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
Tag: Atlantic Canadian Books
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
Four-Letter Words by Chad Pelley
I've had a hankering for more Chad Pelley since reading his two novels last year, Away From Everywhere and Every Little Thing. His short story collection, Four-Letter Words has been shortlisted for the Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction for the 2017 Atlantic Book Awards. It's up against two other collections I've read this year; Bad … Continue reading Four-Letter Words by Chad Pelley
The Wind Seller by Rachael Preston
Rachael Preston got her inspiration for The Wind Seller when, one day, she found a box of Elinor Glyn's writing books in a Prince Edward Island antiques store. The box even had the mailing label still on it - addressed to a Noble Mattinson, Great Village, NS, Canada. Nobel Mattinson becomes Noble Matheson, and one … Continue reading The Wind Seller by Rachael Preston
‘Glass Voices’ by Carol Bruneau and ‘The Memento’ by Christy Ann Conlin
Glass Voices by Carol Bruneau (2007) I read this book as part of my little unofficial Halifax Explosion fiction project, which includes other books, such as Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan, Black Snow by Jon Tattrie, and The Blue Tattoo by Steven Laffoley. This book made a nice compliment to the others in that it's … Continue reading ‘Glass Voices’ by Carol Bruneau and ‘The Memento’ by Christy Ann Conlin
Playing Catch-Up: Kate Evans and Beatrice MacNeil
The Inward Journey by Kate Evans (2016) Sylvia is not yet 70, but she is going blind and in a nursing home, and fighting it every step of the way. She complains about the food, the care, and refuses to try new ideas to learn how to cope with her loss of vision. In the style … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up: Kate Evans and Beatrice MacNeil
Ledger of the Open Hand by Leslie Vryenhoek
For this book, I'm bringing out all the clichés: I did not want to put this book down, I didn't want it to end, and I predict that it will be on my best-of list at the end of the year. [Breakwater Books] Ledger of the Open Hand looks at the intimate power of money and … Continue reading Ledger of the Open Hand by Leslie Vryenhoek
The Birthday Lunch by Joan Clark
Joan Clark has been writing books for a while (since 1968). The Birthday Lunch is her most recent book, but I feel quite sure that it will not be my last. Latitudes of Melt is one of the books in my Atlantic Canadian stack. Corrie watches as Hal lifts the strand of hair from Lily's face … Continue reading The Birthday Lunch by Joan Clark
Reading Atlantic Canada
Now that I've been at this for 2 years, and have quite a few more Canadian books under my belt, I've had a hankering to focus in even more on books from Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland). There are already many books from this region that have become some of my … Continue reading Reading Atlantic Canada
Fallsy Downsies by Stephanie Domet
This book is delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the road with Lansing Meadows and Evan Cornfield as they made their way across Canada en route to Winnipeg, Manitoba where Lansing is to receive a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Canadian folk music. (The title of Fallsy Downsies comes from the conditions of employment … Continue reading Fallsy Downsies by Stephanie Domet
Consumed by Ink 