“David G Grade 3: The Tragicomic Memoir of a Reluctant Atheist"
by David Robert Loblaw
Published by Cameron House Media
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$20.00 ISBN 978-0-9959495-0-8
Regina writer David Robert Loblaw - has published his first book in a series of memoirs, and it's quite the romp. Over an easy-to-read 207 pages, Loblaw introduces us to his family, including his hard-working single mother, a staunch Roman Catholic; his half-sister sister Yvette, whom he adores; and two half-brothers, whom he does not adore. Other portions of the book concern school misadventures, Loblaw's passion for the Apollo moon missions, and his experiences with the church, including his love for the Bible's "great stories of adventure".
The book's dedicated thus: "For the two women who created me. My mom and my sister," and though Loblaw frequently credits his sister for her comedic prowess - whereas his mother was "staid" - I got a laugh right off the hop when he shares that upon telling his mother that he wanted to be a baseball player when he grows up, she responded: "David, the closest you'll ever get to professional baseball is to get Lou Gehrig's Disease". I get that humour's highly subjective, but to me, this is funny stuff.
But did she really say that? Even the author's unsure, and such is the nature of memoir: dialogue's invented, blanks are creatively filled in, and the result is a dynamic text. Loblaw: "All dialogue is, of course, a reconstruction from memory as my mom was too cheap to buy me the spy microphone that I wanted."
This book's worth reading for the hilarious inside cracks on Catholicism alone, ie: "Limbo is like that cool artsy little neighbourhood that is in the bad area of your town." You're a funny man, David Robert Loblaw. And not a bad writer, either.
