What I've appreciated most about Kevin Chong's work in the past is how Vancouver it is. And even though the city and the Chinatown that his latest novel takes place in is never named, it clearly felt like Vancouver to me. The Chinatown I remember in the 90s and early 2000s felt very present to… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong
Tag: Book Review
Book Review: The Flanders Road by Claude Simon
Claude Simon was a French writer who wrote several semi-autobiographical works, many of which are inspired by his own experiences in World War Two. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1985, which is the reason I picked up a copy of The Flanders Road. After learning that Gabriel Garcia Marquez (one of my… Continue reading Book Review: The Flanders Road by Claude Simon
Book Review: The Future by Catherine Leroux
I picked The Future up when it was shortlisted for this year's Canada Reads competition. This is where 5 books are "championed" by famous Canadians over the course of one week until there is one final winner. I always follow along with interest but it doesn't generally add a lot of titles to my TBR.… Continue reading Book Review: The Future by Catherine Leroux
Book Review: 2 Irish Short Story Collections
Antarctica by Claire Keegan and The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy are two short story collections by female Irish writers. Since I read them back to back, it was hard not to compare them as I was reading and I felt it made a sort of sense to… Continue reading Book Review: 2 Irish Short Story Collections
What I Read: February 2024
Read: The End of the World is a Cul de Sac - Louise Kennedy (Riverhead Books, 2023) (289 pages) Antarctica - Claire Keegan (Grove Press, 1999) (201 pages) The Flanders Road - Claude Simon (New York Review Books, 2022) (translated from the French by Richard Howard) (193 pages) The Secret Adversary - Agatha Chrsitie (Blackstone… Continue reading What I Read: February 2024
Book Review: Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
A thought took her by surprise: I should have been born a man. But that wasn't it. She didn't want to be a man. She just wanted to be a woman with the same freedom to choose as a man had. Kate Grenville, Restless Dolly Maunder Dolly Maunder is sharp, smart, and ambitious. Born in… Continue reading Book Review: Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
(Audio) Book Review: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders (Random House, 2017) As you can see, this isn't a strict audio book review in that I read this book in a combination of audio and on the page. I started it on audio but then got a copy out of the library because I was having trouble… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Book Review: The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers
I received an Advance e-copy of this book thanks to the publisher. All opinions are my own. The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers will be on sale 13 February 2024. Mari Hawthorne is a ghost writer. She is the unnamed voice behind several celebrity memoirs. She is the one who comes in, gets to… Continue reading Book Review: The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers
(Audio) Book Review: What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama
This is a book for book lovers and particular those of us who love our local libraries. It is, of sorts, a love letter to libraries and librarians. What You Are Looking for is in the Library consists of 5 unique sections, all linked by a library located in a community house in Tokyo. Each… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama
Book Review: Monsters by Claire Dederer
Monsters - Claire Dederer (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023) What do we do with the art of monstrous men? This is the question - a fan's dilemma - that Claire Dederer delves into. It's an important one and a timely one too in the wake of #MeToo and the controversy of so-called "cancel culture". Can we… Continue reading Book Review: Monsters by Claire Dederer
