If you're familiar with Yann Martel's work (and you probably are, because he wrote Life of Pi), you know that he does things a little unusually. He writes books with taxidermied animals as the main characters (read my review of Beatrice & Virgil) and he leaves you wondering about the truth of that tiger in… Continue reading Book Review: The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel
We spend too much time teaching girls to worry about what boys think of them. But the reverse is not the case. We don't teach boys to care about being likeable. We spend too much time telling girls that they cannot be angry or aggressive or tough, which is bad enough, but then we turn… Continue reading Book Review: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In the womb, you hear people talking and their voices sound like someone you're in love with talking in their sleep. from "Heaven" Heather O'Neill excels at creating metaphors that are both etirely unique and powerfully, strangely accurate. This skill - seen in her novels (Lullabies for Little Criminals and The Girl Who Was Saturday… Continue reading Book Review: Daydreams of Angels by Heather O’Neill
This book surprised me. I was surprised to find a first time novelist who could balance so many characters and tensions so skillfully. I was surprised that there hasn't been more hype over Lauren Owen's debut. And I was surprised because the blurb on the book jacket is so completely not what this book is… Continue reading Book Review: The Quick by Lauren Owen
Coincidentally, I began reading The Omnivore's Dilemma around the same time that my daughter began eating solid foods. Food was on my mind. I quickly realized I was being more discerning about what Pearl ate than I ever am about my own diet. Thinking and planning what my girl should eat, and how she should… Continue reading Book Review: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Although not as widely known as some of other Tolkien's books (have you heard of The Lord of the Rings?), Roverandom is one of my favourite reads on a sick day. So when Pearl recently had her first cold and wanted lots of cuddles, we snuggled up together and I read this to her. It's… Continue reading Book Review: Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien (Reading with Pearl)
Some books should come with a warning. Something like, "You're probably going to cry before this book is through. Even if you think you're not a crier." All My Puny Sorrows (Knopf Canada, 2014) is Miriam Toews' sixth novel. Like the first five, this novel involves Mennonite characters. Though while being Mennonite is key to… Continue reading Book Review – All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
I'm rather inclined to think of Tell the Wolves I'm Home (Dial Press, 2013) as a young adult novel. That's certainly not a bad thing, I just think teenagers would benefit from reading this one. June is 14-years-old and her favourite person in the world has just died. Her uncle Finn, a talented artist, her… Continue reading Book Review – Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Anne Michaels excels at a certain kind of historical fiction. Historical fiction that pulls you deeply in to a character's life. A fiction that feels like the best family history you could hear, like someone you love whispering their secrets in your ear. I had high hopes for The Winter Vault (McClelland & Stewart, 2009)… Continue reading Book Review – The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels
This tiny novel - only sixty-nine pages - is really more of a short story. Yet, by offering it to us in book form, Zadie Smith confers on The Embassy of Cambodia (Hamish Hamilton, 2013) a greater depth and weight. Fortunately, this story deserves it. The Embassy of Cambodia focuses on Fatou, a domestic servant… Continue reading Book Review – The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith
Karissa Reads Books 