The One with the News

Portrait

Sandra Sabatini's first collection of short stories, The One with the News (Porcupine's Quill, 2000), was shortlisted for the McClelland Stewart Writers Trust Journey and or the Upper Canada Writers' Craft Award. Sabatini's second book, Making Babies: Infants in Canadian Fiction (2004), explored how Canadian novelists wrote about babies over the course of the 20th century and how infants become more predominant, developing their own literary identity. Her second collection of short stories, The Dolphins at Sainte-Marie (Penguin, 2006), explores small town living in Southern Ontario and the curiosities of youth and inexperience. Her novel, Dante's War, was published in March 2009 with Key Porter and follows the lives of two Italian lovers during the Second World War. She is currently writing a novel about winter. Sabatini lives, works, and teaches in Guelph and is on the graduate faculty of the University of Guelph MFA program in Creative Writing.

Pressestimmen

'Sabatini is a good storyteller. While the subject matter of dementia carries an inevitable bleakness, this is not overstated, and Sabatini does not sentimentalize Ambrose or patronize readers by gratuitously plucking at their heartstrings. Sadness and tragedy are conveyed with warmth and pathos, but Sabatini is equally adept at conveying the moments of humour that are part of any fully described life. When Ambrose ad-libs to cover up his misunderstanding about the purpose of a toaster, Sabatini allows the reader to enjoy the moment. Nor is the interest of the book confined to dementia or illness; rather, the experience of illness becomes the occasion for exploration of love, identity, hope and faith. ... For a health practitioner the book is of interest for its sensitive and closely observed account of dementia. But The One With the News is also a fine piece of writing. Sabatini shows an assured use of language, and deft handling of a range of characters. The book is a pleasure to read for the restrained yet powerful way Sabatini works with what is a somewhat unforgiving plot. A highly recommended read for caregivers and professionals working with people with dementia, and for those who like an accomplished literary treatment of everyday life.' -- Tony O'Brien, Lecturer Mental Health Nursing, University of Auckland, Metapsychology 'This book shines best, and often fascinates, in its unsparing portraits of those who must witness and try to ease a terrible descent.' Globe & Mail 'Sandra Sabatini can be poignant in the service of comedy and comic in the face of tragedy. Her characters are believable but not predictable in either their ordinariness or their eccentricity, and her sympathy, like her talent, is large.' -- Kim Jernigan The New Quarterly '... regardless of the theme, her stories are above all else creative and artistic. While the stories in The One With the News deal with the reality of Alzheimer's and explore the devastating intricacies of the disease, her love of words and fascination with language means that her stories are rarely pedantic or strictly educational.' KW Echo Weekly '... her writings possess that alchemy of poignancy, reality, and harsh beauty that make me believe Sandra Sabatini is one to watch.' Off the Shelf 'At once both comic and tragic, The One With the News is a collection of stories written so expressively, they bring hope from despair. Sabatini succeeds in awakening the reader's compassion by having them share in the heartache of her characters.' The Ultimate Hallucination