Reading Indigenous Voices

In the face of generations of trauma and the systemic racism evidenced by the discovery of 215 children's bodies being found on the grounds of a Canadian residential school, putting together a list of books to read seems pretty weak. Yet, it's somewhere to start. Pondering the value of offering this list, I came up…

Book Review: The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente

The Past is Red - Catherynne M. Valente (Tordotcom, 2021) I received an Uncorrected Proof of this book which will be on sale July 2021. All opinions are my own. Tetley Abednego lives in Garbagetown and she thinks it's the most beautiful place in the world. Dry land is a myth and the world as…

What I Read – May 2021

Read: We Want What We Want - Alix Ohlin (House of Anansi Press, 2021) The Orange Tree - Carlos Fuentes (translated by Alfred Mac Adam) (Harper Perennial, 1994) Forgiveness - Mark Sakamoto (Harper Collins, 2014) The Past is Red - Catherynne M. Valente (Tordotcom, 2021) Villette - Charlotte Bronte (Vintage Random House) Did Not Finish:…

Book Review: We Want What We Want by Alix Ohlin

We Want What We Want - Alix Ohlin (House of Anansi Press, 2021) I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication Date: 27 July 2021 Alix Ohlin's previous book, a novel called Dual Citizens was shortlisted for the Giller Prize but it wasn't my personal pick as I…

Book Review: Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto

Forgiveness - Mark Sakamoto (Harper Collins Publishers, 2014) Mitsue Sakamoto was a newlywed living in Vancouver when she, along with her family and hundreds of other Japanese-Canadians, were sent east of the Rockies by the Canadian government. Seen as a threat during World War II although many of them were Canadian citizens, born in Canada,…

Book Review: The Orange Tree by Carlos Fuentes

The Orange Tree - Carlos Fuentes (translated from the Spanish by Alfred Mac Adam) (Harper Perennial, 1994) This book consists of five semi-linked novellas. I say semi-linked because you can certainly read them individually and the connections between each are subtle. However, when read together, they flow and they really do make the best sense…

Book Review: How to Raise a Reader by Pamela Paul & Maria Russo

How to Raise a Reader - Pamela Paul & Maria Russo (Workman Publishing, 2019) This is an easy to read and idea-filled book geared toward parents who want to install a love of reading in their children. It's not so much about how to teach your child to read as it is about how to…

What I Read – April 2021

Read: Salt Fat Acid Heat - Samin Nosrat (Simon & Schuster, 2017) Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart (Grove Press, 2020) My Heart - Semezdin Mehmedinovic (Catapult, 2021) (translated from the Bosnian by Celia Hawkesworth) The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (Longman, 1992) The Dogs Are Eating Them Now - Graeme Smith (Alfred A. Knopf…

Book Review: The Quiet American by Graham Greene

The Quiet American - Graham Greene (The Viking Press, 1967) This is not Graham Greene's best work but even subpar writing from Graham Greene will have something worthwhile to it. The narrator of this novel is Fowler, a British journalist, stationed in Vietnam. The Quiet American was first published in 1955 so this isn't the…

Book Review: Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

Utopia Avenue - David Mitchell (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2020) For the most part, I quite enjoyed this latest book from David Mitchell. It is an exploration of youth, of dreams, of music. It's set during that unique musical period of the late 1960s, in London. It's a time exploding with creativity and Utopia Avenue…