White Award for debut fiction.
It was also adapted into a feature film that premiered at TIFF in 2021.
Scarborough will be championed by the actor and activist Malia Baker on Canada Reads 2022.
Canada Reads will take place March 28-31. The debates will be hosted by Ali Hassan and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One, CBC TV, CBC Gem and on CBC Books.
Hernandez spoke with Shelagh Rogers about writing the novel.
Learning as we go
"I actually didn't know how to write a novel. I wanted to just try it and I was curious about how you do this. So I knew that I wanted to tell the story of people here in Scarborough, Ont., who I love dearly. These are people who were supporting me through some hard times — and the community was really just trying to maintain its dignity while struggling to survive.
"I wrote the manuscript — gave it a really clumsy first draft — I submitted it to a competition named after the late Jim Wong-Chu.
I actually didn't know how to write a novel.
"When I found out that I won the award it was so strange. I was living hand-to-mouth as a single mother. I was also helping to raise the community's children through my home daycare. All of a sudden, overnight, the book gets published. I closed the home daycare and became an artistic director of a theatre company — and my life just changed. It's just been a bizarre ride, and here I am in Canada Reads. What a dream come true."
Everyday struggles
"I always thought that being a caregiver was a profession that was full of dignity and honour because of the fact that when you are caring for children, you're really helping people to thrive outside of the home. And we see that now, especially with a pandemic, how important caregivers and educators are. But there's also the beautiful act of teaching a child how to be self-sufficient, to be confident, to love others and to share.
"You are capturing what it's like when children are mistreated and abused — and what it could look like when a child is trying to be resilient in the face of adversity. I really wanted to capture that in the spirit of the novel."
Nurturing the youth
"When you love a child, you see the magic in them and love them for who they are. I think of it as almost like putting the plant in the right pot — it sets them up for success. It means that they don't have to question their own value in this world. They understand that they are a being of the universe and that they can be as big as they want to be. That's actually queer femme wisdom — 'you're never too much, you're never too little.'
That's actually queer femme wisdom — you're never too much, you're never too little.
"I really wanted to put that in the novel because allowing the character Bing to shine and be himself was something that I wanted readers to have right in the centre of their chest as they were finishing the novel."
Subtle class dynamics
"I used to work as an aesthetician, and I was amazed by how much it felt like this ground-zero of classism. You are working in places where you were expected to not observe — you're just there to just serve.
Looking back, I'm thankful for that time because it really solidified for me how important it is for us to respect the working class.
"I remember a client saying to me she was so upset because she recently had a baby six and she received a fancy stroller that came in forest green instead of hot pink like she asked for. Here I am, just trying to find enough change on the ground and between the cushions in the sofa to buy a dozen eggs. It was quite demoralizing working in that industry.
"Looking back, I'm thankful for that time because it really solidified for me how important it is for us to respect the working class."
Interconnected lives
"The characters have lived difficult lives. They've done the best with what they could, and sometimes their choices are a little bit questionable. The people of Scarborough — the poor, working-class — I want to congratulate them for doing what they can to survive. I love them for that. They try their best. I feel really honoured to be among them — the ways in which we find fun in the little things and the ways in which we connect and love one another.
The community means so much to me.
"You can see this, especially with how Scarborough people feel about the book and the film being successes. I love this community. I'm just so proud of it, and I'm getting all teary-eyed thinking about it. The community means so much to me."
Catherine Hernandez's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
The Canada Reads 2022 contenders
- Christian Allaire champions Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
- Malia Baker champions Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez
- Tareq Hadhad champions What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
- Suzanne Simard champions Life In the City of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Müller
- Mark Tewksbury champions Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
