Two Newfoundland novels with a cast of male characters. Vigil takes on the small town, working class life, while Hides takes on middle class families from St. John's. Neither of them show a clear pathway to happiness and success, but both excel at the use of language and humour to tell their stories. Vigil: Stories … Continue reading Breakwater Books: Susie Taylor and Rod Moody-Corbett
Message in a Bottle is a book that combines some of my favourite things: the ocean, seabirds and other marine animals, biology, snow and ice, and Atlantic Canadian stories. Holly Hogan is now one of my heroes, literary and otherwise. (And she's married to one of my other literary heroes - Michael Crummey. The two … Continue reading Message in a Bottle by Holly Hogan
The Atlantic Book Awards took place at the beginning of June, as did the Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island Book Awards. The Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards are in progress. For me, the highlight of the Atlantic Book Awards is the Thomas Raddall Prize for Atlantic Fiction. Here are the five shortlisted … Continue reading Michelle Porter, William Ping, and the Atlantic Book Awards 2024
The List of Last Chances by Christina Myers (Caitlin Press) I requested this book after seeing it on a list at the 49th Shelf - one made by Ali Bryan, author of Coq and The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships. A list of "Summer books to read when your flight’s been cancelled, you dropped your phone … Continue reading From the Library: something light, something heavy, and something dark
No One Knows About Us by Bridget Canning This is Canning's third book, and first collection of short stories. I loved her novels, The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes and Some People's Children, so I had high expectations for her short stories. Happily, they measured up. I didn't really have any doubts that they would. … Continue reading Two from Breakwater Books: Bridget Canning and Willow Kean
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’
Three of these books are by Nova Scotian authors and one is from Newfoundland. All focus mainly on female characters: mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbours, friends, and even a wellness guru. The Remembering by Susan Sinnott (Nimbus Publishing) The Remembering is about a family in St. John's, Newfoundland. St. John's takes a central place in their … Continue reading From the Library: motherhood, family, girlhood, and wellness
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
Four incredible books from Atlantic Canada: one from Newfoundland and three from Nova Scotia. Gruesome murders, foster homes (for both two-legged and four-legged creatures), mothers and sons in critical conditions, a cast of furry (and feathered) characters, and #Snowmageddon. Beneath Her Skin by C.S. Porter (Nimbus Publishing) I don't usually read crime novels, but this … Continue reading From the Library: Lisa Moore, Nicola Davison, Chad Lucas, and C.S. Porter
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
Consumed by Ink 