Swallowed by the Whale

Whether we realize it or not, the biblical narrative has had a tremendous impact on how many of us have come to view history, time, and community. It has also influenced the formation and understanding of nations. This is a study of the use of biblical allusion by Canadian literary critics writing in the 1960s and '70s and by Canadian novelists writing in the 1990s and following. It examines how Canada has been constructed and deconstructed through biblical allusion. The argument is centred around four central biblical events - Creation, the Deluge, the Incarnation, and the Crucifixion - and the texts considered include the writings of critics Northrop Frye, Margaret Atwood, D.G. Jones, and Dennis Lee, and novelists Thomas King, Yann Martel, Rohinton Mistry, and Michael Ondaatje. This book should be useful to anyone interested in Canadian literature or culture, First Nations, multiculturalism, postcolonialism, nationalism, or the Bible, and to those who are fascinated by the concept of paradise lost and the desire - however it may manifest - to return home.