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The Sleeping Car Porter

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302:, H. Nigel Thomas described the book as "a brilliantly multilayered novel, written for the most part in pictorial language and rich in its observations of the human condition." He said Mayr is at her best when she shows how Baxter copes with having to stay awake for days on end. Falling asleep will get him fired, which he cannot afford as employment opportunities for blacks in other fields is effectively non-existent. Thomas remarked that the novel illustrates "the cruelty of unregulated capitalism, further abetted by racism, during the first half of the 20th century." 289:"a lovely (as well as touching and ever-so-slightly fevered) account" of Baxter, a gay black porter on a long-distance train in Canada. Grubisic noted that while in general history has not paid much attention to the serving classes, Mayr has redressed this with "an absorbing history lesson within an artfully constructed story that moves, beguiles, and satisfies." He added that despite Baxter's hardships throughout the book, Mayr created an ending that is "rich with possibility, a suggestion that times were tough but not always and not for everybody." 315:. She felt it is never fully explained why Baxter, "a young, queer, Black man 'born in the tropics' and known for his penchant for 'scientifiction' and his talent for seeing what he shouldn't", wants to be a dentist. Becoming a writer makes more sense, considering Baxter's interest in reading, and his flair for making up stories. Burks remarked that 29: 266:
that "Part of being a queer person is trying to find your ancestors and it’s not necessarily about people you are biologically related to but people in the queer community who came before you and knowing that you have a place and you’re not the first and you’re not the only one. It was me excavating
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in which a railway worker also "struggles with fatigue, temporal confusion, and disturbing visions". But unlike that novella's tragic conclusion, Mayr's story ends "by envisioning a society that dares to acknowledge its ghosts."
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for insight into the job and its working conditions. She also likened the process of writing the novel to a sort of
1167: 311:, Marlo Alexandra Burks said that while Mayr's narration is "lively and pliant", she questioned some of the book's 536:"Suzette Mayr's novel 'The Sleeping Car Porter' an artfully constructed story that moves, beguiles, and satisfies" 405:"Suzette Mayr’s novel ‘The Sleeping Car Porter’ an artfully constructed story that moves, beguiles, and satisfies" 351: 1157: 507: 1172: 1142: 140: 236:
with having given her the original suggestion to write about railway porters, and consulted books such as
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They Call Me George: The Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada
383:"Giller-shortlisted Calgary author Suzette Mayr's long journey to The Sleeping Car Porter" 8: 1119: 929: 881: 599: 905: 431: 245: 666: 828: 672: 484: 480: 450: 320: 213: 178: 127: 76: 250:
My Name's Not George: The Story of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in Canada
1048: 964: 947: 924: 845: 806: 759: 347:-themed novel, and Mayr the first LGBTQ-identified writer, ever to win the Giller. 151: 1031: 1019: 811: 747: 735: 677: 1007: 645:"Suzette Mayr, Iain Reid among finalists for Governor General's Literary Awards" 28: 869: 852: 783: 740: 723: 566: 387: 194: 182: 1136: 1090: 1000: 971: 912: 571: 298: 1102: 1012: 876: 833: 788: 709: 631: 540: 472: 409: 340: 277: 237: 208: 174: 120: 42: 1043: 976: 959: 888: 864: 771: 752: 649: 312: 983: 988: 508:"Queer author Suzette Mayr wins the biggest literary prize in Canada" 257: 190: 233: 198: 217:
named it one of the top ten works of fiction published in 2022.
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to save money to fund his dream of getting educated as a
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Governor General's Award for English-language fiction
