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The Canadian Press

David Bergen has made the long list for the $50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize.(Thomas Fricke/McClelland & Stewart)

For someone whose novels have been described as "downbeat," "grim" and "moodily existential," Winnipeg author David Bergen is surprisingly light-hearted when discussing his latest work of fiction,The Matter with Morris.

On the phone from his home in Winnipeg, Bergen laughs easily and answers just about anything thrown his way. He had even more reason to cheer Monday when the book was shortlisted for the $50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize, an award the author won in 2005 for his novel,The Time in Between.

His much-anticipated new book, in stores Tuesday, tells the story of Morris Schutt, a man in middle-life who is reassessing how he lives, thinks and behaves after his son is killed in Afghanistan.

It opens with Morris seemingly caught in a fast-moving downward spiral.

'I think it's more hopeful than anything I've ever written.'—David Bergen

Reeling from the death of his son, the 51-year-old is separated from his wife, having sex with escorts, prohibited from seeing his only grandchild, and on a forced hiatus from his job as a syndicated newspaper columnist.

But the novel is not all doom and gloom. In fact it's somewhat of a departure for Bergen.

"I think it's more hopeful than anything I've ever written," said Bergen, who was born in Port Edward, B.C., and grew up in a Mennonite household.

The Matter with Morriswill no doubt bring up questions about whether the novel is autobiographical.

Morris is 51, the same age Bergen was when he began writing the book (he's now 53).

Morris's wryly humorous and no-nonsense wife, Lucille, is a psychiatrist. Bergen's wife is a psychotherapist.

David Bergen's new book tells the story of Morris Schutt, a man reassessing his life after his son is killed in Afghanistan.(CBC)

Morris's children are roughly the same ages as Bergen's own four children, who range in age from 17 to 24.

"In some ways I pillaged my own experiences, although I should say right up front: 'I am not Morris,"' Bergen said.

"But of course, the longing, the sentiments, the deprecation, the sense of impending death — all of those things I drew from my own life as you reach that age where your children are moving into university."

Morris's profession as a journalist is used as a thinly veiled stand-in for novelists, who, Bergen said, also walk a fine line between truth and fiction.

It turns out Morris has been borrowing heavily from the lives of his own family to fabricate a kind of "truth" his readers seem to clamour for in his columns.

Bergen said he was preoccupied with our shorter attention spans in a technologically advanced world where "we have an impatience for the world around us and everything has to happen quickly."

He's not just referring to Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia, but also the need for gossip and opinion, which he says seems to be more important than intellectual truth.

Studied journalism

Bergen himself studied journalism for two years but turned to teaching English when he realized a "personality flaw" would keep him from becoming a reporter.

"I couldn't knock on doors and I was far too embarrassed to approach people who were complete strangers to me," Bergen said.

"I would have an assignment and I'd circle the block for an hour before I'd knock on the door. Or I'd walk away and say, 'I can't do this."'

Describing a teaching style he calls "maverick," Bergen then taught high school students in the public system for 14 years before devoting himself full-time to his first love — fiction.

Writing in the car

In earlier days, Bergen had to steal time from a busy family life to write, often penning novels in his car. Nowadays, he has an office in downtown Winnipeg that he rents for $200 a month with two big windows and a good coffee shop nearby.

A good cup of coffee seems important to Bergen. He and his best friend Larry used to get together to talk about books at a local Tim Hortons coffee shop in Winnipeg, forming what they called the T.H.L.S. — Tim Hortons Literary Society.

Bergen said they even had their own T-shirts made, complete with images of Tim Hortons coffee cups and the "Tim Hortons Literary Society" printed on them. Then they wore them to the coffee shop — until the day the manager came up and told them to take the T-shirts off.

"He said it was against the law," Bergen said, chuckling. "It was a copyright issue."

Bergen and Larry still get together for coffee to discuss writing, andThe Matter with Morrisis dedicated to his long-time friend who, besides Bergen's wife, is also one of the author's first readers.

The purchase of two high-end espresso machines, however, means these days they discuss writing from the comfort of each other's homes.

"Now we drink better coffee," Bergen said.