"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 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 (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
Remember talking on the phone for hours while doing homework? Or waiting by the phone all day for a certain someone to call you, and hoping your parents (or worse, a sibling) don't pick up the phone first? Remember renting movies at a video store and looking up numbers in the phone book? Swatches and … Continue reading Even Weirder Than Before by Susie Taylor
Every Little Piece of Me is the highly anticipated second novel by Amy Jones, author of We're All in This Together. Ava Ava's fathers move her and her two siblings from NYC to a Bed & Breakfast in Gin Harbour, Nova Scotia to be part of a reality TV show. ("It's Jon and Kate Plus … Continue reading Every Little Piece of Me by Amy Jones
Three stories, three women, three different places and times. It's 2010 Hamilton Ontario, and Rudie spends her day in a frenzy, getting ready for the most important event of her life - she is going to finally meet her daughter Roselore. Rudie and her husband Leo have adopted a girl from Haiti, and as a … Continue reading With My Back to the World by Sally Cooper
The Miramichi Reader is an excellent site that champions Canadian Literature and small publishers, with a focus on Atlantic Canada. For the third time, James Fisher and I are doing a book review swap for which James has chosen to read and review The Afrikaner by Arianna Dagnino. First guest post: Mountain by Ursula Pflug … Continue reading Guest Post: The Afrikaner by Arianna Dagnino
