Barbara Gowdy Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Barbara Gowdy, a Canadian woman of letters, was born in Windsor upon Canada. The author, who is a sexagenarian, was born in June 1950. Gowdy, who has three more siblings, is the second last-born in their family. She predominantly spent her formative years in Don Mills, a neighborhood situated in North York upon Toronto. Gowdy has also lived in Bridlewood upon Ottawa, thanks to her family that often relocated, prompted by the nature of her father’s job–he worked in the advertising industry.

For her undergraduate studies, Barbara Gowdy, who is still a Toronto resident, went to York University wherein she schooled briefly. Gowdy attended the institution between 1970 and 1971 and studied Theater Arts. Thereafter, she started studying music at Royal Conservatory of Music.

In the run-up to writing books, Barbara Gowdy worked in different Toronto-based publishing firms wherein she served as an in-house editor. Gowdy also contemplated pursuing a musical career and venturing into the finance industry. Gowdy, who is a licensed stockbroker, worked in a brokerage company hard on the heels of dropping out from the university. She considered working in a nightclub as a pianist, and has been a secretary and a freelance editor. Fortunately for Gowdy, she secured herself a job despite being a university dropout, thanks to her shorthand writing skills. She is an autodidactic–she taught herself how to proofread and writing styles.

Barbara Gowdy: Background
In those days, Don Mills lacked library facilities but for a mobile library that came to the place each week. Gowdy and her other siblings often visited the bookmobiles. Even then the bookmobiles had strict regulations that prohibited children from going into adults-oriented sections. As such, Gowdy and the rest of the children’s movements were limited to juvenile sections which teemed with fairly tales that originated from Germany and Britain. This would later on inspire some of Gowdy’s literary works. All in all, Gowdy has authored several standalone novels and collections, and there are film adaptations of some of her work.

Section on Books
Barbara Gowdy, who has been a slush pile reader, was impressed when she started reading unsolicited manuscripts sent to the publishing firm wherein she worked. She deduced that writing was not a preserve for geniuses and decided to put pen to paper. Subsequently, Gowdy debuted in 1988 but her debut novel is nothing much to write home about. In fact, Gowdy once confessed that it not good as such, and discouraged one of her fans from reading it. The book that followed that ticked all the boxes and became a bestseller.

As such, Barbara Gowdy’s first notable book came a year later. There are 17 editions of that book; and the first edition was originally published in 1989, titled Falling Angels. This standalone book is shelved under the fiction, (especially contemporary literature and cultural sub-genres), Roman, and literature (especially Canadian literature) genres.

Barbara Gowdy’s 1989 book Falling Angels revolves around Field’s family, a somewhat dysfunctional Canadian family. Meet the family. There are five family members. The parents are Jim Field, their father. The man, a salesman who deals with used cars, is a womanizer and drunkard. Their mother, Mary, used to be a dancer in her heyday; she is carefree and a drunkard too. She was responsible for the death of her son who had a nasty tumble at Niagara Falls. Lastly, there are three females: Norma who is peaceful, dispirited, and unselfish; Lou who is defiant, stubborn, disrespectful, and speaks her mind; and Sandy who is beautiful, optimistic, and guileless.

Barbara Gowdy’s book, Falling Angels, is all about how the family members act and react in the dysfunctional household. Their mother is a “couch potato”. Their father practices military-like discipline but, on sober reflection, it is out-and-out window dressing. The sisters have the own personal problems too. Norma is obsessed with her weight and once rebuffed her father’s molestation intentions. Lou handles her father’s mood swings and abuse insolently and through confrontations. Sandy, used to being pampered and cuddling up as a child, starts moving with relatively older males. All in all, Gowdy’s book is hilarious and petrifying in equal measure.

Barbara Gowdy Awards
Barbara Gowdy is a multi-award-winning penwoman. These are some of the literary awards she won and has been nominated for. In 1998, Gowdy’s 1998 book The White Bone was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and Rogers Writer’s Trust award. In 2003, Gowdy’s 2003 novel named The Romantic was nominated for the Man Booker Prize and Rogers Writers’ Trust award. In 1995, her 1995 book entitled Mister Sandman was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

In 2007, Barbara Gowdy’s 2007 novel called Helpless was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and, in 2008, clinched Trillium Book Award. In 1992, Gowdy bagged The Torgi Award, thanks to her 1992 book We So Seldom Look On Love. In 1996, she clinched the defunct Marian Engel Award. In 2007, Gowdy was inducted into the Order of Canada award and

Barbara Gowdy Books into Films
There are film adaptations of Barbara Gowdy literary work. Gowdy’s book Falling Angels has been adapted for the screen; it was adapted by Esta Spalding. The starring actors are Callum Keith Rennie, who plays as Jim Field; Miranda Richardson who appears as Mary Field; and Katharine Isabelle who acts as Lou Field.

Barbara Gowdy’s short story titled We So Seldom Look on Love was made into a film (1996) called Kissed. The starring actors are Molly Parker who plays as Sandra Larson; and Peter Outerbridge who appears as Matt. There is a 13-min-long short film whereby Barbara Gowdy wrote the screenplay; the starring actors are Don McKellar who plays as Ron, Sabrina Grdevich who acts as Brenda, and Tracy Wright who appears as Rhonda.

Best Barbara Gowdy Books
These are the best three books authored by Barbara Gowdy. The first one is Falling Angels. The second on is Helpless. The protagonist is called Rachel Fox, aged nine. Fox’s mother is single and so much busy to care for her daughter full-time, making Fox vulnerable to abduction. The third one is The Romantic. Louise Kirk is the protagonist; her troubled childhood changed her perception of love and accepting loss.

Other Book Series You May Like
Readers who liked the books penned by Barbara Gowdy also fell for the following series of books. The first one is called Mammoth series, authored by Stephen Baxter. This trilogy features the presently extinct mammoths fighting for survival. The second is titled Lloyd & Hill series, authored by Jill McGown. The featured protagonists are Lloyd and Judy Hill; they are law enforcers-cum-lovers. Lloyd is a chief inspector while Hill is an inspector and both are based in East Anglia upon England. The third is entitled Tel Aviv Trilogy, penned by Edeet Ravel. It is all about the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.