Toronto Island and Hydra share something in common - the lack of cars and motor vehicles. I was wondering about Hydra's place in Leonard Cohen's life. It is where he wrote Beautiful Losers. We saw the documentary on his relationship with Marianne last night.
Of course, Hydra has a mythical world-wide reputation. The Toronto Islands are only an hour away from here. Typically they are not described as mythical but as quaint and funky, things like that.
The reviews of Beautiful Losers caught my attention in the documentary. The reception by reviewers was considered unsympathetic or hostile.
In April 1966, Fulford wrote the famously quoted one-line 'slap-down review'. In particular, it was Robert Fulford's famous review that is often repeated.
Robert Fulford's review is quoted over and over - "the most revolting book ever written in Canada". The final paragraph of the review? The final paragraph tempers his disgust somewhat: “At the same time it is probably the most interesting Canadian book of the year.”
By July 1966, he's writing more about Cohen and referencing his famous review:
“Meanwhile, back in Toronto, Cohen’s Beautiful Losers is still an object of some controversy,” writes Fulford. “The Deer Park Library, which is circulating three copies of it, has pasted a section from my review in the front of each copy. The quotation says, in effect, that the book is revolting but interesting. The idea is to warn off those readers whose stomachs may not be strong enough for Cohen.”
That's a well-known Forests Hill library. Fulford lived in the St. Clair Avenue area, and I remember seeing him once at the bank in the line-up when I worked at Imperial Oil on St. Clair Avenue West. I would have like to ask for his autograph at the time.
But by July 1969, Peter Goddard is covering him as a pop star - the transition from revolting novelist to compelling celebrity complete:
“If you think Pierre Trudeau makes an impact on a party, you should see Leonard Cohen,” wrote the Star’s Peter Goddard. “With his sad, sensitive face and his boyishly wise and gentle way, Cohen does not so much dominate a room as glow in it, add to it, change it.”
The article I've referenced is in the Toronto Star, November 14 2016 HERE.
A wonderful bridge on a scenic railroad layout today.
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