I have been meaning to read The Stone Angel for a long time. Reaching letter 'L' in my A-Z CanLit Challenge was the perfect chance to finally do it. It was a delight to finally get to know Hagar Shipley. Not that she is a delight. In fact, she is snarky and cantankerous, but that's … Continue reading The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
Category: A-Z CanLit Project
Obasan by Joy Kogawa
As I have already talked about in my post about Joy Kogawa, Obasan is a novel she wrote based on her experiences as a young Japanese-Canadian girl during the time of the Second World War. Obasan has become required reading in our schools and has been quoted on Parliament Hill. Why it has taken me … Continue reading Obasan by Joy Kogawa
Joy Kogawa
I have chosen Joy Kogawa's Obasan to be the 'K' book for my A-Z Canlit challenge. I can't believe I have waited so long to read this book, but I was helped along by the book fairy when I recently came across a copy of it at a book sale. I snatched it up just in time to … Continue reading Joy Kogawa
Baltimore’s Mansion: A Memoir by Wayne Johnston
Baltimore's Mansion is Wayne Johnston's memoir of growing up in Newfoundland. Not just growing up in Newfoundland, but growing up there in an anti-Confederate family not long after Newfoundland became the tenth province of Canada. The book is full of anecdotes about his family, mostly his father and grandfather. In fact, Johnston manages to hold … Continue reading Baltimore’s Mansion: A Memoir by Wayne Johnston
Wayne Johnston
The next book in my A-Z CanLit Project is Baltimore's Mansion by Wayne Johnston. A couple of years ago I read and enjoyed both The Colony of Unrequited Dreams and The Custodian of Paradise, and have been wanting to read more since. Baltimore's Mansion is Johnston's memoir about growing up in Newfoundland. Wayne Johnston was … Continue reading Wayne Johnston
Irma Voth by Miriam Toews
I read Irma Voth to fulfill the I obligation in my A-Z CanLit Challenge, going with the title instead of the author's name this time. A little while ago, I read All My Puny Sorrows and loved it, so I thought it would be fun to read another Miriam Toews book. Irma Voth is … Continue reading Irma Voth by Miriam Toews
Miriam Toews, Irma Voth, and My First Cheat
I have been stuck on the Letter I for a long time, so I am announcing my first cheat/bending of rules in my A-Z CanLit Challenge. Usually I go by the author's last name, but this time I am going with the title. I just couldn't get excited about the books I was finding under the … Continue reading Miriam Toews, Irma Voth, and My First Cheat
Coventry by Helen Humphreys
"Intertwining themes of love, loneliness, and remembrance", Coventry tells the story of two women and a young man, whose lives intersect, on the night of November 14, 1940 as the city of Coventry burns. Harriet is a war widow who lost her husband at a very young age in WWI. She has been alone ever … Continue reading Coventry by Helen Humphreys
Helen Humphreys
There were several good contenders for the letter H in my CanLit Project, but Helen Humphreys was the writer I finally decided on. Next came the decision of which of her books to read, because most of them sound good to me. After this project is over, I am going to have a whole new … Continue reading Helen Humphreys
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Exquisite and profoundly moving, The Cellist of Sarajevo shows how life under siege creates impossible moral choices. It is a story about survival, about the temptation to hate and refusal to do so, about the persistence of the human spirit in a time of fear and suffering. Sometimes the blurb on the inside flap or … Continue reading The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Consumed by Ink 