I am fond of specific Alice Munro collections: A Friend of My Youth because it was my first, Open Secrets because it was the impetus for a particularly good book club discussion some years ago, and Runaway. McClelland & Stewart, 2004 Runaway because I have a memory of reading it
The appeal of reading a book like Dominique Fortier’s Wonder swells and radiates as pages turn. McClelland & Stewart, 2014 The story begins (like Dennison Smith’s The Eye of the Day, another of my favourite books in this reading year) with a proverbial bang. But despite the eruption
You'd think that the heart of the story in The River Burns is the covered bridge. The cover. The marketing. And the Author's Note which launches the novel refers to the actual Wakefield Bridge fire. "Historical events inspired the novel's genesis; skeletal aspects are mirrored here; yet the gentle shifts to time
Look closely. HarperCollins, 2014 Things are not what they seem. Or, are more than they seem. Or, too much to bear if they are seen. Or, impossible to see. The Eye of the Day is an assured and sophisticated novel: disorienting, nourishing and powerful storytelling. (It is certainly
It's a great title isn't it? It's actually drawn from one of the stories in the collection, Samuel Martin's story, and it's a perfect fit. You'll see why, when you read the introduction to the colection. Goose Lane Editions, 2013 From the opening pages, readers realize that the
