About the Author
Gordon F. D. Wilson is an author and scholar who has spent forty-plus years studying in the fields of geography and demography, pursuing deep, varied questions around human culture and politics. Born in Vancouver, Canada, and subsequently raised—until the age of sixteen—in Kenya, Wilson received his undergraduate schooling in New York and a graduate degree from the University of British Columbia, cultivating his interest in questions around the problems facing modern humankind. He himself spent a decade in capital-P politics, serving as Minister of the Crown in several ministries in B.C., including finance, international trade, and Aboriginal affairs—during which time he was responsible for signing the Nisga’a Treaty, the first modern treaty of its kind in Canada. A constitutional scholar, he has also served as a consultant on matters pertaining to the Canadian Constitution. He has travelled extensively and lectured abroad, and is author of A Civilized Revolution (Ronsdale Press, 1996), in addition to several stage plays he has also produced, most notable among which are Billy’s Question and The Sundowning of Frank Tyler.
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Wilson continues to be fully engaged in the study of population dynamics and the rise of identity politics. Outside of writing, his primary preoccupation is farming, and at seventy-five, he has retired to write his stories and grow old on his sheep farm in Powell River, British Columbia. Email: [email protected]
About the Book
It is a bright, clear Saturday morning when Ken Graham’s ex-wife stumbles through the front gate of his sheep farm, having walked, inexplicably, from the hospice facility where she has been spending her last days. Lena, suffering through a rare form of dementia compounded by a brain tumour, is convinced she is Gilgamesh, the main character of the epic Persian poem that made up her academic life’s work.
Lena’s arrival draws in and galvanizes the people that make up Ken’s—and her—life, demanding they make a change; from Sheena, their daughter, who has kept the father of her son a secret from him, to Asher, the career-driven son of Lena and her previous husband, whose resentment toward Ken and his family has prevented him from seeing his life clearly; from Jessica, one of Lena’s care workers, a closeted lesbian from a Scottish Presbyterian family, to Janis, Ken’s openly gay farmer-neighbour, with her own conservative upbringing as the daughter of a Rabbi. |
For Ken, Lena’s arrival brings on an onslaught of remembered feelings, lost dreams, and compassion for the woman who broke his heart. For himself and everyone else, it is a reminder of the unyielding reach death has into all our lives, the constancy of change, and the need to rise to the challenges life sets before us. In the face of certain death, everyone must learn we cannot hope to chase time any more than we can hope to outrun it.
There are times in one’s life when fate’s fingers flick us in the ear and awaken us from our self-imposed slumber to face providence, confront our fears, and recognize that life and necessarily death, not our longings, triumph—this weekend in May is such a time.
There are times in one’s life when fate’s fingers flick us in the ear and awaken us from our self-imposed slumber to face providence, confront our fears, and recognize that life and necessarily death, not our longings, triumph—this weekend in May is such a time.
Reviews
Barb Rees Author
It's not often that a riveting story doesn't include sex and violence. From the moment Lina found her way onto the farm, and Ken recognized who she was, you had my attention. Each character you introduced came to life. I saw who they were and what they wanted. Some political rhetoric fits in nicely but didn't detract from the gist of the story. What a sweet ending that touched my heart. It left me wanting more. Well done for your first of many novels I hope.
Lori Lynn Lachance
Your book is well thought out, probably even more autobiographical than I think, switching narrators is effective, and overall an excellent read. Hoping there are more novels or collections of thoughts inside you to be published.
Linda Reid
Gordon F. D. Wilson’s One Weekend in May is a story that rails against the inevitable.
Life is not a sprint. It is layered, nuanced, and complicated, similar to the Paris Olympics, with ten thousand athletes and forty-five thousand volunteers on the ground. It may be true that we are all capable of greatness. Thank you, Gordon Wilson, for continuing to inspire us.
This novel intimately examines the journey back and forth of Lena, who walks away from a relationship with Ken, only to return to his farm some years later, with full-blown dementia. Ken may think she is coming home to make amends; Lena is coming home to die.
“It is a bright, clear Saturday morning when Ken Graham’s ex-wife stumbles through the front gate of his sheep farm, having walked, inexplicably, from the hospice facility where she has been spending her last days… For Ken, Lena’s arrival brings an onslaught of remembered feelings, lost dreams, and compassion for the woman who broke his heart. For himself and everyone else, it is a reminder of death's unyielding reach into all our lives, the constancy of change, and the need to rise to the challenges life sets before us. In the face of certain death, everyone must learn we cannot chase time any more than we can hope to outrun it…”
Gordon was always an elegant thinker, his writing is the same. From p 1: “Like golden confetti, the early morning sun bounced off the drops of dew falling from the branches of the alder and poplar that stood tall to her left and right, uniformed in sliver bark leggings and spring-green coats, gently swaying in the breeze.”
