SOUTH DUNDAS – Originally from Iroquois, author Michael Saver recently launched his first novel Lost Village.
“I always felt a strong connection to growing up in this area, and in particular in a town like Iroquois,” Saver told The Leader in a recent interview. So much so that his novel takes place in a fictional version of the town.
“It’s important for people to know that, while some of the things that happen in the book are based on memories I have, it is a fictionalized work,” he explained.
In the book a pair of brutal murders shatters the uneasy peace of the tiny town of Conawalki, Ontario, threatening to rip the community apart.
When writing Lost Village, Saver said that he started to think about the experience of dislocation that happened for a whole population of people, people who were told that great prosperity would be coming, and all kinds of things were going to happen if they went along with this, referring to the town’s 1950s relocation for the St. Lawrence Seaway project.
“I wanted to write a murder mystery, but I wanted, really, to explore that sense of identity, the loss of identity,” said Saver. “It’s a coming-of-age story as well.”
Saver has long been a writer, but that writing has always been associated with this role as an educator. But in writing this book Saver has discovered that he is a novelist. “I just turned 70. It’s exciting to me to realize that at this point there’s a new chapter that’s unfolding.”
While this book has been years in the making, those who enjoy Lost Village won’t have to wait too long for more from Saver. “I’m hoping within the next year that you will see book two,” he said.
Asked what his favourite thing about this book is, Saver said: “I love the characters. I have to say, I’m very proud of these characters.”
Someone who read the book commented to Saver that all of the characters were treated with compassion. “I didn’t set out to do that. I think it just happened that I cared about the characters – even those who are behaving badly.”
This fictional novel’s setting was also has some real world importance. “The story of these towns is an important Canadian story that has not been told,” said Saver. “I want people to know that the stories here are important Canadian stories that deserve to be told and that people really want to know.”
Lost Village by Michael Saver is available through Indigo and Amazon. He hopes to soon make it available locally.
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