These three books took me from western, to central, to eastern Canada. And from the future, to the past, to almost the present (the 1990s). I loved them all. Greenwood by Michael Christie (Random House) I'm so happy I finally read this book. I've been wanting to read it since it came out, and have … Continue reading From the Library: the future, the past, and the 1990s
Whenever I look at this author's name, I mistakenly see Melanie Watt, who is a Canadian children's author. And for one second I think to myself, I didn't know Melanie Watt wrote an adult novel! Just for s split second. And then I'm slightly disappointed that I'm not about to encounter Scaredy Squirrel or Chester … Continue reading The Inland Sea by Madeleine Watts
Wonder World by K.R. Byggdin (Enfield & Wizenty) When I saw the cover of this book (a jar of pickles?), I knew I had to read it. (And--although Byggdin grew up in Manitoba--they are now living on the East Coast.) Isaac Funk has been living in Halifax for ten years; for ten years he has … Continue reading From the Library: Community, growing up, and pop tarts
This is a novel made up of stories highlighting different stages of a woman's life. I loved this book for the structure, the humour, and the character's flaws. Not to mention the Halifax setting - as you know, I always appreciate a local setting. There is an incident that takes place early on in Nina's … Continue reading The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat
As I opened up my notes on this book, I felt a little overwhelmed - two pages of notes, back-to-back, in tiny print. But that's not too surprising - Aubrey McKee is a big book and it takes place primarily in Halifax, Nova Scotia (where Alex Pugsley is originally from). So there was a lot … Continue reading Aubrey McKee by Alex Pugsley
All excellent books, all written by women of colour, taking me from New York to India, from Alabama to Ghana, and finally to the suburbs of Toronto. Seven by Farzana Doctor When I learned that Seven was a book, in part, about Khatna--a cultural or religious ritual of female genital cutting--I was worried it would … Continue reading From the Library: Khatna, Addiction, and Coming-of-Age
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
"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
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
Autopsy of A Boring Wife, translated by Arielle Aaronson I've always thought it terribly pretentious to gather all your loved ones in one place in order to say: the two of us, right here right now and in spite of the overwhelming statistics, declare that we, temporarily bonded by the illusion of eternity, we are … Continue reading Marie-Renée Lavoie: ‘Autopsy of a Boring Wife’ and ‘Mister Roger and Me’
Consumed by Ink 