The Gunsmith's Daughter by Margaret Sweatman It's 1971 and Lilac Welsh is 18-years-old. She lives in an isolated location near Winnipeg, Manitoba with her parents. Her father--Kal--who was a professor of psychology, was severely injured in Vietnam in 1961, after which he moved his family to this isolated location and became very successful creating fire … Continue reading Two from Gooselane Editions: ‘The Gunsmith’s Daughter’ and ‘This Is the House That Luke Built’
During my visit to Mabel Murple's Book Shoppe and Dreamery last summer, Sheree Fitch spoke about her upcoming poetry book. She hasn't written one for adults since In This House Are Many Women (1994). People have asked her why, and she's said that it's because she didn't feel like she had anything more to say. … Continue reading You Won’t Always Be This Sad by Sheree Fitch
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
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
It's hardly surprising that I would snatch up a copy of Bina as soon as possible after loving both Malarky and Martin John. And if I were to describe Bina to someone who had read both of her others, I would say it feels like a cross between the two of them. Like she did … Continue reading Bina by Anakana Schofield
In an interview with Shelagh Rogers on The Next Chapter, Catherine Graham tells us that she loves words with multiple meanings. Quarry, the title of her book, can mean a man-made pit, prey, and it comes from the French word "coeur" as in "heart". Quarry's protagonist, Caitlin Maharg, an only child, grows up beside a … Continue reading Quarry by Catherine Graham
As with The Luminous Sea, the cover of this lured me right in. Covers with sea creatures on them always catch my eye, so when I saw this book on the "new book" shelf at the library, I grabbed it. The first thing I noticed when flipping through the book is that all the chapters are … Continue reading Land Mammals and Sea Creatures by Jen Neale
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 Literary Wives … Continue reading #LiteraryWives: The Headmaster’s Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene
If you're looking for that one beautiful gem, David Chariandy's Brother just might be it. It's raw and honest, and the writing is as smooth as silk. Michael and his older brother Francis are close as they grow up in 1980s Scarborough, the sons of a single hard-working mother from Trinidad. Francis was my older … Continue reading Giller Longlist: Brother by David Chariandy
The unimaginable happens in this book. I knew it was going to happen, yet I still wanted to read it. How would the author handle it? Would it feel right? Would everything be conveniently fixed, or would it be depressing as hell? Everything starts out okay. David and Anne are on vacation with their two … Continue reading Blog Tour: The Road To Atlantis by Leo Brent Robillard
Consumed by Ink 