Succession
About the Book
Succession is a story cycle about a rural community in transition. It follows Al, a musician burned out from too many nights playing the same classic rock songs, as he returns from Vancouver to the farm where he grew up in the Bearspaw district near Calgary.
Al’s story is intertwined with those of his family, friends, and neighbours, as they struggle to come to terms with the choices they make, and those that are forced upon them by the suburbanization of their agricultural community. Succession explores themes of place and belonging, the place of art in working life, and urban and rural identity. Most of all it’s a meditation on what is lost when the beautiful places of the earth are discovered and changed by outsiders—and what remains.
Reviews
“Here is a cry of re-discovered love for a place and a way of life under threat; here is a celebration of people who prepare for the future without abandoning the past. Norris’s voice inspires trust.” —Jack Hodgins
“As the old cliché goes, good things come in small packages. Succession . . . is very short and very good. It is complete, unified and satisfying.” —Edmonton Journal