A moving story told in visual art and fiction about gentrification,
aging in place, grief, and vulnerable Chinese Canadian elders
Bringing together ink artwork and fiction, Denison Avenue by Daniel
Innes (illustrations) and Christina Wong (text) follows the elderly Wong
Cho Sum, who, living in Toronto's gentrifying Chinatown-Kensington
Market, begins to collect bottles and cans after the sudden loss of her
husband as a way to fill her days and keep grief and loneliness at bay.
In her long walks around the city, Cho Sum meets new friends, confronts
classism and racism, and learns how to build a life as a widow in a
neighborhood that is being destroyed and rebuilt, leaving elders like
her behind.
A poignant meditation on loss, aging, gentrification, and the barriers
that Chinese Canadian seniors experience in big cities, Denison Avenue
beautifully combines visual art, fiction, and the endangered Toisan
dialect to create a book that is truly unforgettable.