Liam Durcan

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== Writing == == Writing == Durcan's first novel,<ref name="booklounge">[http://www.booklounge.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771029417&ref=video_yt_Durcan Book Lounge | Liam Durcan]</ref> ''Garcia’s Heart'' ([[McClelland & Stewart]] 2008)<ref name="amazonGH">[https://www.amazon.ca/Garcias-Heart-Liam-Durcan/dp/0771029411 Amazon.ca | ''Garcia's Heart'']</ref> is set in Montreal. Through an act of graffiti tagging its protagonist Patrick, an entrepreneur in the medical industry who grew up in Montreal, crosses paths with Hernan Garcia, who runs a corner store or [[dépanneur]]. As the story unfolds, we find that Garcia was a doctor in Central America prior to arriving in Montreal. Garcia did work for a Central American government that has him on trial at the [[International Court of Justice]] at [[The Hague]]. Patrick attends Garcia's trial trying to sort out his feelings for his former mentor in light of the new evidence. His endeavour is further complicated when Garcia's daughter - Patrick's first girlfriend - appears.<ref name="qandq">[http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=5392 Quill & Quire | Review of ''Garcia's Heart'']</ref> ''Garcia's Heart'' won the 2008 [[Arthur Ellis Award]] for best first novel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sibbald |first=Barbara |date=2017-05-15 |title=Liam Durcan: neurological narrative |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5433873/ |journal=CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association |volume=189 |issue=19 |pages=E701–E702 |doi=10.1503/cmaj.170325 |issn=1488-2329 |pmc=5433873 |pmid=28507091}}</ref> Durcan's first novel,<ref name="booklounge">[http://www.booklounge.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771029417&ref=video_yt_Durcan Book Lounge | Liam Durcan]</ref> ''Garcia’s Heart'' ([[McClelland & Stewart]] 2008)<ref name="amazonGH">[https://www.amazon.ca/Garcias-Heart-Liam-Durcan/dp/0771029411 Amazon.ca | ''Garcia's Heart'']</ref> is set in Montreal. Through an act of graffiti tagging its protagonist Patrick, an entrepreneur in the medical industry who grew up in Montreal, crosses paths with Hernan Garcia, who runs a corner store or [[dépanneur]]. As the story unfolds, we find that Garcia was a doctor in Central America prior to arriving in Montreal. Garcia did work for a Central American government that has him on trial at the [[International Court of Justice]] at [[The Hague]]. Patrick attends Garcia's trial trying to sort out his feelings for his former mentor in light of the new evidence. His endeavour is further complicated when Garcia's daughter - Patrick's first girlfriend - appears.<ref name="qandq">[http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=5392 Quill & Quire | Review of ''Garcia's Heart'']</ref> ''Garcia's Heart'' won the 2008 [[Arthur Ellis Award]] for best first novel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sibbald |first=Barbara |date=2017-05-15 |title=Liam Durcan: neurological narrative |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5433873/ |journal=CMAJ |volume=189 |issue=19 |pages=E701–E702 |doi=10.1503/cmaj.170325 |issn=1488-2329 |pmc=5433873 |pmid=28507091}}</ref>

''The Measure of Darkness'' (Bellevue Literary Press 2016) is Durcan's second novel,<ref>[https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/the-dark-hemisphere-of-the-mind-familiar-terrain-for-a-neurologist Montreal Gazette | The dark hemisphere of the mind: Familiar terrain for a neurologist]</ref> and describes the life of an architect, Martin, who has suffered [[Hemispatial neglect|neglect]] and a severe brain injury as a result of a car accident. Martin cannot remember events from the days leading up to his accident. Relations within Martin's family reflect neglect: he's twice divorced and estranged from his two daughters, though one is an architect at the firm he founded. Martin's brother, who he hasn't seen in decades, comes to help him during his [[convalescence]]. While recovering, Martin recalls researching [[Konstantin Melnikov]], a Russian architect during the Soviet era, during his undergraduate days. Martin and his supervising professor visited Melnikov in Moscow. Thoughts of Melnikov help pull Martin through his recovery. Of the novel, Durcan said "there was a story that I needed to tell, perhaps just for myself."<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/liam-durcan-there-was-a-story-that-i-needed-to-tell-perhaps-just-for-myself/article29281533/ Globe & Mail | Liam Durcan: ‘There was a story that I needed to tell, perhaps just for myself’]</ref> ''The Measure of Darkness'' (Bellevue Literary Press 2016) is Durcan's second novel,<ref>[https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/the-dark-hemisphere-of-the-mind-familiar-terrain-for-a-neurologist Montreal Gazette | The dark hemisphere of the mind: Familiar terrain for a neurologist]</ref> and describes the life of an architect, Martin, who has suffered [[Hemispatial neglect|neglect]] and a severe brain injury as a result of a car accident. Martin cannot remember events from the days leading up to his accident. Relations within Martin's family reflect neglect: he's twice divorced and estranged from his two daughters, though one is an architect at the firm he founded. Martin's brother, who he hasn't seen in decades, comes to help him during his [[convalescence]]. While recovering, Martin recalls researching [[Konstantin Melnikov]], a Russian architect during the Soviet era, during his undergraduate days. Martin and his supervising professor visited Melnikov in Moscow. Thoughts of Melnikov help pull Martin through his recovery. Of the novel, Durcan said "there was a story that I needed to tell, perhaps just for myself."<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/liam-durcan-there-was-a-story-that-i-needed-to-tell-perhaps-just-for-myself/article29281533/ Globe & Mail | Liam Durcan: ‘There was a story that I needed to tell, perhaps just for myself’]</ref>