My disclaimer: I know Bill Gaston in real life. He was one of my profs in university and taught one of my favourite workshops. He was a great prof and an all-round good guy. When he was a featured writer at our local Writers' Festival a couple of years ago I was asked to introduce… Continue reading Book Review: A Mariner’s Guide to Self-Sabotage by Bill Gaston
My brother, who knows the author, gave me a copy of Your Heart is the Size of Your Fist, for my birthday. My big brother and I have similar taste a lot of the time, especially in books and music, and he's one of the smartest people I know so I'm always happy to receive a… Continue reading Book Review: Your Heart is the Size of Your Fist by Martina Scholtens
My main problem with The Luminaries was that it was too big. Not too long - I definitely could have read more from Catton. The book is over 800 pages and in hardcover it was just too large for me to hold with one hand. And since I do much of my reading these days while… Continue reading Book Review: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
I read Wonder and The Lifters back to back and so it's hard not to compare them in my mind. While they are two very different books, they are geared toward the same age. The key difference that stands out to me in this regard though is that while The Lifters has an appeal likely… Continue reading Book Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio
I've read Toni Morrison's Bluest Eye previously and had a vague idea of what Beloved was about so I knew I was in for a heavy read. To be honest, I'd put off reading this novel for that very reason. Yet as I read Beloved, I was reminded that sometimes it's important to look closely… Continue reading Book Review: Beloved by Toni Morrison
Where to start talking about a book like Winter's Tale? Almost more of a philosophical venture than a novel; it's magic realism, fantasy, historical fiction, a little bit of cyber punk. There's even time travel. Sort of. Blurbs will tell you that Winter's Tale is the story of Peter Lake, a thief who falls in… Continue reading Book Review: Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
With her second novel, Hannah Kent confirms that she is a master of historical fiction. As with Burial Rites (read my review here), Kent uses a true historical story to build her novel around. This time the setting is early 19th century Ireland and the tale revolves around "the good people" - the fairies and… Continue reading Book Review: The Good People by Hannah Kent
Salman Rushdie's latest novel begins with the arrival of Nero Golden and his three sons in New York City, on the day of Barack Obama's inauguration. These four men have appeared in the city under mysterious circumstances, from an unnamed country, with assumed names. They move into a close knit, wealthy neighbourhood with a… Continue reading Book Review: The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
I really enjoyed this novel from first time author Ayobami Adebayo. Stay With Me is set in Nigeria, beginning in the early years of marriage between Yejide and Akin. They meet in university and have an instant connection. Despite polygamy being a common occurrence in Nigeria at this time, they agree that this will not be the… Continue reading Book Review: Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
My boss handed me a copy of Teardown after I detailed my weekend to her recently. Namely that, while in Vancouver, Peter and I went to IKEA with Pearl in tow. We hadn't been since I was about seven months pregnant with Pearl and had looked forward to the visit. We smugly wandered through the living… Continue reading Book Review: Teardown by Clea Young
