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A TRB Q&A with Grant Lawrence, Author of Adventures in Solitude
Grant Lawrence is probably best known to Canadians as a voice on the radio (or podcast). He has been the host of various CBC Radio shows for years, and has weekly podcast, CBC Radio 3 Podcast with Grant Lawrence, that showcases Canadian indie music. He was also the lead singer in The Smugglers, an indie…
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A World Elsewhere, by Wayne Johnson
Reviewed in this essay: A World Elsewhere by Wayne Johnson. Knopf Canada, 2011. A tale of fathers, real and make-believe, is the backbone of Johnson`s new novel. Landish Druken is an exile at home, estranged from his father, starving in a garret, writing a book that he burns every night. On the edge of Dark…
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The In-Between World of a Toronto Reader in Slovenia
Five years ago, in a café, in a town called Izola, by the rippling waves of the Adriatic, I settled into a comfy wicker chair on the sun-drenched patio, ordered a cappuccino, and complimented the waiter on his nipple. He was less happy than I felt he should have been. I later replayed the exchange…
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The Sudden Departure of Normal Life: A Review of Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers
Reviewed in this essay: The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. Random House of Canada, 2011. Four years after The Abstinence Teacher, and seven years after the massive success of Little Children, Tom Perrotta is back with The Leftovers, a novel that manages to strike just the right balance between complete absurdity and dozy normality in his…
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Giller Prize Shortlist Reading
The reading event for the Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlisted finalists, on Saturday, October 29th, was entirely sold out. With the Fleck Theatre filled to capacity, it was immediately clear that this was one of the most highly anticipated events of the International Festival of Authors’ schedule. Carol Off of the CBC’s As It Happens hosted,…
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International Festival of Authors: Michael Ondaatje
There was a flutter of excitement when Michael Ondaatje walked onto the stage of the Fleck Theatre: this is a writer of serious calibre, and the auditorium filled nearly to capacity attests to his popularity. He was at the International Festival of Authors on October 29 to be interviewed by Eleanor Wachtel; the interview was…
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The Magicians and The Magician King: Review
Reviewed in this essay: The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Viking Press, 2009. The Magician King by Lev Grossman. Viking Press, 2011. Lev Grossman’s books The Magicians and The Magician King are fantasy as it ought to be: dark, funny, and brilliantly realized. The books cannot avoid comparisons to Harry Potter — geeky boy, magical school,…
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Magic, Myth, and Forces Beyond Reason
On Tuesday the 25th, Lev Grossman (The Magicians, The Magician King), Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus), and Simon Toyne (Sanctus) were all on hand for an excellent roundtable discussion, moderated by Lesley Livingston, on the topic of magic, myth, and forces beyond reason. This event, a part of the International Festival of Authors, took place…
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Governor General’s Awards Finalists Reading
On Monday night, the finalists for the 75th Governor General’s Literary Award in Fiction (English) gathered in the Fleck Theatre to read from their nominated works; although the International Festival of Authors attracts an astounding number of literary luminaries, awards events such as this are notable for their impressive rosters. Shelagh Rogers of The Next…
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International Festival of Authors: Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize Finalists Reading
A Review of the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize Finalists Reading Featuring Clarke Blaise, Michael Christie, Patrick deWitt, Esi Edugyan and Dan Vyleta; hosted by Rabindranath Maharaj. Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The Brigantine Room. This past Wednesday, the TRB attended the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize Finalists Reading at the International Festival of Authors. The…
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“The Normal Heart” At Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
For a brief period of time, Larry Kramer was known as the angriest gay man on the planet. The Normal Heart, his molotov cocktail of a play about AIDS in New York in the early 1980s, was angrily hurled in the face of theatregoers in Manhattan as the disease was silently ravaging thousands of people…
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International Festival of Authors: Book City 35th Anniversary Reading
A review of the Book City 35th Anniversary Reading Featuring Linwood Barclay, Amitav Ghosh, Nancy Huston and Heather Jessup; hosted by Zoe Whittall Tuesday, October 24th, 2011. Fleck Dance Theatre Zoe Whittall, author of Holding Still for as Long as Possible and host of the Book City 35th Anniversary Reading, lacked the playful badinage displayed…