Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain (Canterbury Classics, 2012) Huckleberry Finn is our hero and our narrator in this adventure novel that is really so much more than an adventure novel. Huck lives in Missouri, some time in the mid-19th century. The story begins after The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and we find Tom… Continue reading Book Review: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Five Little Indians - Michelle Good (Harper Perennial, 2020) At the age of sixteen, Lucy ages out of the residential school that she has attended for the last ten years. Put on a boat and given a bus ticket to Vancouver, she arrives on the Downtown Eastside with no world experience and a deep history… Continue reading Book Review: Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Jesus and John Wayne - Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2020) The word "evangelize" means, simply, to preach the gospel. To preach what Christians refer to as "the good news". This is something Christians are instructed to do, by Jesus Christ, in a Biblical passage commonly referred to as The Great Commission. (Matthew… Continue reading Book Review: Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) Whoa. This book absolutely blew me away. It was engaging, charming, creepy, and entirely readable. It pulled me into its world so thoroughly, every page feeling like it revealed secrets so that I felt drawn into the strange and wonderful world that Susanna Clarke has created here. Initially,… Continue reading Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun - Paul Seesequasis (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2019) Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun is the culmination of Paul Seesequasis' work to collect photos of Indigenous communities across Canada. The photos are taken by a variety of photographers, some Indigenous and some not, in a variety of places and times. Most… Continue reading Book Review: Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun by Paul Seesequasis
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller (Ecco, 2012) The story of the Trojan War has been told countless times and in countless ways. It's amazing that a tale so old and so familiar can still be compelling and yet Madeline Miller had me rushing through this novel to find out what happens. (Warning: This… Continue reading Book Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Hao - Ye Chun (Catapult, 2021) I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. It will be available for sale 7 September 7, 2021. This was such a unique short story collections. Many of these stories centre around language, particularly the Chinese language and its writing, and each story… Continue reading Book Review: Hao by Ye Chun
The Samurai - Shusaku Endo (New Directions, 2018) (translated from the Japanese by Van C. Gessel) Like Endo's other famous book, Silence, this is a slow moving and contemplative book, dealing with Christianity in 17th century Japan. Which isn't to say it's a boring book or one without much happening; it's simply a deeply thoughtful… Continue reading Book Review: The Samurai by Shusaku Endo
The Devil and the Dark Water - Stuart Turton (Harper Collins Publishers, 2020) This was a fun read. Historical fiction, mystery novel, adventure story. Most of the action takes place on board a ship called the Saardam, travelling from Batavia (modern day Indonesia) to Amsterdam in the 17th Century. The ship belongs to The Company… Continue reading Book Review: The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart (Grove Press, 2020) Oof. This book. Let me start by saying that it is worthy of the high praise and the awards it has received. But it's really hard to read. I started slow and came close to giving up after one particularly brutal chapter but pushed through and am… Continue reading Book Review: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
Karissa Reads Books 