A quick disclaimer to say that I know Deborah Willis but only a little bit. We were in the same program at university but she was a couple of years ahead of me and we briefly worked at the same coffee shop and then we worked at rival bookstores. I read her first short story… Continue reading Book Review: The Dark and Other Love Stories by Deborah Willis
The novel opens with Sadie Woodbury, elementary school student, finding herself face-to-face with a would-be school shooter. Sadie (and, presumably, the entire school or at least the secretary the shooter came to kill) is saved by teacher George Woodbury, also her own father. This is a rather heavy-handed way of letting the reader know how… Continue reading Book Review: The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall
She had watched other women with infants and eventually understood what she craved: boundless permission - no, the absolute necessity to hold and kiss and stroke this tiny person...Where else in life, Mabel wondered, could a woman love so openly and with such abandon? Eowyn Ivey brings a powerful edge to this re-telling of a… Continue reading Book Review: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Kevin Chong writes about a Vancouver I recognize. While the city isn't necessarily a major player in the novel, it's an important background and well-evoked with a few simple settings and descriptions. And though this is what drew me to read Beauty Plus Pity I enjoyed the novel greatly for its characters and plotting. Malcolm… Continue reading Book Review: Beauty Plus Pity by Kevin Chong
I started (an attempt at least) to read a Psalm before bed every night in the fall. So it seemed like the perfect time to read this lesser known work of C.S. Lewis. In typical, self-deprecating Lewis fashion, he begins by explaining why he's not really qualified but here are some of his thoughts anyway.… Continue reading Book Review: Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis
I wasn't familiar with Paul Beatty's work before this past year when he became the first American to win the Man Booker Prize. Once I heard a little more about his style, I was eager to read The Sellout and it happily did not disappoint. The Sellout is satirical, uncomfortable, entertaining, eye-opening, and sometimes confusing.… Continue reading Book Review: The Sellout by Paul Beatty (Picador, 2015)
Having read Room a few years ago, this is my second read from Emma Donoghue. Although vastly different stories they share a powerful sense of tension and showcase how compelling a writer Donoghue is. Lib Wright arives in a tiny, rural Irish town, hired from England as a private nurse for exactly two weeks. Trained… Continue reading Book Review: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
I picked this book up several times, read the blurb on the back, and put it back before I finally decided to read it. What turned me off was the description of the main character, Harriet, as "11 going on 30"; in general, I don't enjoy stories about overly precocious, wise-beyond-their-years children. What eventually turned… Continue reading Book Review: On the Shores of Darkness, There is Light by Cordelia Strube
One of the great powers of fiction is to bring history alive. A good, well-written novel can teach the reader more than ten history books. And may access find readers who would never pick up a history book. Like many in North America, I know very little about Chechnya. It's history is long and complicated… Continue reading Book Review: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
I make no secret of the fact that Ann Patchett is one of my favourite authors. So when I found out she had a new book coming out this fall, I immediately pre-ordered it. I'm happy to report that Commonwealth doesn't disappoint. Patchett's latest novel begins in the 1960s at a christening party. Franny Keating is… Continue reading Book Review: Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
Karissa Reads Books 