Writers in Novels: Eleanor Dark’s The Little Company (1945) #AWW

2021-01-19T17:26:44-05:00

It’s a time of “political and intellectual crisis” in The Little Company. Sound familiar? Drusilla Modjeska’s introduction situates readers in Dark’s depiction of ordinary life in Sydney and Katoomba, in this time of “recession, nuclear threat and more failed expectations” in Australia. The Little Company is Dark’s seventh novel,

Writers in Novels: Eleanor Dark’s The Little Company (1945) #AWW2021-01-19T17:26:44-05:00

Winter 2020: In My Reading Log (Part One)

2021-01-06T14:29:55-05:00

Before I post about the new reading year, there are a few memorable reads from my 2020 log that I haven’t mentioned yet. Like Pourin’ Down Rain, Cheryl Foggo's memoir about growing up in 1960s Calgary, in a small and tight-knit Black community. When she was young, she heard

Winter 2020: In My Reading Log (Part One)2021-01-06T14:29:55-05:00

How Awful Is It? Liz Nugent’s Little Cruelties (2020)

2020-11-12T12:47:19-05:00

Betty Smith gave simple advice to writers: “First: Be understanding always. Keep the understanding you have and add on to it.” As the author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943)—a best-selling novel that challenged the myth of poverty as a choice, and allowed low/no-wage characters to demonstrate courage

How Awful Is It? Liz Nugent’s Little Cruelties (2020)2020-11-12T12:47:19-05:00

Pursuit: Gil Adamson’s Ridgerunner (2020)

2020-10-07T18:25:21-04:00

I read Gil Adamson’s The Outlander (2007) in February 2009, on my daily subway commute, and on the afternoon that I was nearly finished reading, I started a conversation about it with another commuter, who was also reading it. I waited until I’d moved towards the door, prepared to

Pursuit: Gil Adamson’s Ridgerunner (2020)2020-10-07T18:25:21-04:00

Precision: Souvankham Thammavongsa’s How to Pronounce Knife (2020)

2020-09-30T11:46:07-04:00

If you are considering whether or not to read Souvankham Thammavongsa’s collection of stories, you probably already know how to do it, how to pronounce the word ‘knife’. Readers of How to Pronounce Knife will not find solutions to age-old problems or innovation; readers will find clarity and acuity,

Precision: Souvankham Thammavongsa’s How to Pronounce Knife (2020)2020-09-30T11:46:07-04:00
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