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A Fantasy of Indigenous Experience: Cherie Dimaline’s The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy
Reviewed in this essay: The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy by Cherie Dimaline. Published by Theytus Books (June 2013). The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy, written by celebrated Ojibway and Métis author Cherie Dimaline, weaves together a story of struggle, hope, and magic. As the main character, Ruby Bloom, experiences a series of traumatic childhood…
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The Northern Gateway Pipeline and Indigenous Knowledge: Kopecky’s The Oil Man and the Sea
Reviewed in this essay: The Oil Man and the Sea: Navigating the Northern Gateway by Arno Kopecky. Published by Douglas & McIntyre (September 2013). If approved, the Northern Gateway pipeline will pump bitumen from the Alberta oil sands to Kitimat, a small town in northwestern British Columbia. The bitumen will then be carried by supertankers…
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Histories and Hauntings: New Books of Note
Much-anticipated, curious, or simply thrilling, here are some new and notable books. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (McClelland & Stewart) – Hailed as a promising young writer after her award-winning first novel, Eleanor Catton won the Man Booker Prize for this 800-page historical saga. Attracted to Hokitika by the West Coast Gold Rush, Walter Moody…
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Dante, Science, Masculinity and Travels: New Books of Note
Much-anticipated, curious, or simply thrilling, here are some new and notable books out this month. Dante’s House by Richard Greene (Vehicule Press) — Greene’s verses begin by tackling the intangible — the faint, grey areas of “rumours, misunderstandings and half-truths that often comprise our knowledge of the others” — and end with an homage in…
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Remembering Family and Searching for Home: New Books of Note
Much-anticipated, curious, or simply thrilling, here are some new and notable books out this month. Strays by Ed Kavanaugh (Killick Press) — Kavanaugh’s ten short stories revolve around emotional and social vagabonds from all walks of Canadian life. Despite the succinctly despondent title and theme, readers are promised stories told with humour, insight and sensitivity.…
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Sad Clowns, Family Secrets, and Secret Gardens: New Books of Note
Much-anticipated, curious, or simply thrilling, here are some new and notable books out this month. Kolia by Perrine LeBlanc, translated by David Scott Hamilton (House of Anansi) — Born in a Siberian gulag, Kolia receives basic survival training as well as higher education from fellow prisoner Iosif. This past and its memories follow and haunt…
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A Review: Giles Benaway’s Ceremonies For The Dead
Reviewed in this essay: Ceremonies for the Dead by Giles Benaway. Published by Kegedonce Press. Poetry never ceases to amaze me. I began my writing career with pieces of poetry published here and there, but then with time, I discovered short stories and turned my attention to them. I don’t know if I will ever go back to…
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Becoming an ex-vegan, starting your new life, and riding with Jack: Bookishness for August 26, 2013
Corey Mintz sets out to become an ex-vegan The food writer cut out animal products for four days. And gets the chance to see his vegetarian friends. Naturally, you have questions about embarking on your new life: Will you ever be able to resume your old identity? What happens to your Netflix queue? You are…
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Canada’s Small Presses Hold Court at the Fisher Library
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is to Torontonian readers what Arcadia is to gardeners. From a dimly lit exhibition space, I felt in the company of every book that was or could ever be written. Strong in ten core subjects including philosophy and incunabula, Fisher’s seven-hundred thousand volumes make for a sublime sight. The current exhibition is called…
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Writers and Editors, Murders and Infatuations, Love and Comics: New Books of Note
Much-anticipated, curious, or simply thrilling, here are some new and notable books out this month. Scissors: A Novel (Random House) by Stéphane Michaka — This fictionalized biography is based on acclaimed American writer Raymond Carver’s last ten years of life, with particular focus on the relationship between the writer and his editor and their creative…
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Not So Far Away: David Foster Wallace: The Last Interview and Other Conversations
Reviewed in this essay: David Foster Wallace: The Last Interview and Other Conversations (Melville House Publishing, December 2012). In a recent essay about his late friend, Jonathan Franzen laments the way in which Wallace’s (September 2008) suicide “took him away from us and made the person into a very public legend.” Released this winter, David Foster Wallace:…
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Flying Hare, Problem with Pleasure, Zen Buddhism, and Fighting Crohn’s Disease: New Books of Note
Much-anticipated, curious, or simply thrilling, here are some new and notable books out this month. A Gut Reaction: A True Story About a Mother’s Fight to Save her Son’s Life and his Amazing Recovery from Crohn’s Disease (Inanna Press) by Sky Curtis — This is a true story about Curtis and her son’s battle against…