One Weekend in May is about sustainability. It is about vulnerability. It honours mental wellness. From p. 10, “A bad attitude is like a flat tire; you can’t go anywhere until you change it.” Life is definitely not a sprint. It is a series of vantage points that allow people to be in different places and continue to see the world from various perspectives. From p 16, “He didn’t take issue with her calling the farm a sanctuary. A place where he could shut out the madness of the world…where he might be safe from the pandemic that was humanity.”
I began reading the novel One Weekend in May, on Day 15 of the Paris Olympics, and I finished it after the closing ceremonies on Day 17. It occurs to me that there is much heavy lifting involved in both endeavours. Writing a novel and hosting an event of such magnitude demands fruitful analysis, preplanning, and execution to deliver, whether it be chapters or Olympic medals. Both endeavours produced a product that will generate much emotional response and wonder for years.
From p. 155, “You know, it’s a hell of a thing to have your best life stolen from you.” From p. 157, “If you think hiding from a lie is hard, imagine how hard it has to be to spend your life hiding from the truth.” From p. 166, “there is only one predictable outcome which follows our birth, and that is our inevitable death. The thrill of life is not knowing the when, why, or the how of it.”
One Weekend in May is a fascinating first novel. I will always recall reading it against the backdrop of the Paris Olympics. Celebrate the life you are living, as none of us, not one of us, is promised tomorrow.
Linda Reid MLA 1991 - 2020
37th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
It's not often that a riveting story doesn't include sex and violence. From the moment Lina found her way onto the farm, and Ken recognized who she was, you had my attention. Each character you introduced came to life. I saw who they were and what they wanted. Some political rhetoric fits in nicely but didn't detract from the gist of the story. What a sweet ending that touched my heart. It left me wanting more. Well done for your first of many novels I hope.
Lori Lynn Lachance
Your book is well thought out, probably even more autobiographical than I think, switching narrators is effective, and overall an excellent read. Hoping there are more novels or collections of thoughts inside you to be published.
Linda Reid
Gordon F. D. Wilson’s One Weekend in May is a story that rails against the inevitable.
Life is not a sprint. It is layered, nuanced, and complicated, similar to the Paris Olympics, with ten thousand athletes and forty-five thousand volunteers on the ground. It may be true that we are all capable of greatness. Thank you, Gordon Wilson, for continuing to inspire us.
This novel intimately examines the journey back and forth of Lena, who walks away from a relationship with Ken, only to return to his farm some years later, with full-blown dementia. Ken may think she is coming home to make amends; Lena is coming home to die.
“It is a bright, clear Saturday morning when Ken Graham’s ex-wife stumbles through the front gate of his sheep farm, having walked, inexplicably, from the hospice facility where she has been spending her last days… For Ken, Lena’s arrival brings an onslaught of remembered feelings, lost dreams, and compassion for the woman who broke his heart. For himself and everyone else, it is a reminder of death's unyielding reach into all our lives, the constancy of change, and the need to rise to the challenges life sets before us. In the face of certain death, everyone must learn we cannot chase time any more than we can hope to outrun it…”
Gordon was always an elegant thinker, his writing is the same. From p 1: “Like golden confetti, the early morning sun bounced off the drops of dew falling from the branches of the alder and poplar that stood tall to her left and right, uniformed in sliver bark leggings and spring-green coats, gently swaying in the breeze.”
One Weekend in May is about sustainability. It is about vulnerability. It honours mental wellness. From p. 10, “A bad attitude is like a flat tire; you can’t go anywhere until you change it.” Life is definitely not a sprint. It is a series of vantage points that allow people to be in different places and continue to see the world from various perspectives. From p 16, “He didn’t take issue with her calling the farm a sanctuary. A place where he could shut out the madness of the world…where he might be safe from the pandemic that was humanity.”
I began reading the novel One Weekend in May, on Day 15 of the Paris Olympics, and I finished it after the closing ceremonies on Day 17. It occurs to me that there is much heavy lifting involved in both endeavours. Writing a novel and hosting an event of such magnitude demands fruitful analysis, preplanning, and execution to deliver, whether it be chapters or Olympic medals. Both endeavours produced a product that will generate much emotional response and wonder for years.
From p. 155, “You know, it’s a hell of a thing to have your best life stolen from you.” From p. 157, “If you think hiding from a lie is hard, imagine how hard it has to be to spend your life hiding from the truth.” From p. 166, “there is only one predictable outcome which follows our birth, and that is our inevitable death. The thrill of life is not knowing the when, why, or the how of it.”
One Weekend in May is a fascinating first novel. I will always recall reading it against the backdrop of the Paris Olympics. Celebrate the life you are living, as none of us, not one of us, is promised tomorrow.
Linda Reid MLA 1991 - 2020
37th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
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