Joan Barfoot's Dancing in the Dark Macmillan, 1982 (not the image shown) When I re-read Abra earlier this month, I mentioned that it felt both quiet and revolutionary at the same time. The narrator's self-discovery is relayed through the filter of memory, and the bulk of the action is internal,
There's so much chatter in Blogland about which is more helpful: a positive or negative review. I wondered whether this was one of those questions that I might answer differently on any given day. Like "Favourite Author" or "Favourite Book". Such a response is so mood-dependent. Ask me today --
David Stouck's Ethel Wilson: A Critical Biography UTP, 2003 Here is what David Stouck wrote about Mary McAlpine's book about Ethel Wilson's life: "When I read the book I was aware of egregious errors and great gaps in the life. In the opinion of many reviewers, the book was poorly
Cicely Hamilton's William: An Englishman Persephone No. 1 (1919) Persephone Books, 1999 When I finish my current Persephone read, Monica Dickens' Mariana, I'll have read one-fifth of their books, but it was the announcement of their Forum's launch that took me to the first of their publications. My orderly nature
Nalo Hopkinson The Salt Roads Warner Books, 2003 Reading Nalo Hopkinson’s work makes me stretch. I don’t mean that literally: I pretzel myself to avoid interruption so I can read just one more story, just one more chapter, really, just one more page. But even when my legs are wedged
