Jacob has a fulfilling job in Toronto as a counsellor at a men's outreach centre; men living with HIV. When he is asked to come home to Advocate, the small town in Nova Scotia where he grew up, to say good-bye to his dying grandmother, he has severe misgivings. He remembers the events of 1984 … Continue reading Advocate by Darren Greer
Category: Atlantic Canadian Books
At the Tide’s Turn by Thomas H. Raddall (1959)
Those of you who have been following me for a while, know that I have a thing for Thomas Raddall's books. I love that they tell a good story, while also teaching me something about the history of my home province, Nova Scotia. At the Tide's Turn is the first book of his short stories … Continue reading At the Tide’s Turn by Thomas H. Raddall (1959)
Promises to Keep by Genevieve Graham
Last year I read Genevieve Graham's Tides of Honour, a love story set in Halifax during the time of WWI and the Halifax Explosion. Her new book, Promises to Keep is a love story set in 1755 l'Acadie (in the Grand Pré area of Nova Scotia), during the time of the deportation of the Acadians … Continue reading Promises to Keep by Genevieve Graham
The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes by Bridget Canning
Imagine you performed an unintentional heroic act that was caught on video and shared with the world. What would you do? How would you react? This is the premise of Bridget Canning's debut, The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes. It's fun, smart, thought-provoking, and very relevant to the world we live in right now. Wanda … Continue reading The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes by Bridget Canning
Four-Letter Words by Chad Pelley
I've had a hankering for more Chad Pelley since reading his two novels last year, Away From Everywhere and Every Little Thing. His short story collection, Four-Letter Words has been shortlisted for the Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction for the 2017 Atlantic Book Awards. It's up against two other collections I've read this year; Bad … Continue reading Four-Letter Words by Chad Pelley
“Everything written by any woman was written by all women…”: Heather O’Neill, Scaachi Koul, and Erin Wunker
Notes From A Feminist Killjoy by Erin Wunker I finished this excellent book a couple of months ago, and I still find myself looking at things differently than I did before reading it. I underlined so many parts that I'm surprised at myself for not writing about it yet. But when I saw that Notes … Continue reading “Everything written by any woman was written by all women…”: Heather O’Neill, Scaachi Koul, and Erin Wunker
Poetry Month 2017: Budge Wilson, Michael Crummey, and Book Spine Poetry #3
Let me start off by saying that I'm not generally a poetry person. But I have been learning to appreciate it more, as well as figuring out what kind of poetry works best for me (which I'm beginning to think is the secret). Last year, I read poetry by Rita Joe and George Elliott Clarke, and what … Continue reading Poetry Month 2017: Budge Wilson, Michael Crummey, and Book Spine Poetry #3
