Fans of Alexander Macleod's short stories have been waiting for this book to come out since his last story collection Light Lifting, in 2010 (which became a Giller Prize nominee). Like in Light Lifting, the stories in Animal Person are rich enough to keep us satisfied with re-reading until the next collection, even if it … Continue reading Alexander MacLeod Short Stories: Animal Person
Four incredible books from Atlantic Canada: one from Newfoundland and three from Nova Scotia. Gruesome murders, foster homes (for both two-legged and four-legged creatures), mothers and sons in critical conditions, a cast of furry (and feathered) characters, and #Snowmageddon. Beneath Her Skin by C.S. Porter (Nimbus Publishing) I don't usually read crime novels, but this … Continue reading From the Library: Lisa Moore, Nicola Davison, Chad Lucas, and C.S. Porter
This book surprised me with its complexity of familial relationships and marriage; the perspectives we have of ourselves versus the ones others have of us. The Winter-Blooming Tree focuses in on the Neiderhauser family in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. [The setting made me realize how few books I've read set in Saskatchewan. I learned that Humboldt--named for … Continue reading The Winter-Blooming Tree by Barbara Langhorst
The Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award celebrates the very best of Atlantic Canadian Fiction. I try to read as many of the nominated books as I can. You can find more information about this on my Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Reading List page. Like the Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction, all three nominees for … Continue reading Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award: Michelle Butler Hallet, David Huebert, and Sharon Robart-Johnson
All from Atlantic Canada, all involve some kind of travel. In Short Mercy, the characters embark on a road trip of revenge, from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick, leaving behind a trail of petty crime. In The Good Women of Safe Harbour, travel is restricted to Newfoundland, but it's the hardest kind of travel - … Continue reading From the Library: revenge, reunion, and unrequited love
These three books took me from rural Ontario to Trinidad to the moon! Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline Inspired by the traditional story of the Rogarou--"a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of Metis communities"--Dimaline has written a book unlike any other I've read. At night, he roamed the roads that connected … Continue reading From the Library: Cherie Dimaline, Ingrid Persaud, and Emily St. John Mandel
Meadows Beach, Kejimkujik National Park (That's me in the middle.) Nova Scotia authors seem to be writing books just for me these days. Not long ago, I wrote about a book that was set near my favourite beach. A Canoer of Shorelines is set in or near by most favourite lake and Park (Kejimkujik National … Continue reading A Canoer of Shorelines by Anne M. Smith-Nochasak
What a delight this book is. I knew it was written by a Nova Scotian author, but I didn't realize Jennie Morrow lives so close to my favourite childhood beach. There's an impressive stretch of beach, so heavily influenced by the sky and tides that it displays a hundred variations of gorgeous within the span … Continue reading Bird Shadows by Jennie Morrow
After a bit of a wild ride in Jeff Bursey's last book, I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. But he's shown himself to be wonderfully versatile, and has written a (more) "mainstream" collection of short stories. (Like Unidentified Man at Left of Photo, An Impalpable Certain Rest is published by corona\samizdat, which … Continue reading An Impalpable Certain Rest by Jeff Bursey
As MacLeod has proven before in his stories, he does not shy away from the harsh realities of life. And, as Marcie has already pointed out, Winter Dog is not an easy story to read. But there are so many great reasons you should read it anyway. Like the tender telling of the excited children … Continue reading Alistair MacLeod Short Story: Winter Dog (1981)
Consumed by Ink 