The Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Oscars of the Canadian literary scene, was awarded last night at a black tie event in Toronto. To our delight the 2010 winner was Johanna Skibsrud for her debut novel, The Sentimentalists, published by LPG member Gaspereau Press.

The novel connects the flooding of an Ontario town, the Vietnam War, a trailer in North Dakota and an unfinished boat in Maine. Parsing family history, worn childhood memories, and the palimpsest of old misunderstandings, Skibsrud’s narrator maps her father’s past.

Napoleon Haskell lives with Henry in the town of Casablanca, Ontario, on the shores of a man-made lake beneath which lie the remains of the former town. Henry is the father of Napoleon’s friend Owen, who died fighting in Vietnam. When her life comes apart, Napoleon’s daughter retreats to Casablanca and is soon immersed in the complicated family stories that lurk below the surface of everyday life. With its quiet mullings and lines from Bogart, The Sentimentalists captures a daughter’s wrestling with a heady family mythology.

If you've been following the Giller news this year leading up to last night's announcement, you're probably aware that The Sentimentalists may be hard to get your hands on but don't worry -- it is available in ebook format!