One of the authors I’d been advised to look out for in Canada was Helen Humphreys. I did find a few of her novels, but they were almost all set in England, and I’d much rather read a Canadian writer writing about Canada. So I decided to buy some of her non-fiction instead – Nocturne (2013) from ABC Book Store in Toronto, which looked a little unpromising from the outside but had an amazing stock inside. The book itself is beautiful – a lovely covered, and deckled edges. It is just under 200 pages, and something rather special.
The subtitle tells you what the book is going to be about – ‘on the life and death of my brother’. I’m not going to write a very long review, but I do want to communicated what a wonderfully written book Nocturne is – both as a tribute to a brother and best friend, and as an examination of love and loss that perfectly combines the poetic and the grounded.
Fairly late in the book, Humphreys shares the short obituary she wrote for her brother, Martin – saying she never chose words more carefully. And it is evident from the writing in Nocturne that choosing words carefully is at the core of her being. I’m quoting the obituary first because it really tells you who Martin was, and what happened to him:
Brilliant, talented, passionate and compassionate, kind, handsome, disciplined, elusive, and stubborn, Martin loved music, art, new places and experiences, his friends, the West Coast, connecting with life in all its forms, having a beer, and watching the Maple Leafs (even this season). He hated cruelty, intolerance, stupidity, and Toronto winters.
He died too soon, from pancreatic cancer, and is deeply missed by his parents, Frances and Anthony; his sisters, Helen and Cathy; his many friends in Vancouver, Toronto, England, and Paris. We are lost without his beautiful spirit.
Through Nocturne, Humphreys moves between present and various pasts. She tells us about Martin’s life and his illness – the talent he had for music from an early age, and his triumphs and limits as a composer. His friendships, and his movements around the world, and his flawed relationships. And then his diagnosis and the cruelties of cancer. And, winding through it all, the grief and shock of losing your brother and closest ally. I think what I found most moving in Nocturne is the portrait of how you can know someone deeply and still not know everything about them. How you can live in different parts of the world and be deeply close, and be in the same room and not know how to communicate. But what comes across most is the great depths of love Humphreys has for her brother. Not enough fiction and non-fiction talks about this bond between siblings, and Humphreys honours it so beautifully.
And, my goodness, this woman can write. I’m keener than ever to read her fiction, particularly the one or two that are set in Canada. I noted this down on p.8, but there are so many examples of the same exceptional, reflective writing:
I come to the cemetery in a kind of ad hoc fashion. Sometimes I pick up a coffee and drink it out there, standing with my back to your gravestone. I like how the sun warms the stone and how the stone keeps the heat a little way into the evening, keeps it longer than the air. It’s strange, but when you died and the heat started leaking from your body, it left you at exactly the pace that a stone cools after being in the sun all day. It makes me think that we are made of the natural world after all, attached to it more securely than I had realized.
I am often drawn to books about grief – perhaps because they are the purest way of describing love. Nocturne is up there among the best I’ve read.
Oh Simon I knew you would love this book. Who could not love this book? Could I make a case for The Lost Garden, and The Evening Chorus, and then for Coventry, and Rabbit Foot Bill. There is so much poetic beauty and depth in her writing. Yes, I’m a little in love with her
Those three are my favorites among Helen Humphreys books. You really should read them.
I’m really most interested in her writing about Canada, so Rabbit Foot Bill will be the next one I read :)
It would take a hard heart not to love this one! I’m definitely keen to read Rabbit Foot Bill.
I can totally see why you loved this moving, sad and beautiful book. The passages you quoted are exquisite and definitely inspire me to read this author. Thank you for a lovely review.
Thank you, Sarah! It is a special one.
I am always up for a beautifully written bereavement memoir. I love your line about how grief is a pure expression of love. I’ve taken the liberty of adding a link to your review to our Novellas in November roster as we also include any nonfiction that’s under 200 pages.
Thanks Rebecca! And glad it can be included – I have at least one more novella waiting to be reviewed.
She’s wonderful: I’m always happy to read about someone discovering her work (she has a nicely sized backlist, so one has the sense of there being a good amount to read while still feeling as though she’s paid as much attention to each book as she did to that beautiful obituary for her brother that you’ve quoted). Here are my thoughts on her recent book about writing and dogs (don’t let that put you off, you’ll be able to relate, as it’s more about the bond with a companion than their being dogs): http://marciemccauley.com/2023/08/01/and-a-dog-called-fig-helen-humphreys/ There is some discussion of her writing method in regard to specific books but there are no major spoilers to worry about either.
Oo that sounds wonderful – I love a book about writing (and don’t mind a little writing about dogs :D)
I love books that rip out my heart. Adding this one to my stack.
That’s exactly what it does!
Inspired by this post, I have now read ‘Solitude, Connection, the Writing Life And a Dog Called Fig’. It is a beautiful combination of memoir, reflections on writing and a writer’s life, dogs (with a special focus on viszlas, which I appreciated living with two next door!) and nature. Even though I know you prefer cats (sorry I don’t think there were any featured!), I still think you would enjoy this. There is a lovely piece on Virginia Woolf and her relationship with Grizzle. Several other famous authors and their dogs are also discussed such as Thurber, Hardy, Ackerley and Alice Walker.