sewn paper
e-mail the Author
Fiction / Stories
September 2000
144 pages
ISBN 0-88984-217-5
$15.95
The One With The News
Sandra SabatiniSandra Sabatini is a gifted new writer whose work explores the nature of
faith, loss, hope, and the grace we all need to remain upright. The
One with the News looks at the ravaging effects of Alzheimer's disease
and our own amazing ability to laugh until we cry.
Told from the point of view of family members and professional caregivers,
and even from the Alzheimer's sufferer himself, this collection invites
the reader into a world at once strangely dislocated and uniquely funny.
`He was suddenly hungry all the time or, rather, he couldn't
remember that he had just eaten. Left alone in the house he would fill
his jar of peanuts with ice cream and zucchini relish to eat while he rifled
the cabinets for more.'
`As a disease that is "made of tangles" Alzheimer's is the perfect
metaphor for the social intricacies that are the subject of The One
With the News While the dementia floor of the Health Centre is not
precisely the arena in which one would choose to extend one?s social
reach, it is as revealing a microcosm as any literary Ship of Fools.
Likewise, the loss of memory that is the most prominent symptom of
Alzheimer's makes an effective device for tracing the connections
between the lives that intersect in this work. As Ambrose forgets -- not
merely that tea cannot made in the toaster oven, but who he is and what
he believes -- his wife and daughters are compelled painfully to remember.
The very absence, in one mind, of those attachments that create families
and communities and classes underlines their collective importance.
Finally, the hereditary character of the disease emphasizes that the
network is not only spatial but chronological. So concerned is Ambrose's
daughter Alice to arrest the unspooling of the disease down the
generations that she undergoes voluntary sterilization.
`At the same time, while Alzheimer's is certainly a compelling symbol for
Sabatini, it is also a material reality. The slow death of the
partnership of Iris Murdoch and John Bayley is invoked in the final
story in counterpoint to the decline of Ambrose's marriage to Peggy.
Almost as painful a reminder of the destructive effects of the disease,
and perhaps the most brilliant and understated example of perspective in
this book, is "Collecting," the story of Stephen, the McLean's
paper-boy, who is brutally rebuffed, without explanation, by the man who
had once been his favourite customer.' `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.' `With a meandering, circling, returning narrative, like the movements
of an ailing mind trying to hang on to doomed memories, Sandra Sabatini
deftly traces the life of a family whose husband/father suffers from Alzheimer's
disease. The One with the News is a humane and heartfelt debut.' -
Steven Heighton
`This book shines best, and often fascinates, in its unsparing portraits
of those who must witness and try to ease a terrible descent.' - Globe and 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
- Canadian Literature
-- Tony O'Brien,
Lecturer, Mental Health Nursing, University of
Auckland. Metapsychology
The One With the News was shortlisted for the Upper Canada Brewing Company Writers' Craft Award.