The Sojourn & The Famished Lover
An artist caught in
the tenches of Ypres,
a lover whose brief stay
in London makes the
return to battle that much
harder.
Words Worthy Book
Award 2003
Finalist Western Reads
2005
Finalist Ottawa Book
Award 2004
Globe and Mail Notable
Book 2003
Maclean's Top
Ten Canadian Novels
2003
Vancouver Sun
Notable Book 2003
Quill & Quire Top Five
Canadian
fiction 2003
"Ypres, Somme, Cambrai:
the names are enough to tell
you what happens to these
soldiers, yet this is not a
depressing book. It is
bursting with goodness and
love and decency....
The Sojourn is not a
blockbuster. It has no
linguistic pyrotechnics, no
outrageous characters, no
bizarre plot devices. What
it has is solid research,
excellent writing and a deep-
seated passion for the exploration of an
individual's moral development."
Robin McGrath, The St. John's Telegram
"When I was young, draftable and uncertain
about participating in my country's latest war,
I read Erich Marie Remarque's antiwar novel
All Quiet on the Western Front. It made
all the difference. The Sojourn is just such a book,
a testament to the truth that 'there are no sides
at all, that we're fighting ourselves, that the corpse
that comes with victory will be our own'."
Andrew Armitage, Owen Sound Sun Times
A sequel to The Sojourn
in which Ramsay
Crome rebuilds amidst
the shadows of
Depression and
haunted memories of
life as a prisoner of war.
Longlist International
IMPAC Dublin
Literary Award 2008
Longlist Giller
Prize 2006
"Cumyn is an accomplished writer and
The Famished Lover is both a complex
and compelling read. It is also that rare
thing - a sequel that is the equal of an
excellent, moving original and in some
ways surpasses it."
Bruce Berskine, Halifax Chronicle-Herald