From what I have seen so far, Under the Visible Life has not been getting the attention it deserves. Thanks to Susan at A Life in Books, I bumped it up my list, read it over the Holidays, and loved every minute of it. Both Susan and Naomi (The Writes of Woman) included it on their Best of 2016 lists. Perhaps you’ll see it on my Best of 2017 list in another 11 months…
Under the Visible Life is the story of two women, their friendship, and their individual quests for independence. Mahsa and Katherine come from different backgrounds, but have three things in common; music, a mixed heritage, and a fierce determination to be free and independent (from societal norms and family circumstances).
The most radical thing a woman can do is live.
Katherine: Katherine was born in Ontario, Canada to a single mother in 1940. Her father is Chinese and married her mother, but had to return to China. At birth, Katherine was taken away from her mother (and her mother was incarcerated for “incorrigibility”) under the Female Refuges Act. Her mother fought to have her back, then fought to earn enough money and raise her as a single mother in the 40s and 50s.
Katherine grew up vowing never to be like her mother; a lonely woman smoking in a dark basement apartment. She saw marriage as a way to avoid ending up like her, but Katherine’s marriage resulted in its own set of troubles, and Katherine was left (much of the time) to raise her three children on her own.
What I love most about Katherine’s story is that motherhood is not swept aside for her career – and neither is her career ended because of motherhood. Despite her struggles with money and marriage, she finds a way to go after her dreams while raising three children. She puts a priority on both herself and her children and shows us it can be done.
This music is what marriage could be, playing solos at the same time and ending up together.
You have to keep doing it all. You have to keep chasing your favourite things. Don’t stop. Don’t wait. Keep going.
Mahsa: Mahsa was born to an Afghan mother who had run away to Pakistan with an American. For the first 13 years of her life, she knew love and happiness, until her parents were murdered by her uncles. As a result of this, Mahsa had the idea that “women who married got murdered by their families”, and decided to do her best to avoid marriage.
Mahsa was sent to Montreal to study, where she got a taste of freedom and independence, but in the end could not avoid the marriage her family wanted for her. She tried to make the best of it, but felt trapped and confined, and at times betrayed.
I believed I could do what I wanted if no one saw… I believed in a hidden life for women.
Both women are in marriages that are wildly different and fascinating. I could write a whole other post on just their marriages alone. (Literary Wives, keep this one in mind!)
I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to readers who like stories about women, marriage, and friendship. In a world where we so often tear each other down, it’s nice to read a book about women building each other up. Kim Echlin had me mesmerized.
To live, you must risk calamity. Abandon old ways to create something new. Love the life under the visible life.
Further Reading:
In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Kim Echlin explains why she wrote Under the Visible Life:
Under the Visible Life is about love and I wanted to think about how the hidden lives of our families and cultures – our mother tongues, our customs and laws, the lives of our parents, grandparents – thread through our own lives whether we know them or not. I wanted to think about the resistances we face when we live authentically.
At CBC Books, Kim Echlin explains how she wrote it:
The book started when I discovered the Female Refuges Act… During the Second World War it was used to discourage women from cross-cultural dating. I was fascinated by how recently it had been repealed. My grandmother and mother had been born into it. I had been born into it, although I was too young to be subject to it. It was startling to understand the degree of legislative control our Canadian laws have had over women.
I wanted to work with alternating first person narration because I wanted the two main characters to tell their own stories, but to reflect on each other’s as well…
Consumed by Ink 
So pleased you enjoyed this one. It really should’ve had much more attention than it’s had so far.
I loved it! (And glad that you did , too!)
We are thrilled to see Kim Echlin’s masterpiece, “Under the Visible Life” getting due recognition. It was both Bibliobroads #1 Fiction Book of 2015! A #MustRead (& re-read). So glad to see another reader of your caliber has loved it. Truly, we felt this novel should have WON the Giller & Gov. General for 2015 (it was foolishly not even nominated!) Alas, alack.
How do these things happen?! 🙂
Now that I’ve read it, I’ll do my best to spread the news!
