Swann by Carol Shields

The main character introduced in the beginning of the novel is Sarah Maloney, a feminist teacher who met an early literary success with her PhD thesis, but who has mellowed a lot about her feminist theories. She tries to convince her friend Brownie-Sam Brown- that poetry is worth more than comic books, meanwhile Brownie seems to think that Sarah's favourite poet Mary Swann is a feminist castrator. I cam across this interesting quotation, "For a number of years, for a number of reasons, I had a good many friends I didn't really like." I found this line interesting because there are many of us out there that have many friends we do not like, we just tolerate them. http://www.carol-shields.com/swann.html

I had read a critical analysis by Jamie Siddon who says, "Carol Shield's Swann is wonderful for a variety of reasons:
1. Impeccably written with a sincere understanding of the relationship between tone and character.
2. The introduction of brilliantly flawed and endearing characters that have stayed with me for the three years since i first read Swann (especially Rose Hindmarch).
3. Her challenge to the traditional narrative format by revealing the mystery in four loosely connected stories and bringing them all together at the end of the novel using a screenplay (the screenplay's effectiveness is questionable, but i admire her courage)..." http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Swann-Carol-Shields/9780679307877-52921-Review.html