So many questions are raised by this story of a young man - Stanley - who sets out from his small town and takes the first job offered to him. Why does he only go the next (also small) town? Why does he expect finding work to be so easy? Why is this story even… Continue reading Book Review: The Bellman by Heidi Barnes
We don't get a lot of snow in our part of Canada and when we do it tends to melt away pretty quickly. Despite seeing snow in the forecast, it was a lovely surprise to look outside this morning and realize the white stuff really was coming down. Pearl's seen snow just once before in… Continue reading Snow Day (and other Christmasy moments)
I have yet to see The Crucible in its play form so it feels a bit unfair to judge what is only a script. I have no doubt that the play is more compelling when seen than when read. Because, let me tell you, it's not that compelling when read. This is primarily the fault… Continue reading Book Review: The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel (Harper Avenue, 2014) At the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness - Andrew Peterson (Water Brook Press, 2008) Swimming Lessons - Claire Fuller (House of Anansi Press, 2017) Prayer - Timothy Keller (Dutton, 2014) I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith (Red Fox, 2001) A Grief Observed… Continue reading What I Read – November 2016
One of the great powers of fiction is to bring history alive. A good, well-written novel can teach the reader more than ten history books. And may access find readers who would never pick up a history book. Like many in North America, I know very little about Chechnya. It's history is long and complicated… Continue reading Book Review: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
Steven Price was one of my favourite professors when I was in university. I took a few courses with him, including a grammar class that remains one of the most practical courses I've ever studied. All that to say, I was biased to like By Gaslight before I even started it. However, I didn't particularly… Continue reading Book Review: By Gaslight by Steven Price
I read a review of A Grief Observed recently that suggested this is a book read primarily by the bereaved and I think that's a pretty fair assessment. This is a book read by those who have experienced loss and who are struggling. I've read it once before, more than a decade ago, but it… Continue reading Book Review: A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
If you like Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice in particular - you will probably enjoy this early twentieth century twist on a familiar story. If, like me, you find Austen rather dull and her characters frustrating, you might want to skip I Capture the Castle. Set in the 1930s in England, this is the… Continue reading Book Review: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
When I'm out and about with Pearl I typically have some form of this conversation with a stranger: "How old is your little fellow?" "She's twenty months." "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought..." "Yeah, she doesn't have much hair yet." It really does not matter what she's wearing. Wearing a floral-patterned romper, wearing her pink coat… Continue reading No, this isn’t her hair cut
(Update: I neglected to mention originally that I read this book in an Advanced Reading Copy and the novel will be published in January 2017.) Swimming Lessons is the story of a family told from opposite directions, a mystery and a disappearance in the middle. In the present day storyline, sisters Nan and Flora return… Continue reading Book Review: Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
Karissa Reads Books 