Indians on Vacation - Thomas King (Harper Collins Publisher, 2020) Blackbird Mavrias, better known as Bird, and his wife Mimi Bull Shield are on vacation. Residents of Guelph (it's in Ontario, Canada), they have spent recent years travelling through Europe, sightseeing and exploring as tourists. They are ostensibly tracing the path of Mimi's Uncle, who… Continue reading Book Review: Indians on Vacation by Thomas King
Eggshells - Caitriona Lally (Melville House Publishing, 2018) Vivian lives alone in the city of Dublin, inhabiting her great-aunt's house after said great-aunt's death. The house is fusty, crowded, and has too many chairs. But it suits Vivian who is what we might call "an odd duck". Very soon after the book opens we watch… Continue reading Book Review: Eggshells by Caitriona Lally
On Reading Well - Karen Swallow Prior (Brazos Press, 2018) In On Reading Well, Karen Swallow Prior examines the idea of virtue by examining twelve works of fiction, one for each virtue. The book is divided into three sections: The Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Courage); The Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Love); and… Continue reading Book Review: On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior (+ a new reading challenge)
This book was provided to me as an e-ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own. There's a lot to appreciate about this debut novel. It brings the northern region of Canada and the traditional lands of the Indigenous people there to life with all its natural power and beauty. The story… Continue reading Book Review: Land-Water-Sky/Ndè-Tı-Yat’a by Katłıà
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
