I was surprised to realize that No Great Mischief is Alistair MacLeod's only novel. He's a well-known name in Canadian literature but his reputation comes largely from his short stories. In his novel he displays the same careful prose - each word chosen with deliberation and intent. Like the rest of his writing, No Great… Continue reading Book Review: No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod
I had never read this short novella by John Steinbeck and, seeing as I have a daughter named Pearl, it seemed like it was time to cross this one off the list. Set in an unnamed village on the Gulf of Mexico, the story follows Kino, a poor fisherman and pearl diver, who finds what… Continue reading Book Review: The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Adam Johnson is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Orphan Master's Son, which is set in North Korea. Johnson returns to the subject of North Korea in the title story of this collection, Fortune Smiles, but that story and the others here are very diverse. Johnson's slightly cynical style and his frequent focus… Continue reading Book Review: Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body - whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free - and we were all given one Spirit to drink. Even… Continue reading All the Many Parts
This book suffered from what I've come to think of as "my 2:30 am problem". That's where I start reading a new book in the middle of the night while up nursing. A good book is typically how I stay awake for these sessions (and if a book is really good I've been known to… Continue reading Book Review: The People’s Act of Love by James Meek
This is one of those books that dwells in my mind for days after I finished it. So while it might not be the most literary or the most well-written, it certainly succeeds on some level. The novel is a not-at-all thinly veiled re-telling of the murder of Meredith Kercher. If that name doesn't sound… Continue reading Book Review: Abroad by Katie Crouch
This is a surreal, fantastical tale set in a crumbling prison. It's about life and death, corruption, and a little bit of love. Our narrator is a prisoner on death row - both his name and his crime are kept from us until the end. We learn that he is a selective mute, a voracious… Continue reading Book Review: The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
We're almost halfway through January and beginning to settle into our new normal. Pearl is officially walking, going greater distances every day. I don't know when the toddler stage starts but it feels like we're there. Complete with childproofing kit. I know I keep saying it but this is the most fun stage yet. Yes,… Continue reading Some Regular January Life
Agnes Magnúsdóttir was the last person to be sentenced to death for a crime in Iceland. She died by beheading in 1830. In Burial Rites, Hannah Kent offers a fictional idea of what Agnes' last months might have been like, as well as what the truth may have been surrounding the murder for which Agnes… Continue reading Book Review: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
2016. Whoa. After Peter and I came home from celebrating Christmas and New Year's Day with family, we spent an evening over a bottle of wine, talking about what 2016 might look like for us. Neither of us are big on resolutions but we set some goals (somehow that feels different from resolutions but maybe… Continue reading Happy New Year (with an emphasis on the Happy)
Karissa Reads Books 