The cover of The Secret of the Village Fool displays Renné Benoit's gentle style of illustration and invites the reader into an inspiring and powerful tale. But it also shows the anxiety and uneasiness of Milek and Munio, two young boys in their village in Poland during WWII. Their neighbour, Anton,
“Number One, satire is not on. Critics love it, real people turn it off." That from the satirical novel Easy to Like*, which takes on Canadian media just as Linda Svendsen takes on Canadian politics in Sussex Drive. Of course, Edward Riche was satirizing the idea of satire
Sheldon Funk is having a rough go of things. ECW Press, 2012 His most meaningful relationship right now is with his cat, and he is under no illusions about its sustainability. "I don't think cats like anyone. They're only biding time until they evolve thumbs. Then we're probably
The first time that I finished reading this story, I thought it was all about happiness. No doubt influenced by the last line and by the knowledge of later Alice Munro stories pulling that theme to their hearts. (The collection Too Much Happiness immediately comes to mind.) After I read
The characters in Yasuko Thanh's stories are whirlwinded out of their routine lives, whether because they stepped into the chaos or because it was heading straight for them. They nurse their lovers through illness (or don't). They make remedies from flowers and roots (or smoke them). They see ghosts (or
