“The Circus” considers the tensions between expectations and reality. Often, when that theme emerges in a Mavis Gallant story, the focus is a relationship. That is true of “The Circus” as well. On the surface, this story appears to be about Laurie’s expectations about the circus. He has seen
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
If she were to tell the story again, it would be a little different. You might wonder how, because Bo's story seems all-of-a-piece, powerful just as it is, at once archetypal and unique. Random House Canada, 2014 "No one knows. But one thing is true. Whenever someone retells
In her work as a journalist, Sara Wheeler has often inhabited “borderlands of turbulence and uncertainty”, and travelled into dangerous territory. Readers familiar with Catherine Bush's earlier novels might recall Arcadia from Rules of Engagement, her fascination with war and violence, and the question that haunts her: “What would you be willing
