David Bezmozgis' The Free World HarperCollins, 2011 The Krasnansky family is making their way out of Soviet Russia, travelling to Rome. Samuil, the patriarch, is annoyed by the tour guide's suggestion that the history of Western civilization could be plotted along the road that the bus is travelling. "Their history:
Dan Vyleta's The Quiet Twin Harper Collins, 2011 Dan Vyleta's The Quiet Twin is like Hitchcock's "Rear Window" gone wrong-er. There's no Technicolor; imagine everyone is dressed in black, and that some individuals conceal an over-sized pocket-knife. Instead of the director cameo, there is a little blonde girl with pigtails
When I first tried to determine the most challenging part of this season's prize-list reading, I was about to stare down the Giller longlist. Yes, you, with your 5318 pages, of which I have read only 4012. I'm not giving up, and I still have a week! And I know
Genni Gunn's Solitaria Signature Editions, 2011 It's debatable, who is at the heart of Genni Gunn's novel, and that is partly why it is so satisfying. It ironic, given its title that it is not the story of a single person, although much of it is told from a single
Dany Laferrière's The Return (2009) Translated by David Homel Douglas & McIntyre, 2011 David Homel says that he has translated Dany Laferrière's work so often now that he knows how he ticks, knows his schtick, knows his voice so well that he has avoided translating anyone else for awhile. Perhaps that's
