Review: Making Up the Gods by Marion Agnew

A wholesome read.

Marion Agnew’s debut novel, Making Up the Gods, is a wonderful story of a mature widow, Simone, who sees and talks to her dead loved ones, such as her late husband, William, her mother Carmen and her grandfather. But she’s not suffering from any mental illness such as dementia. Her husband she “feels” more than sees and Carmen is always there with some ridicule or “I told you so” attitude. Just as she never supported Simone when alive, Carmen is just as bad a mother in the afterlife (so it would appear).

Very much alive are three other characters who impact Simone’s quiet existence on the shore of Lake Superior: David, her adult stepson, who wants her to sell the house and cottage and retire to Florida or a senior’s residence. Martin, a lovable loser David hires to try and get Simone to sell by posing as a long-lost cousin, and Chen (short for Chenoweth) a nine-year-old boy Simone reluctantly volunteers to babysit for his recently widowed mother.

Serving as a backdrop and as the source of tension for the novel is a recent motor vehicle accident that killed 15 people in the small community. Many knew someone who was affected directly, such as Chen, who lost his biological father and his half-brother, or indirectly, such as Simone, who knows of some from her church circle of friends and acquaintances. Jessica, (Chen’s mother) and her husband had previously planned an Alaskan cruise, so she decides to go anyway but needs someone to look after Chen. This is how Simone and Chen meet up.

The side story in Making Up the Gods has Martin posing as Simone’s cousin to try and get her to sell to him (at which point he will hand the property over to David). Simone is unsure of her family’s history, so this “cousin” could well be telling the truth. Carmen tells her it is a ruse and to beware. Simone, due to her pleasant and trusting ways, has Martin second-guessing himself if he should follow through with David’s trickster plan.

I truly enjoyed reading Making Up the Gods. At first, I thought the match-up of Simone and Chen would be the silly old woman/smart young kid trope, but it is nothing like that. Chen, sad over the loss of his father and half-brother, and Simone, still grieving her husband, is a match that assists one another in coping and growing in understanding of life, death and the importance of carrying on. Martin gets caught up in this relationship and is drawn to the wholesome aspect of people caring about one another, something that was missing in his own life.

I consider Making Up the Gods a literary “feel-good” story, and I am glad I decided to pick it up. It has humour that will make you smile and pathos that will make you sympathize (if not empathize) with each character. Latitude 46 has a good history of producing good stories and this one is no exception. I recommend putting it on your summer reading list.

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Marion Agnew is the author of a personal essay collection, Reverberations: A Daughter’s Meditations on Alzheimer’s (Signature Editions, 2019). It was shortlisted for the Louise de Kiriline Lawrence Award for nonfiction. Her essays have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and a National Magazine Award. She lives in Shuniah, Ontario, mere yards from Lake Superior, on Anishinaabe/ Robinson-Superior Treaty territory.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Latitude 46 (Oct. 15 2023)

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 376 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 198898968X

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1988989686

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