"Best Books for Kids & Teens" - Canadian Children's
Book Centre 2008
Read what Lori has to say about Strange Beauty
Was there a real-life Queen of Sheba in my life? Well, actually, yes there
was. And she was called that too, although I have no idea why. As in the
book, this Queen of Sheba had long reddish hair and long thin fingers with
sharp nails. Or at least in my mind she did. I don’t think I ever got that close
to her in real life. I used to see her from afar, walking the streets of Park
Extension, wearing long skirts in bright colours that were so exotic at the
time. She did once come very close to me in a park, peering into my eyes
the way she does to Penelope in the book, and I think my reaction was much
the same – she scared the #!*% out of me and I ran faster than I’d ever run
in my life down the back lanes into my shed, panting like mad from fear and
exhaustion. However, my own grandmother never really knew this woman. I
don’t know if anyone did. She was always alone. When she died, her house
was torn down almost immediately and a concrete park was put in its place. I
don’t think it was called “parc des reines” but maybe it should have been.
I think even as a child I was full of curiosity about this woman. Who was she
and where was she from? What was she doing in Park Extension? Everyone
in that neighbourhood had a story to tell about coming to Canada from
elsewhere, or else their parents did. I wondered whether we were right to be
so afraid of her, just because she looked and acted so differently. I suppose
this book is my attempt to give her a life and turn her into a real person with
a real past. Most importantly, a person with real feelings who is aware of the
effect she has on others, mainly children.
I decided to make her Roma, or gypsy, because that’s what we always
believed her to be, in her exoticness. I had to do quite a bit of research on
the Roma for the book and, of course, the persecution that the Roma
everywhere suffer and have suffered fit very well with the story. The
connection between her and Penelope’s grandmother comes as a surprise
to Penny and she is quite eager to cover it up, at first. It just isn’t cool to
have any kind of personal connection to the most-persecuted and maligned
person in the neighbourhood. After a while though, as Penelope questions
the nature of beauty and popularity through her stuck-up friend Cindy, she
begins to see the Queen of Sheba differently.
In this book, I was able to use different parts of the city of Montreal, mainly in
the east end, near the Jacques Cartier Bridge. My own grandmother did
grow up in that area and talked about it quite a bit. She did eventually end
up in a nursing home at the end of Saint-Catherine Street too, so describing
such a setting was not too difficult. Capturing the various attitudes that
young people have toward the elderly was challenging, as I suppose I am at
the mid-way people of these extremes in my own life. I was only twenty-nine
when my granny entered such a home and on visits would really observe
and take notes on the elderly around me and how they were treated. These
visits were most often very difficult.
Writing this book really put me back in time to the streets of my own youth. I
felt as though the Queen of Sheba, the real one, was very much alive and
present as I was writing. I have no idea if any of the life I invented for her
even came close to the truth, but I like to think she would have appreciated
the respect I tried to show her in the writing.
Book Centre 2008
Read what Lori has to say about Strange Beauty
Was there a real-life Queen of Sheba in my life? Well, actually, yes there
was. And she was called that too, although I have no idea why. As in the
book, this Queen of Sheba had long reddish hair and long thin fingers with
sharp nails. Or at least in my mind she did. I don’t think I ever got that close
to her in real life. I used to see her from afar, walking the streets of Park
Extension, wearing long skirts in bright colours that were so exotic at the
time. She did once come very close to me in a park, peering into my eyes
the way she does to Penelope in the book, and I think my reaction was much
the same – she scared the #!*% out of me and I ran faster than I’d ever run
in my life down the back lanes into my shed, panting like mad from fear and
exhaustion. However, my own grandmother never really knew this woman. I
don’t know if anyone did. She was always alone. When she died, her house
was torn down almost immediately and a concrete park was put in its place. I
don’t think it was called “parc des reines” but maybe it should have been.
I think even as a child I was full of curiosity about this woman. Who was she
and where was she from? What was she doing in Park Extension? Everyone
in that neighbourhood had a story to tell about coming to Canada from
elsewhere, or else their parents did. I wondered whether we were right to be
so afraid of her, just because she looked and acted so differently. I suppose
this book is my attempt to give her a life and turn her into a real person with
a real past. Most importantly, a person with real feelings who is aware of the
effect she has on others, mainly children.
I decided to make her Roma, or gypsy, because that’s what we always
believed her to be, in her exoticness. I had to do quite a bit of research on
the Roma for the book and, of course, the persecution that the Roma
everywhere suffer and have suffered fit very well with the story. The
connection between her and Penelope’s grandmother comes as a surprise
to Penny and she is quite eager to cover it up, at first. It just isn’t cool to
have any kind of personal connection to the most-persecuted and maligned
person in the neighbourhood. After a while though, as Penelope questions
the nature of beauty and popularity through her stuck-up friend Cindy, she
begins to see the Queen of Sheba differently.
In this book, I was able to use different parts of the city of Montreal, mainly in
the east end, near the Jacques Cartier Bridge. My own grandmother did
grow up in that area and talked about it quite a bit. She did eventually end
up in a nursing home at the end of Saint-Catherine Street too, so describing
such a setting was not too difficult. Capturing the various attitudes that
young people have toward the elderly was challenging, as I suppose I am at
the mid-way people of these extremes in my own life. I was only twenty-nine
when my granny entered such a home and on visits would really observe
and take notes on the elderly around me and how they were treated. These
visits were most often very difficult.
Writing this book really put me back in time to the streets of my own youth. I
felt as though the Queen of Sheba, the real one, was very much alive and
present as I was writing. I have no idea if any of the life I invented for her
even came close to the truth, but I like to think she would have appreciated
the respect I tried to show her in the writing.
Reviews of Strange Beauty
Canadian Review of Materials
Kliatt
Link to Lorimer Homepage for more
reviews
Canadian Review of Materials
Kliatt
Link to Lorimer Homepage for more
reviews
