Minister Without Portfolio
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
Henry Hayward has been living life the way he's wanted—working hard, playing hard—but when his girlfriend tells him she's leaving, it destroys him. In a quest to recover, he joins an army-affiliated contracting crew that takes him overseas to a Canadian base in Afghanistan. In the company of friends, he begins to mend: having laughs and being rebellious, blithely unaware of all he's left behind. But everything changes during a roadside incursion when a routine patrol turns fatal. And Henry, who survives, knows in his heart that he is responsible.
Upon returning home, tormented by guilt, he resolves to take care of the people and places around him: Martha Groves, whose boyfriend was killed in Afghanistan; his friends and neighbours; and a summer home that needs revitalizing. Henry tries his best to seek roots after a rootless life, collecting around himself a "community of a hundred people" for whom he cares deeply and is responsible. But he hasn’t factored in family history and social infidelity—and Martha has a revelation of her own that may change everything.
Minister Without Portfolio illuminates the power and violence of self-creation. It asks: To whom are we beholden? Who do we adopt—and who couldn't we live without? It is an emotionally affecting work, filled with truths about the frailties and miracles of human nature, by a writer of exceptional talent.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Early on in this alternately brilliant and frustrating novel, Henry Hayward is called a "minister without portfolio" by his friend Tender Morris, meaning, "You're not committed to anything but you've got a hand in everywhere." The designation is apt; at the time an army-affiliated contractor in Afghanistan, Henry has so far traveled through life unmoored. After an ambush leaves Tender dead, Henry returns to Newfoundland a broken man, guilt-ridden for the part he inadvertently played in the incident. To make emotional amends, Henry purchases Tender's summer home and begins to rebuild his psyche through work on the house and beginning a relationship with Martha, Tender's long-term partner. Using his signature minimalistic style to astonishing effect, the first half ranks with The Big Why and The Architects Are Here as one of Winter's best works. The short arc devoted to Henry's Afghanistan stint is perfectly presented and in lesser hands would make up the entire book. Winter captures the unique music of Newfoundland speak and his main characters and settings breathe with life. Yet the story begins to stall halfway; Winter's point becomes diluted through thematic repetition and side-character subplots that distract. Winter is no question one of Canada's finest authors, but despite being overall worthwhile an unreservedly virtuoso first half and a sporadically spectacular second the novel is ultimately dulled to a blunt point.