181:. Set in the 1920s, the novel centres on Baxter, a 707: 1134: 427:"Suzette Mayr wins the $ 100,000 Giller Prize" 693: 350:In 2023, it was longlisted for the inaugural 600:"Sleeper Hit: Suzette Mayr rides the rails" 700: 686: 526: 524: 522: 27: 421: 419: 377: 375: 598:Burks, Marlo Alexandra (November 2022). 560: 558: 530: 593: 591: 589: 519: 254:Hey Boy! Hey George: The Pullman Porter 1135: 564: 502: 500: 416: 372: 1163:Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning works 681: 597: 565:Thomas, H. Nigel (December 1, 2022). 555: 586: 471: 894:Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures 858:The In-Between World of Vikram Lall 497: 13: 14: 1194: 1148:2022 LGBTQ-related literary works 660: 267:a past to find people like me." 638: 619: 352:Carol Shields Prize for Fiction 465: 438: 394: 360:2023 Governor General's Awards 177:, published in August 2022 by 1: 365: 227: 1183:LGBTQ Black Canadian culture 270: 7: 339:was the winner of the 2022 10: 1199: 1025:Do Not Say We Have Nothing 354:, and shortlisted for the 16:2022 novel by Suzette Mayr 1153:Black Canadian literature 1071: 940: 799: 716: 605:Literary Review of Canada 567:"The Sleeping Car Porter" 331: 308:Literary Review of Canada 150: 138: 126: 116: 108: 100: 92: 82: 72: 64: 56: 48: 38: 26: 822:Mercy among the Children 777:The Love of a Good Woman 252:and Johnnie F. Kirvin's 222:Unapologetically William 220:The book's cover art is 22:The Sleeping Car Porter 1168:Novels set in the 1920s 1108:The Sleeping Car Porter 1079:Souvankham Thammavongsa 668:The Sleeping Car Porter 477:The Sleeping Car Porter 337:The Sleeping Car Porter 317:The Sleeping Car Porter 294:The Sleeping Car Porter 287:The Sleeping Car Porter 205:The Sleeping Car Porter 166:The Sleeping Car Porter 1084:How to Pronounce Knife 534:(September 26, 2022). 506:Tara-Michelle Ziniuk, 1158:Canadian LGBTQ novels 1096:What Strange Paradise 532:Grubisic, Brett Josef 413:, September 26, 2022. 1173:Novels set in Canada 1143:2022 Canadian novels 918:Through Black Spruce 817:David Adams Richards 401:Brett Josef Grubisic 283:Brett Josef Grubisic 193:who is working as a 1120:Study for Obedience 953:The Sentimentalists 882:The Time in Between 729:The Book of Secrets 653:, October 25, 2023. 516:, November 8, 2022. 475:(August 29, 2022). 435:, November 7, 2022. 391:, October 22, 2022. 343:. It was the first 275:In a review in the 232:Mayr credited poet 189:immigrant from the 33:First edition cover 23: 1178:2020s LGBTQ novels 906:Late Nights on Air 708:Recipients of the 483:. Copyright page. 432:The Globe and Mail 246:Stanley G. Grizzle 158:PS8576.A9 S54 2022 21: 1130: 1129: 829:Richard B. Wright 673:Coach House Books 490:978-1-55245-458-9 481:Coach House Books 451:Publishers Weekly 323:’s 1888 novella, 321:Gerhart Hauptmann 214:Publishers Weekly 179:Coach House Books 162: 161: 133:978-1-55245-458-9 93:Publication place 77:Coach House Books 49:Cover artist 1190: 1049:Washington Black 965:Half-Blood Blues 948:Johanna Skibsrud 930:The Bishop's Man 925:Linden MacIntyre 846:The Polished Hoe 807:Michael Ondaatje 765:Barney's Version 760:Mordecai Richler 702: 695: 688: 679: 678: 654: 642: 636: 635:, March 8. 2023. 625:Deborah Dundas, 623: 617: 616: 614: 612: 595: 584: 583: 581: 579: 562: 553: 552: 550: 548: 528: 517: 504: 495: 494: 469: 463: 462: 460: 458: 442: 436: 423: 414: 398: 392: 379: 154: 84:Publication date 31: 24: 20: 1198: 1197: 1193: 1192: 1191: 1189: 1188: 1187: 1133: 1132: 1131: 1126: 1115:Sarah Bernstein 1067: 1037:Bellevue Square 1032:Michael Redhill 1020:Madeleine Thien 936: 795: 748:Margaret Atwood 736:Rohinton Mistry 712: 706: 663: 658: 657: 643: 639: 624: 620: 610: 608: 596: 587: 577: 575: 563: 556: 546: 544: 529: 520: 505: 498: 491: 470: 466: 456: 454: 444: 443: 439: 424: 417: 399: 395: 380: 373: 368: 334: 319:reminds her of 305:Writing in the 273: 230: 224:by Janet Hill. 143: 101:Media type 85: 34: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1196: 1186: 1185: 1180: 1175: 1170: 1165: 1160: 1155: 1150: 1145: 1128: 1127: 1125: 1124: 1112: 1100: 1088: 1075: 1073: 1069: 1068: 1066: 1065: 1053: 1041: 1029: 1017: 1005: 993: 981: 969: 957: 944: 942: 938: 937: 935: 934: 922: 910: 898: 886: 874: 862: 853:M. 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Index


Suzette Mayr
Coach House Books
Giller Prize
ISBN
978-1-55245-458-9
Dewey Decimal
LC Class
Canadian
Suzette Mayr
Coach House Books
Black Canadian
gay
Caribbean
railway porter
dentist
Giller Prize
Publishers Weekly
Fred Wah
Cecil Foster
Stanley G. Grizzle
genealogy
Xtra!
Toronto Star
Brett Josef Grubisic
Alberta Views
Literary Review of Canada
plot devices
Gerhart Hauptmann
Giller Prize

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