Irma Voth by Miriam Toews

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews

Release Date: April 5th, 2011
Pages: 272
Format: ARC
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: TLC Book Tours
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Irma Voth follows a young Mennonite woman who carries a terrible family secret with her on a remarkable journey to survival and redemption.

Irma Voth was my first time reading a book by Canadian darling Miriam Toews, although A Complicated Kindness was often mentioned when I was in high school, and I was definitely interested in finding out more about her take on Mennonite culture, an issue she is uniquely posed to address because she grew up living it. The novel itself is a complex, although not particularly lengthy, story of its namesake's life. Other characters play pivotal roles in Irma Voth but ultimately everything comes back to Irma and one terrible secret, a hidden guilt she has held onto for many years.

If Irma Voth was judged solely as a coming-of-age story, without the unique context that the Mennonite religion provides (of course this is impossible and purely theoretical), I am not sure how much of a lasting impression it would have made. Irma's position within the Mennonite community is what makes the novel interesting, but oftentimes it felt almost like a crutch. I wanted a story that was slightly more universal in flavour, a little more emotional- like the memoir of her father's life by Toews I read after this book, Swing Low- and a little less rigid.

Neither the characters nor the Mexican setting really came alive for me in this book and the result was a novel which although interesting, felt clinical in its execution. Based on Irma Voth I am unlikely to pick up another novel by Toews in the near future, but her insight into Mennonite culture has caught my attention and after learning more about it in Swing Low I hope that Toews someday publishes a memoir of her own life.

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

Swing Low is the story of Miriam Toews' father, a man who suffered his whole life from bipolar disorder, keeping his struggles almost entirely to himself as he went against his psychiatrist's predictions that he wouldn't marry, start a family, or hold down a job. Instead, Mel Toews spent a forty years as a respected teacher, married his lifelong sweetheart, and had two happy and successful daughters. Then, after suffering a heart attack which limited the oxygen to his brain causing permanent damage, Mel was forced to retire from teaching, a job that had been as much an escape as a career. Finally, in 1998, he had himself released from the hospital and jumped in front of an incoming train.

With Swing Low Toews has written the story of the brilliant yet troubled man that her father was, how he would be outgoing and vibrant in the classroom only to remain in complete silence and despair at home. Bipolar disorder meant there were two sides to Mel, the manic and the depressive, and as Toews tries to come to terms with both her father's life and death, she attempts to bridge the gap in between the person her father was, and the person he tried so hard to be.

Like Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, Swing Low is more of a True Life Novel than a traditional memoir or biography. Written almost entirely in the first person from Mel's perspective- with the exception of a short introduction and epilogue- Toews truly lets the reader in on not only the experiences, but the emotions they provoked. I read this memoir after finishing Toews' latest novel, Irma Voth, and was shocked by the difference between the two. Although both take place in a Mennonite community, Swing Low is far more emotional and evocative, while Irma Voth tells a clearer and more distinct story. At first, and for many pages, I found myself very confused by the scattered narrative of Swing Low, the story begins with Mel in his hospital bed, slightly insane from dementia and trying to figure out what is going on. To do so, he goes back through his life, connecting the events that brought him to that moment together. As could be expected with a crazy narrator, sometimes he is quite difficult to follow and so it took a long time for me to get involved in the story. Even though Toews is taking on the voice of her father, it definitely felt genuine, and it's clear she didn't paint him in an idealistic light but instead Mel remains human and flawed. He was a man that tried very hard, but that didn't mean he was perfect.

Ultimately, I feel conflicted over this book. On one hand, it is a rich and inventive look into the mind of mental illness, especially in when it occurs in a not entirely understanding time or culture, which is both unique and believable. But at the same time, sometimes the book was too believable, in that I really felt like it was written by an insane person which made it difficult and not entirely enjoyable to read. Overall, Swing Low is a unique and insightful look into living with mental illness and although I found it confusing at times, it is a strong testament to Mel Toews and a reminder that no matter who we are, our parents remain a part of us.

Release Date: May 28th 2000
Pages: 240
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This review was a part of TLC Book Tours. Click here to read what other tour hosts thought. For the purpose of this review I was provided with a copy of the book which did not require a positive review. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own.