Review: Us Conductors by Sean Michaels
Us Conductors garnered its author $100,000 when the debut novel won the 2014 Giller Prize. One of my personal goals is to read as many Giller-nominated books each year as I can manage. I’m not usually that successful in completing the goal, but I do manage to get through my share of some great Can-Lit […]
Will Mark Zuckerberg lead the next Oprah Book Club?
Journalists speculate the creator of Facebook will be bringing increased attention to specific books and their authors, much like Oprah’s Book Club.
Review: The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Heather O’Neill
I was in just the right mood for this excellent read about coming to terms with family when you’re from a dysfunctional family. Twenty-year-old Noushcka is on a journey to grow up — but how does she do it when she was raised by a kooky grandfather, abandoned by her teen mom, and her absentee […]
Reflecting on reading finalists for book prizes
Every year at Toronto’s Word on the Street festival in Toronto, Jack Rabinovitch, the founder of the Giller Prize, introduces the Giller Prize longlist of books to readers, and encourages everyone to read–and buy–the entire longlist. After all, the books only cost the equivalent of a good dinner for two at a restaurant. Similarly, I […]
Review: Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
Why have my last two novels involved horrible suffering of babies? It’s almost too much to bear! I’m reading these books while my five-month baby sleeps in the other room — I can’t help getting up and checking on him when I read about these horrible things the babies in the books go through. Heart-breaking! […]
Review: Six Metres of Pavement by Farzana Doctor
I picked up this book sort of at random from the library and I was pleasantly surprised. This novel is both touching and interesting. Set in Toronto, it centres on the lives of two middle-aged neighbours: a man who tragically lost his family and a recently widowed woman living with her daughter. Ismail’s story is […]
Review: Watch How We Walk
A simple and compelling story about a claustrophobic family relationship, told from the perspective of the youngest daughter, Emily. Her family are devout Jehovah’s Witnesses and the strictness of the church and her father makes tensions simmer deep and long. I’m assuming that Jennifer LoveGrove depicts devout Jehovah’s Witnesses with some accuracy — for me […]
My Journey by Olivia Chow – book review by Kendra Martin
I’ve read some critical reviews of Olivia Chow’s memoir, basically saying that Olivia has an agenda in writing it or that she doesn’t construct a good narrative. I would have to disagree with the negative response and say I really liked reading this memoir. It met my expectations for a memoir of a politician — […]