Alistair MacLeod’s “The Closing Down of Summer” (1976)

2021-08-20T12:40:12-04:00

“It is August now, towards the end, and the weather can no longer be trusted.” The gentle rhythm in MacLeod’s sentence is responsible for its being a favourite of mine. Such an ordinary opening to such a startlingly subversive –and topical—story. With the findings of the IPCC report and

Alistair MacLeod’s “The Closing Down of Summer” (1976)2021-08-20T12:40:12-04:00

Belonging: M.G. Vassanji, Michael Winter and Alan Doyle

2015-01-26T14:48:15-05:00

It's a familar theme in the Canadian landscape of letters, and it was also the topic of Adrienne Clarkson's recent Massey Lecture. "What does it mean to belong? And how do we belong? Who do we belong to?" These are the central ideas discussed in the series and they are

Belonging: M.G. Vassanji, Michael Winter and Alan Doyle2015-01-26T14:48:15-05:00

Michael Crummey’s Sweetland (2014)

2015-01-07T13:41:17-05:00

It begins in fog. With Matthew Sweetland hearing voices "so indistinct he thought they might be imaginary". Doubleday Canada, 2014 This scene from the past alerts readers that they should be concerned with the line between the real and the invented, and even more to the point, with how

Michael Crummey’s Sweetland (2014)2015-01-07T13:41:17-05:00

Alexi Zentner’s The Lobster Kings (2014)

2014-09-10T19:34:11-04:00

Like his first novel, Touch, The Lobster Kings showcases Alexi Zentner’s penchant for storytelling. Knopf Canada, 2014 Readers who learn that this novel is a retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy "King Lear" might expect the tale to distance readers, with the original story centuries old and memories of stilted

Alexi Zentner’s The Lobster Kings (2014)2014-09-10T19:34:11-04:00
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