How to Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa (McClelland & Stewart, 2020) How to Pronounce Knife is the most recent winner of the Giller Prize, probably Canada's most prestigious literary award. It is a collection of short stories, a common thread running through of The Outsider. More specifically, these are stories that detail elements of the… Continue reading Book Review: How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
A Treasury of Short Stories ed. by Bernardine Kielty (Simon & Schuster, 1947) This is a collection of short stories, spanning two continents and over one hundred years. The stories are organized first by century (19th and 20th) and then by region (European and American). Let's talk first about the flaws here because though they… Continue reading Book Review: A Treasury of Short Stories ed. by Bernardine Kielty
A History of My Brief Body - Billy-Ray Belcourt (Hamish Hamilton, 2020) It's clear from the beginning that this is not going to be a gentle book. Right away in his Preface: A Letter to Nôhkom, Belcourt says, "Nôhkom, I'm not safe. Canada is still in the business of gunning down NDNs...Despite the stories of… Continue reading Book Review: A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
The Arsonists' City - Hala Alyan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021) I received an Advanced Readers' Copy of this as book from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own. This book will be available for purchase March 9, 2021. A family spread out across the globe is reunited in Beirut when their patriarch declares… Continue reading Book Review: The Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan
What Kind of Woman: Poems - Kate Baer (Harper Perennial, 2020) Kate Baer's debut poetry collection is full of short, punchy poems. They are about women - friends, mothers, wives - and often about how women navigate a world of men. They are sometimes advice, sometimes for a friend or a daughter. My particular favourite… Continue reading Book Review: What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer
Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe (Doubleday, 2019) Patrick Radden Keefe's delve into the history of the Irish Troubles is immensely readable and formative. This isn't a topic that particularly grabs my attention and as such is one I know very little about. I can recall, as a child, hearing about Ireland or seeing snippets… Continue reading Book Review: Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
A Book of Good Stories - edited by G. Fred McNally (The MacMillan Company of Canada Ltd., 1934) There's a secondhand bookstore in Powell River that I like browsing through when we visit. While there this summer, I brought this book home since I always enjoy a good short story and I wanted to support… Continue reading Book Review: A Book of Good Stories ed. by G. Fred McNally
He Must Like You - Danielle Young-Ullman (Viking, 2020) I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book. It was released in July 2020. All opinions are my own. I didn't notice the tagline of this young adult novel - "Payback, with a side of fries" - when I was sitting on the kitchen floor,… Continue reading Book Review: He Must Like You by Danielle Younge-Ullman
Halfbreed - Maria Campbell (McClelland & Stewart, 2019) I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Halfbreed is a memoir by Maria Campbell, the story of her life from childhood into early adulthood. Originally published in 1973 this edition was re-released in 2019 with a new introduction and some… Continue reading Book Review: Halfbreed Maria Campbell
Waiting for a Star to Fall - Kerry Clare (Doubleday Canada, 2020) Brooke Ellis is twenty-three and has just quietly returned to her small hometown of Lanark where she's living in a depressing basement apartment and working a quiet job at the local library. She won't tell her parents why she's back or why she… Continue reading Book Review: Waiting For A Star To Fall by Kerry Clare
Karissa Reads Books 