We All Will Be Received by Leslie Vryenhoek After loving Vryenhoek's first novel, I was looking forward to this one - and, once again (as I suspected), I was wholly enthralled by the lives of her characters. Disappearing would be as simple as sliding off the edge, as stretching one leg forward and following it … Continue reading Women Who Disappear: We All Will Be Received by Leslie Vryenhoek and Proof I Was Here by Becky Blake
Little Fortress by Laisha Rosnau Little Fortress is based on the true story of the Caetanis, a family of Italian nobility that came to the west coast of Canada as a result of the rise of fascism. After the death of the Duke in 1934, his wife Ofelia went into seclusion and took their daughter … Continue reading Women’s Voices in Historical Fiction: Little Fortress by Laisha Rosnau and A Roll of the Bones by Trudy J. Morgan-Cole
Watching You Without Me by Lynn Coady I have loved Lynn Coady's short stories, but had yet to read one of her novels. As is often the case, I am starting from most recent and will be working my way back. Watching You Without Me is narrated by Karen, who is telling her own story … Continue reading Three Recent Library Reads: Boundaries, Lung Transplants, and Dirty Dishes
This year there are 9 Canadian books on the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award longlist. The ones I've read: Catching the Light by Susan Sinnott - winner of the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s Literature 2019 (my review) French Exit by Patrick deWitt - finalist for the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize (my review) The Boat People by Sharon … Continue reading Canadian Books on the International Dublin Literary Award Longlist 2020
I didn't get far into Lampedusa before realizing why this book was selected as one of the finalists. For someone who has never been to Sicily (1950s Sicily), I felt completely immersed in it - the atmosphere, the architecture, the societal structure. Aristocracy in Sicily? I hadn't given it a thought. And that's what this … Continue reading Giller Shortlist: Lampedusa by Steven Price
The Testaments. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Missed all the hoopla around The Testaments? Want to know more about it before (or after) reading it? I've collected a few items for your perusal... (Some of these articles may contain spoilers.) CBC: Margaret Atwood unveils The Testaments, sequel to The Handmaid's Tale The … Continue reading #MARM: Intro to The Testaments Read-Along – No Spoilers!
Although David Bezmozgis has been on the Giller list before (with Free World in 2011 and The Betrayers in 2014), this is the first of his books I've read. And the only short story collection on the shortlist this year. (Here is my chance to put a plug in for K.D. Miller's Late Breaking - … Continue reading Giller Shortlist: Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis
If you follow my blog regularly, Lauren Carter's name might sound familiar. I read and reviewed her first novel Swarm when my blog was just a baby, and more recently wrote about her poetry book, Following Sea. This Has Nothing To Do With You was just launched on the 22nd of October, and it would … Continue reading This Has Nothing To Do With You by Lauren Carter
This is a humdinger of a book. Not so much the length, rather what's found between the covers. Megan Gail Coles gives us warning before the narrative begins: "This might hurt a little. Be brave." It will storm again today as surely as the nearly forty will go out again in four days' time. The … Continue reading Giller Shortlist: Small Game Hunting At the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
“Don't let the bastards grind you down.” “When we think of the past it's the beautiful things we pick out. We want to believe it was all like that.” "Sanity is a valuable possession; I hoard it the way people once hoarded money. I save it, so I will have enough, when the time comes.” … Continue reading #MARM: Intro to The Handmaid’s Tale Read-Along – Spoiler Free!
Consumed by Ink 