The Book of Malcolm - by Fraser Sutherland (Paperback)

About the Book

A memoir of a family's resilience and its odyssey through the medical system, and an attempt to give dignity and meaning to a life cut mysteriously short. Fraser Sutherland, the late Canadian poet, wrote this memoir after his son, Malcolm, died suddenly at twenty-six after having suffered from schizophrenia.

Book Synopsis

A memoir of a family's resilience and its odyssey through the medical system, and an attempt to give dignity and meaning to a life cut mysteriously short. Fraser Sutherland, the late Canadian poet, wrote this memoir after his son, Malcolm, died suddenly at twenty-six after having suffered from schizophrenia.

Review Quotes

The Book of Malcolm makes the mundane moments of family and of lived, shared experience shine beautifully. That Sutherland loved his son, and that family is a complicated blessing, are made achingly clear.

Brought me to tears... short but hugely compelling book.

Doesn't let the tragedy dominate the narrative ... Fraser maintains a light touch, a detachment that is both rare and endearing but also a bit unsettling.

Part elegy, part existential howl, The Book of Malcolm is an investigation of a beloved child's life, of the moods and registers of his mental illness, and of the sometimes harrowing family moments.

The Book of Malcolm makes the mundane moments of family and of lived, shared experience shine beautifully. That Sutherland loved his son, and that family is a complicated blessing, are made achingly clear.-- "Winnipeg Free Press"

Brought me to tears... short but hugely compelling book.-- "Literary Review of Canada"

Doesn't let the tragedy dominate the narrative ... Fraser maintains a light touch, a detachment that is both rare and endearing but also a bit unsettling.-- "The Beacon"

Part elegy, part existential howl, The Book of Malcolm is an investigation of a beloved child's life, of the moods and registers of his mental illness, and of the sometimes harrowing family moments.-- "from the Foreword by Carmine Starnino"

About the Author

Fraser Sutherland (1946-2021) was the author of seventeen previous books of poetry and essays. He was a widely respected critic, editor, and lexicographer. Originally from Pictou, Nova Scotia, he lived for periods in Montreal, Toronto, Sarajevo, British Columbia, Scotland, Portugal, and China.