By Meredith Grace Thompson
Sarah Ellis’s wonderful children’s book depicting the life, talent, and stark individuality of the great Canadian composer and pianist Glenn Gould is a joy to behold. Ellis’s words are nestled among the haunting cool-toned watercolours of Nancy Vo, each illustration capturing the essence of the page’s text. This is a book about the necessity and beauty of self-expression, self-love, and self-acceptance, as we look to Glenn Gould for inspiration to be as “us” as we can be.
Glenn Gould, born in Toronto 1932, is a legend of Canadian and international classical music, with his Goldberg Variations becoming a staple of nearly every classical music collection. His talent for the piano and for composition became apparent at a very early age, as did his predilection for what may be called eccentricity. Gould has become well known in Canada and throughout the world for his unique talent but also his poignant disinterest in performance. Music for Gould was a singular occupation in which the audience had little part. Sarah Ellis explores this.
Ellis’s book is rhythmic, moving backward and forward through questioning and answering, listing the likes and dislikes of the growing Glenn who occupies her pages. Glenn is trying to find his way through the strange world that he finds himself a part of, where people can be cruel, where the piano makes perfect sense but he is only allowed to play for a limited time each day, and where animals such as his dog Nicky are cherished friends, and people look at him as strange for his musical ability but also his insistence on living according to his own comfort. Ellis uses this rhythm of likes and dislikes in a perfect lullaby of reassurance to the reader that their actual self, their self which likes some things and does not like others, is enough just as it is and should be celebrated. The narrative voice speaks to the reader of its own likes and dislikes as much as to Glenn’s.
The narrative follows Glenn as he finds a way to make music the way that he wants to make music. Vo’s illustrations bring this into light as musical notes drift across pages. Vo’s illustrations keep the reader firmly with Glenn, using a cool palette of blues and yellows to allow the reader to sink into the page and hold space with Glenn in his own environment. Despite the possibility of the reader understanding the desire of the audience to clap and bang their feet and cheer, these illustrations and Ellis’s meticulously formed text keep us firmly with Glenn when such things bring discomfort. This tension is exacerbated until finally released as Glenn finds a way to make music in his own way.
As Glenn as Can Be is the story of an individual finding their way into the world in exactly the way that they are able to be. The Glenn of this book inspires readers, children, and adults alike to find a way to do the things that they love in exactly the way that is best for them.
Thank you to Groundwood Books for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.