Flanagan's novel of Australian soldiers in World War Two is well-written. I wouldn't say too well-written but the detail of certain horrors it describes is hard to take. I don't know that I've ever felt so physically ill while reading a novel before. Reading this was often like someone - Flanagan, I suppose - holding… Continue reading Book Review: The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
David would have the throne, the crown, the line of descendants that the Name had promised him. But for the rest of his life, he would be scalded by the consequences of his choices. My task would be twofold: To stand up to him, and to stand by him. To awaken his conscience, and to… Continue reading Book Review: The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
Although In the Skin of a Lion generally wins top spot when it comes to my favourite book, The Sun Also Rises is a close second. A glance at my shelves will tell you that I'm a Hemingway fan. I even have a t-shirt with the original, Art Nouveau book cover on it. Hemingway was… Continue reading A Friday Favourite: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
There was a time when Spring Break and holiday and travel meant I had time to read more than usual. Not this year, my friends, not this year. Here's what I did read: The Heart Goes Last - Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday Canada, 2015) Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes (Penguin Books, 2003) (translated… Continue reading What I Read – March 2016
I love Anne Michaels' novels (Fugitive Pieces and The Winter Vault) and so was excited to hear she had written her first children's story. The Adventures of Miss Petitfour is a slim book, comprising several short tales of Miss Petitfour, who lives with her sixteen cats and likes best to travel by tablecloth. The accompanying… Continue reading Book Review: The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels (Reading With Pearl)
Well, I finished it. I took my sweet time but I finished reading Don Quixote. I made my first attempt at Don Quixote in 2008, on the recommendation of someone whose book taste I usually agree with. I think I read most of the Part I before I sheepishly returned his copy and promptly left… Continue reading Book Review: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
I have to confess - I'm not a fan of Margaret Atwood's writing. I tell people this like I'm confessing a guilty secret. Something a little dirty; certainly not something a good Canadian feminist reader and writer should think. But there it is and it's the truth. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate that… Continue reading Book Review: The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
Reading a book that you end up not enjoying is disappointing enough but it feels extra disappointing when you're able to see the possibilities of how good that book could have been. The God of Small Things was that kind of read for me. The story follows twin brother and sister, Estha and Rahel, and… Continue reading Book Review: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
As you may be aware, March 8th is International Women's Day. A couple of years ago, I shared about the books by women that I have on my shelves. (That list could use a bit of an update, to be honest, but there are still lots of great women writers there.) Today I thought I'd… Continue reading International Women’s Day
This is a unique little book in that it isn't quite a Biblical lesson, it isn't quite a story. It's a retelling, of sorts, of the stories of Saul, David, and Absalom, particularly as relates to David's connections with each. Saul was the first king of Israel, chosen by God when the people demanded they… Continue reading Book Review: A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards
Karissa Reads Books 