Contemporary fiction set in Newfoundland and historical fiction set in Nova Scotia. What more could you want? The Wards by Terry Doyle (Breakwater Books) This is my type of book. An ordinary family, characters you get to know so well that you're never surprised by their actions, even when their actions surprise you. The Wards … Continue reading ‘The Wards’ by Terry Doyle and ‘Birth Road’ by Michelle Wamboldt
The Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award celebrates the very best of Atlantic Canadian Fiction. I try to read as many of the nominated books as I can. You can find more information about this on my Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Reading List page. Like the Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction, all three nominees for … Continue reading Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award: Michelle Butler Hallet, David Huebert, and Sharon Robart-Johnson
All from Atlantic Canada, all involve some kind of travel. In Short Mercy, the characters embark on a road trip of revenge, from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick, leaving behind a trail of petty crime. In The Good Women of Safe Harbour, travel is restricted to Newfoundland, but it's the hardest kind of travel - … Continue reading From the Library: revenge, reunion, and unrequited love
Breakwater Books is an amazing independent publisher located in St. John's, Newfoundland. They have sent me so many wonderful books over the years: Dirty Birds by Morgan MurrayMelt by Heidi WicksAlmost Feral by Gemma HickeyEven Weirder Than Before by Susie TaylorThe Luminous Sea by Melissa Barbeau Ledger of the Open Hand by Leslie VryenhoekSome People's … Continue reading From Breakwater Books: Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Italy, England, sisters, shipwrecks, and yoga
The first two of these books are Atlantic Canadian, written by women in the last couple of years, and reminded me of two of my favourite childhood characters. The third is American, written by a man over 60 years ago, and reminds me of nothing I've read before. New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait … Continue reading From the Library: Anne Shirley, Mary Poppins, and a very smart mouse
In which I talk about the final installment of Andre Alexis' Quincunx, the final Giller shortlisted book, the latest from a prolific Nova Scotian author, and the debut of another. Ring by Andre Alexis I think many Andre Alexis fans have been anxiously awaiting the fifth book in his Quincunx. On the other hand, I … Continue reading From the Library: Love, Letters, and Listeners
Literary Wives is an on-line book group that examines the meaning and role of wife in different books. Four times a year, 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 … Continue reading #LiteraryWives: The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams
A few years ago I read Africa's Children: A History of Blacks in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia by Sharon Robart-Johnson. In it, there was a short newspaper clipping about the murder trial of a young, enslaved girl named Jude who was beaten to death in the early 1800s. In Jude and Diana, Robart-Johnson gives voice to … Continue reading Jude and Diana by Sharon Robart-Johnson
I just realized that I have a trio of books that represent present, past, and future. All three are new books from authors I have read and loved. A Boring Wife Settles the Score by Marie-Renee Lavoie (2021) Not long ago I read Lavoie's Autopsy of a Boring Wife in which Diane's husband leaves her … Continue reading From the Library: return of the boring wife, an apocalyptic love story, and some feminist historical fiction
For fans of historical fiction and/or Canadian history, Trappings is a book based on real people and events in mid-nineteenth century British Columbia. What's more, it offers a woman's view of politics and life during this time. Winn's passion for her subject shows in the historical details. Trappings tells a personal story of a woman … Continue reading Trappings by Vanessa Winn
Consumed by Ink 