“‘Not invisible…Because it’s there if you look. You’re just not going to find it in the way our history’s told. Canadian history is white people’s history, and they don’t get that because they don’t know that white is a colour. They think they are invisible…We see them clearly because we have to. And we see that they definitely control the story,'” (Murray).
After the death of his mother and surrogate grandfather, Cyril Rowntree moves to Toronto as his mother wished him to do. Cyril works two jobs, studies to earn a degree, and tries to understand Canada as a mixed race man, coming face-to-face with racialized prejudice. When his paths cross with a panhandler named Patricia and the story of a missing mixed-race boy named Edward from the 1920s, Cyril is determined to find out what happened to the boy and learns Canadian history during his research.
Finding Edward is a fantastic debut author and I’m honestly surprised that this is a debut for Murray. The novel is so intricate and so well-researched that it’s amazing this is her first novel. I loved following both Cyril and Edward as protagonists, I was interested in what connected them and was surprised by how incredibly different they are. Cyril is drawn to Edward’s story because they are both mixed race men who were abandoned by their father’s, though Cyril’s father was white and Edward’s father was Black. It was interesting to see what similarities and differences existed between these two characters, but it was the history of Black Canadians that was revealed through Edward’s perspective that was the most interesting. I learned a lot about Black Canadian history that I didn’t know, that I need to do more research on because it is much more intricate and rooted into Canadian history then white Canadian’s wish to acknowledge.
The switching between Cyril and Edward’s perspective wasn’t always clear at times and was sometimes confusing, though I understand that was the point. There’s mention at the start of the novel that Cyril has second sight, which allows him (and the reader) to see into Edward’s life. Once getting into the flow of the story it’s easy to expect the change in perspective and navigate between Cyril and Edward more easily.
Finding Edward is a stellar debut told from the perspective of characters with great hearts and teaching readers about Black Canadian history. I can’t wait to see what Murray has in store next!
Publisher: Cormorant Books
Pages: 340 pages (Libby)
Source: Libby
Genre: Fiction, Canadian, Contemporary, Historical Fiction
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
Cyril Rowntree, a mixed race Jamaican, migrates to Canada after his mother and surrogate grandfather die. Cyril arrives in Toronto and sets about earning a degree, works two jobs, and begins to navigate his way through the implications of being racialized in his new land.
A chance encounter with a panhandler named Patricia leads Cyril to a suitcase full of photographs and letters dating back to the early 1920s. Cyril is drawn into the letters and their story of a white mother’s struggle to come to terms with the need to give up her mixed race baby, Edward. Abandoned by his white father as a small child, Cyril feels a compelling connection to the boy and begins to look for the rest of Edward’s story.
As he searches, Cyril unearths hidden pieces of Canadian history and gradually gains the confidence to trust his own judgment.
Sarah O'Connor 