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Reprinted from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, August 2, 1997 C11 Hard social lessons in Carpenter’s tale of maturing youth
By Verne Clemence

David Carpenter has a few things to get off his chest, and in his new book, Banjo Lessons, he launches what he hopes will be a career in fiction writing as the best vehicle for his ideas and concerns.

But long-time fans of the wit and humor in the Carpenter “creative documentary” style that was the mainstay of his first five books need not worry. The new version, while possibly a bit more imaginative, doesn’t wander far from the gentle irony and unique philosophical twists of the familiar Saskatoon writer with a thousand fishing yarns.

In Banjo Lessons, we meet Timothy Fisher, a young man who is at odds with his world and having a tough time getting from puberty to whatever his particular brand of manhood is meant to be.

And yes, says the author, there are autobiographical overtones to this character. Timothy (Carpenter calls him Timmy when he’s discussing the book) is growing up (or trying to) in 1960s Alberta where he doesn’t fit in with the single-minded pursuits of oil money and consumer goods. Carpenter grew up in that same environment, and just like Timmy, he was the proverbial square peg in a round hole.

This is where the underlying message of Timmy’s story comes in. “One of the reasons I wanted to work with a character who is uncomfortable with a society that’s preoccupied with consumption and growth and economic properity is that unease with all of this has to be voiced in certain ways,” Carpenter said in a recent interview.

“This is not a novel of protest. Timmy doesn’t find political answers. He sure tries them on for size, but he doesn’t seem to fit in with political dissidents. That reflects a position I’ve come to lately [FIX] the last two or three years I’ve become less and less confident of poltical solutions. Big business and huge corporations have a lot more impact on who gets jobs these days and who doesn’t, who stays poor and who gets richer. Politics, at the moment, is kind of an illusion.”

Young Timmy Fisher, of course, doesn’t have that adult perspective as he picks his way through a tangle of doubts and uncertainties. His parents want him to be like his older brother Derek, a macho youth who excels at hockey, gets straight As in school and knows exactly what he wants to do with his life. A dream son for his father, a hard-working salesman who is eagerly climbing the ladder of success and who prides himself on providing all the middle-class comforts for his wife and two sons.

Timmy questions everything, gets poor marks, does reasonably well in drama but only really excels at fishing (a neat Carpenter touch), a passion he shares with two school chums who are also misfits.

Fishing is a touchstone for Timmy, nick-named “Fishy” by his two friends. His pursuit of trout (the aristocrats of the fish world in Carpenter’s view) takes him to remote natural places which help him regain perspective in his moments of greatest doubt. But as with most of the things Timmy pursues, he never quite lands the big one. The libidinous guilt of the pre-pubescent Timmy progresses to an uneasy angst as he falls for Nancy, the upscale beauty from his neighborhood, then Rita, the artsy child actor who makes him tongue-tied. As time passes and relationships grow ever more perplexing, he adds to his other worries the fact that he’s still a virgin at 21.

That’s Timmy. And what makes him such an enjoyable character is that most males, especially those who grew up in the ’60s, will experience many a familiar pang as they read about his troubles. The doubts and uncertainties were common; only the cover-ups were different.

But doubts, Carpenter says, are not a bad thing. “I’ve never been comfortable with guys who knew exactly what they wanted and where they were going,” he muses. “I think that way of life takes revenge on you in certain ways.”

Banjo Lessons is a great antidote for over-confidence. Coteau Books is the publisher . . .

Clemence is a freelance writer.

read a passage from his Carpenter’s novel, Banjo Lessons
read a biographical article
read an interview
return to David Carpenter
return to Spotlights