Lucy Black is joining us today to talk about her novel, A Quilting of Stars. Here’s the publisher’s description:
Filled with the pleasure of recognizable yet distinctively original characters and a deftly drawn sense of time and place, A Quilting of Scars brings to life a story of forbidden love, abuse and murder. Pulsing with repressed sexuality and guilt, Larkin Beattie reveals the many secrets he has kept hidden throughout his lonely life. The character-driven narrative is a meditation on aging and remorse, offering a rich account of the strictures and rhythms of farming in the not-so-distant past, highlighting the confines of a community where strict moral codes are imposed upon its members and fear of exposure terrifies queer youth. As Larkin reflects upon key events, his recollections include his anger at the hypocrisy of the church, and the deep grief and loneliness that have marked his path. There is a timelessness to this story which transcends the period and resonates with heart-breaking relevance.
What’s Lucy’s favorite bit?
A Quilting of Scars is a work historical fiction set in the late 1800s in rural Ontario. The following describes the book.
A Quilting of Scars is a poignant exploration of forbidden love, abuse, and murder, brought to life through a cast of relatable yet uniquely original characters. Set against the backdrop of a rural community bound by rigid moral codes, the narrative follows Larkin Beattie as he navigates the complexities of a lonely existence filled with repressed sexuality and deep-seated guilt. With a deftly crafted sense of time and place, Larkin’s story unfolds as a thoughtful meditation on aging and remorse. As he reflects on pivotal moments from his past, the narrative delves into the hypocrisy of the church, the profound grief that has shaped his life, and the suffocating fear that grips queer youth in a society quick to judge. Through Larkin’s eyes, readers experience the strictures and rhythms of farming life in the not-so-distant past, revealing how societal expectations can stifle personal truth. A Quilting of Scars resonates with timeless relevance, evoking a deep emotional response that transcends the era in which it is set. It is a powerful reminder of the enduring struggle for acceptance and the scars that love can leave behind.
One of my favorite elements of A Quilting of Scars has to do with quilts, both physically as objects that are made using pieces of old fabric but also metaphorically, as an analogy for the ways in which disparate pieces of a life can come together.
Larkin is a solitary farmer near the end of his life. As he reflects upon the things that have taken place over time, he encounters a basket of old dresses belonging to his mother.
On the landing stood the apple basket with his Ma’s dresses… These clothes had once been a part of his Ma. She wore them to church and round the farm, and wore them when she was reading or cooking or working in her small garden. These dresses shared her life and knew things about her that Larkin didn’t know. They hid letters in a pocket. They sat at her writing desk. They touched her. And now they were empty, just a bundle of scraps for a community quilt.
Later in the novel, Larkin studies one of the quilts left in the family home.
This quilt was an old postage stamp pattern that his Ma had made with the church ladies at a quilting bee. Larkin liked it in particular because he could recognize pieces from an old shirt of his Pa’s and a piece of dress material that had been his Ma’s. In a couple of places, the shirt and the dress had been stitched together side by side, and Larkin had always thought as how perfect that was.
I didn’t set out to write about quilts but they continued to appear in the narrative. When the novel was finished, I realized that the idea of taking disparate slices of history and presenting them in small swatches was what this novel was really attempting to do – piecing together the bits of Larkin’s life in an attempt to make sense of who he was and the events that had shaped his trajectory.
There are several threads in this novel – a love story to Ontario farming and rural life, a celebration of male friendship, child abuse, a murder mystery, and a condemnation of those who judge the Larkins of this world.
The writing process for this work of historical fiction was rather like what I understand quilting to be, a thoughtful, methodical approach to piecework, as I endeavoured to juxtapose the history with the dominant issues that I hoped to interrogate. I am hopeful that for the reader, the finished piece will be as seamless as some of its parts – colourful, and able to leave a lasting impression of beauty of and love.
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BIO:
Author of The Marzipan Fruit Basket, Eleanor Courtown, Stella’s Carpet, The Brickworks, and Class Lessons: Stories of Vulnerable Youth, Lucy E.M. Black’s short stories have been published in Britain, Ireland, USA and Canada in a variety of literary journals and magazines. She lives in Port Perry, Ontario, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island, First Nations.