Poems for a Girlhood, it's subtitled. But it's actually for girlhoods. For the author's. And Reena Virk's. At least, for what of Reena Virk's girlhood is known and what can be imagined. She was murdered on November 14, 1997 when she was fourteen years old. At least eight teenagers participated in her
"The past presses so hard on the present, the present is badly bruised, blood brims under the skin." These lines from Brenda Shaughnessy's poem “Nachträglichkeit”* fit beautifully with Darren Greer's new novel, Advocate: Not only because much of Advocate is preoccupied with memory, with what the characters carry with them
What's interesting about each of these novels is that none fits a traditional model in the suspense genre. Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door is the closest to a conventional thriller. But even her novel spends more time on characterization and atmosphere than many loyal genre readers would tolerate. Nonetheless, she
Prizelists make me feel like I do when I watch the Olympics. Because just when I am feeling most thrilled about one person's winning performance, I am reminded of all the other participants' losses. So the prizelists, for me, are as much about what is not listed as what is listed
Only ten this year, so far. Without my Alice Munro project to steer me, I am not reading as many short story collections now. Over the summer, I read Cherie Dimaline's A Gentle Habit (2015) as part of All Lit Up's summer bookclub. Dimaline is a member of the Georgian
