Literary Wives is an on-line book group that examines the meaning and role of wife in different books. Every other month, we post and discuss a book with this question in mind: What does this book say about wives or about the experience of being a wife? Don’t forget to check out the other members of … Continue reading #LiteraryWives: Happenstance by Carol Shields
Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist 2019
The Giller Prize shortlist is out! The Shadow Jury will be reading and reviewing these books over the next 6 weeks, and will be choosing a shadow winner a few days before the official Giller Prize announcement on November 18th. Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis, published by HarperCollins Jury's Thoughts: "Bezmozgis has reimagined immigrant lives not simply … Continue reading Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist 2019
What I’ve Been Reading: Shalan Joudry, Brian Francis, and Heidi L.M. Jacobs
Elapultiek (We Are Looking Towards) by shalan joudry (Pottersfield Press, 2019) Elapultiek is a play written by shalan joudry that was first produced by Two Planks and a Passion Theatre in Canning, Nova Scotia, Mi'kma'ki. Using her theatre background as well as her story-telling and ecology experience, joudry's play is about two cultures learning how … Continue reading What I’ve Been Reading: Shalan Joudry, Brian Francis, and Heidi L.M. Jacobs
Here I Am! by Pauline Holdstock
Sometimes I forget that MyMum is dead. But that is probably better than remembering. Frankie's Mum has died and nobody will listen. His Dad is away for work, he doesn't want to tell his Gran (for fear he will have to stay at her house), and his teacher doesn't believe him. So he comes up … Continue reading Here I Am! by Pauline Holdstock
Watermark by Christy Ann Conlin
After coming out with two remarkable novels - Heave and The Memento - Watermark is Christy Ann Conlin's first book of short stories. Watermark has already garnished a lot of praise from some well-known Atlantic Canadian authors. Lynn Coady remarks that Conlin's stories "achieve a dizzying balance of light and dark"; Lisa Moore calls the stories … Continue reading Watermark by Christy Ann Conlin
Scotiabank Giller Prize 2019: Longlist
The Scotiabank Giller Prize was founded in 1994 by the late 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 finalists. The 2019 Giller Prize … Continue reading Scotiabank Giller Prize 2019: Longlist
The Little Fox of Mayerville by Éric Mathieu, translated by Peter McCambridge
As I was reading With My Back to the World by Sally Cooper, I wrote down "Value the child and maybe everything else falls into place." In The Little Fox of Mayerville we read about a child who is not valued - a child who is neglected, abused and abandoned. My whole childhood was nothing but … Continue reading The Little Fox of Mayerville by Éric Mathieu, translated by Peter McCambridge
Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
"On my first visit to Jamaica I saw a pig's severed head." And so begins our time with Kara, a second-generation Jamaican-Canadian who, unlike her Jamaican cousins, does not feel comfortable with dead animals, and whose Jamaican accent is not strong enough for her Jamaican-Canadian friends. Yet around her white classmates, Kara feels too Jamaican. … Continue reading Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
‘My Camino’ by Patrick Warner and ‘Dream Sequence’ by Adam Foulds
My Camino by Patrick Warner A few years ago I read Patrick Warner's One Hit Wonders and said: "One Hit Wonders is such a unique reading experience that I wanted more." I got what I asked for - another unique reading experience - one that is darkly humorous, bold, challenging, and visceral. This book is … Continue reading ‘My Camino’ by Patrick Warner and ‘Dream Sequence’ by Adam Foulds
‘Bunny’ by Mona Awad and ‘Days by Moonlight’ by André Alexis
Bunny by Mona Awad (Author of the Giller shortlisted 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl.) Samantha attends an MFA program at a university in New England. But she feels like an outsider. The other women in her group (there are four of them) are so cliquish. They're always together, always touching and laughing … Continue reading ‘Bunny’ by Mona Awad and ‘Days by Moonlight’ by André Alexis
Consumed by Ink 