So you think Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth live happily ever after? Well, Paul Butler wasn't so sure. He saw a side of Mrs. Smith that the rest of us missed. Is she really the caring, innocent widow that Anne adores, or is she just manipulating us all into thinking she is? When James at … Continue reading The Widow’s Fire by Paul Butler: Exploring the Shadow Side of Jane Austen’s Persuasion
Category: Canadian Lit
Playing Catch-Up: Elena Ferrante, Pamela Paul, Joey Comeau, and Jesse Ruddock
The Days of Abandonment In my attempt to avoid the Neapolitan Quartet, I have now read two of Elena Ferrante's novellas. (Last year I read The Lost Daughter.) I thought both were excellent books, but I might have to give the edge to The Days of Abandonment. Although both books ask questions about what it … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up: Elena Ferrante, Pamela Paul, Joey Comeau, and Jesse Ruddock
Boundary: The Last Summer by Andrée A. Michaud
It's 1967 in the vacation cottage community of Boundary; an idyllic place to bring your family for the summer. Until a teenage girl goes missing. And then another. Replacing the peacefulness of the place with terror. Who is responsible? is it one of the community members, or the ghost of an old man who used … Continue reading Boundary: The Last Summer by Andrée A. Michaud
Advocate by Darren Greer
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
Guest Post: A Review of ‘Mountain’ by Ursula Pflug
I'm happy to have James Fisher on my blog today! James is a blogger and reviewer at The Miramichi Reader; a wonderful source of book reviews from small Canadian presses with a strong focus on Atlantic Canadian literature, both fiction and non-fiction. You might be particularly interested in checking out his Very Best! Book Awards page. *********************************************** Ursula … Continue reading Guest Post: A Review of ‘Mountain’ by Ursula Pflug
Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont (2011)
Looking for an indigenous book or author who makes you laugh instead of cry? Who is able to poke fun at herself, her family, and life on the Reserve while at the same time so obviously showing her love and pride for the same things? This book quickly wormed its way into my heart and … Continue reading Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont (2011)
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
The Lost Diaries of Susanna Moodie by Cecily Ross
In my last post, I wrote about Maud: A Novel Inspired by the Life of L.M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables (1908) and Emily of New Moon (1923). Almost immediately following that book, I read The Lost Diaries of Susanna Moodie; another fictional account of a well known female author from Canada's … Continue reading The Lost Diaries of Susanna Moodie by Cecily Ross
Consumed by Ink 