I’m so glad you loved this as much as I did, Naomi, and thanks for the link. I’m also fascinated by those jackets – such diverse ways of presenting the novel! My hope is that the UK paperback cover will make readers here pick it up and buy it.
I was surprised to find that there were already four book covers! And I actually quite like all of them for different reasons.
Thanks for giving me the extra push to read the book. 🙂
I absolutely loved her debut, Elephant Winter, and a couple of others, too, so I’m sure I’ll love this one. Maybe it’ll be on my list of faves for 2017, too, but first, maybe I’ll reread Elephant Winter….
Oh, I’m so happy to know you loved Elephant Winter! When Under the Visible Life came out, but my library didn’t have it (it still doesn’t, which is what took me so long to finally read it), I borrowed Elephant Winter instead, but then ended up returning it unread. Partly because I had never heard anyone say anything about it. Now I will have to go back and get it sometime!
Great review – I enjoyed this novel too and especially appreciated the local references. I am hoping that I will get to meet Echlin one day!
I found there was a good sense of place, despite the fact that the story moved around so much!
I love these books that show how far we have come in such a short time. Hopefully, we can keep making progress on human rights here in Canada and abroad. Looking forward to reading it.
It was certainly interesting to learn about the Female Refuge Act. Hard to believe, really!
I’m still thinking about Echlin’s The Disappeared, so I am glad you brought this to my attention. I’m determined to read my own books until the end of March, but once we get to that point, I’ll make sure to look out for it.
This made me want to re-visit The Disappeared. And check out her earlier books, as well!
At first when I read about this book I didn’t think it would be for me. But I’ve read so many good things in so many different places it reminds me a bit of the Elena Ferrante hype – when that started I didn’t think it would be for a bloke like me but I loved it – so will try this and see if it is for me after all!
I think you should try it! And then report back!
This sounds wonderful, Naomi, and I think personally it would resonate too in terms of the general cultural piece (though it is my first time to learn of the Female Refuge Act). My Chinese mother was also born in 1940 and raised by a single mother…I’ve been thinking a lot about how her experience has impacted her marriage and way of parenting. Thanks for reviewing this! It’s so easy (at least for me) to prioritize the ‘bigger name’ books but I do very much appreciate those gems that fly under the radar.
I do think you’d like this one, Cecilia, for many reasons. But that personal connection to it must make it even more appealing!
There are many layers to this book – I’ve really only touched the surface in my review. And it’s the kind of book that will offer different things to different readers.
This sounds marvelous! I love well-written novels about women- now more than ever (even in fiction I’m sick of reading about men!).
I hope you get a chance to look for this book, then – I think you’d like it!
This does sound good! The characters sound very three dimensional
By which I suppose I mean well-developed and complex. I was having a hard time coming up with the word I wanted 🙂
I loved it!
Wonderful review and I’m glad to see you bringing this book more attention. Hopefully 2017 sees it get the recognition it deserves! I can certainly do with reading more books that celebrate friendships between women.
I also liked that the author didn’t make the friendship easy and simple – there were times when the two women struggled to understand each other, which I thought was realistic, especially coming from two very different backgrounds.
I hadn’t known about this one, so I guess it needed more attention! It sounds really good so I’m putting it on hold shelf at the library. Thx for the review. Kim Echlin is a new author to me; have you read her before? It appears she was nominated for the Giller once …
I think this is Echlin’s 4th book, which is why I find it strange that I haven’t seen much buzz over it. I have also read The Disappeared, and would recommend that one, as well!
Wow, I didn’t know Canada had such a law. When I go to Toronto, everyone seems to be holding hands with someone who looks nothing like them. The diversity of the city is one of my favorite parts of visiting.
I didn’t know about the law, either. Now, it sounds so ridiculous. And I’m glad we’ve come so far in the last few decades!
But last few decades sounds so recent… Whew.
They do!
This looks really good – another book and author I’d not heard of. A book about women building one another up sounds really appealing to me!
It’s a wonderful book, and more people should be reading it! I hope you get a chance to look for it sometime!