Do you ever wonder what happens to all the deer and moose that get hit on the highway? There is a boneyard deep in the woods. The deer and moose could show you where. They know the place where the trees stop and the carcasses begin. All the Things We Leave Behind begins with Violet and … Continue reading All the Things We Leave Behind by Riel Nason
Category: Canadian Lit
Stranger by David Bergen
The only books by David Bergen that I have read up to this point have been The Age of Hope and The Case of Lena S.. Both were good, but neither one blew me away. So I was surprised when, upon reading the first few pages of Stranger, I was sucked right in. With its … Continue reading Stranger by David Bergen
Bad Things Happen by Kris Bertin
After a moment, all he managed to say was bad things happen. It meant nothing to me, but he seemed to be satisfied with it, like that explained everything. Last month, I read two short story collections from the Giller Prize longlist. I enjoyed both of them, but also mentioned that story collections aren't usually … Continue reading Bad Things Happen by Kris Bertin
2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize Winner
The Shadow Jury's winner: (my review) The Real 2016 Giller Winner: (my review) My thoughts: Do Not Say We Have Nothing is a beautiful book and a deserving winner of the Giller Prize. To hear Madeleine Thien's acceptance speech or to watch the entire program, visit CBC Books. Congratulations to the winner Madeleine Thein, and to all … Continue reading 2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize Winner
2016 Shadow Giller Winner
For the last few weeks, the Giller Shadow jury (Kim, Alison, and myself) have been reading and reviewing the shortlisted titles on the Giller Prize shortlist. (If you want to see my reviews, you can find them here.) As Kim says on Kevin's blog, "...it took a bit of deliberating, across time zones, provinces and … Continue reading 2016 Shadow Giller Winner
Madeleine Thien and Zoe Whittall
By a happy coincidence I read two books this summer by Giller Prize shortlisted authors, Madeleine Thien and Zoe Whittall. I chose Dogs at the Perimeter to fill the letter 'T' position for my A-Z CanLit project. And the urge to read Zoe Whittall came out of reading Buried In Print's review of The Best Kind of … Continue reading Madeleine Thien and Zoe Whittall
Shadow Giller: Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Do Not Say We Have Nothing is all over the internet right now, perhaps due to its spot as a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, and more recently it has become the 2016 winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction. Because of all the already-existing fabulous reviews that abound I'm going to try … Continue reading Shadow Giller: Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Shadow Giller: 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad
There was always that shadowy twin, thin when I was fat, fat when I was thin, myself in silvery negative, with dark teeth and shining white pupils glowing in that black sunlight of another world. --Margaret Atwood What Mona Awad does so well in this book is to put us inside the head of a woman with … Continue reading Shadow Giller: 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad
Shadow Giller: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
I put off writing my review of The Wonder for a couple of weeks after reading Kim's excellent review. I couldn't see how I could add anything more. But I have taken some time to forget about what she wrote so that I can concentrate on my own notes. Fans of Emma Donoghue will surely … Continue reading Shadow Giller: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
Willem de Kooning’s Paintbrush by Kerry Lee Powell
Willem de Kooning's Paintbrush was longlisted for the Giller Prize, is a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, and a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards. So, of course I had to read it. As I have mentioned before, I prefer novels to short stories. However, short stories have their place in … Continue reading Willem de Kooning’s Paintbrush by Kerry Lee Powell
Consumed by Ink 