I felt like it was time for another short story from Alistair MacLeod's Island collection, and thought it would be nice to find one appropriate for summer. So I chose As Birds Bring Forth the Sun - sounds summery, right? (I can hear those of you who know this story laughing at me already.) How … Continue reading Alistair MacLeod Short Story: As Birds Bring Forth the Sun (1985)
Scotiabank Giller Prize 2018: Longlist
This is the 25th anniversary of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, a prize that was founded in 1994 by Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his wife, the late literary journalist Doris Giller. The prize awards $100,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English, and $10,000 to each of the … Continue reading Scotiabank Giller Prize 2018: Longlist
Madame Victoria by Catherine Leroux, translated by Lazer Lederhendler
This is the second book by Catherine Leroux I've read. The first was The Party Wall, which the Shadow Giller jury (of which I am one) chose as their 2016 winner. In both cases I have found that Leroux's books are not just well-written stories (although they are that, too)... they are also cleverly imagined … Continue reading Madame Victoria by Catherine Leroux, translated by Lazer Lederhendler
That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung
From the first paragraph of this book, I was hooked. 1979: This was the year the parents in my neighbourhood began killing themselves. I was eleven years old and in Grade 6. Elsewhere in the world, big things were happening. McDonald's introduced the Happy Meal, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran and Michael Jackson released his … Continue reading That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Remember Eileen? I'm a fan of that book, despite its depressing heroine and its disturbing weirdness (or probably because of it). Sure enough, Moshfegh has delivered another weird story with an unlikable character. And, once again, it was hard to put down. I had started "hibernating" as best I could in mid-June of 2000. I … Continue reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Women Talking by Miriam Toews
I like most of the books I read, but I especially appreciate unique ways of telling stories. Miriam Toews wanted to write about the events that happened in the Manitoba Colony of Bolivia. Between 2005 and 2009, in a remote Mennonite colony in Bolivia named the Manitoba Colony, after the province in Canada, many girls … Continue reading Women Talking by Miriam Toews
Two Post-Apocalyptic Books Worth Reading: “Moon of the Crusted Snow” and “The Marrow Thieves”
Evan is a young Anishinaabe man who belongs to a small community in Northern Ontario. The North wasn't always a part of their territory, but the community is working to make it their new home, and working to bring back the language and many of the traditional ways. When the community first loses internet and … Continue reading Two Post-Apocalyptic Books Worth Reading: “Moon of the Crusted Snow” and “The Marrow Thieves”
