Reading Craig Davidson's Cataract City took me somewhere else. You might think, if you have heard something of the novel, that I am about to say Niagara Falls. But as much as the novel is about two boys' coming-of-age in this environs, it is a study of how 'what-came-before' morphs and
Three for three: I've read all three of Stacey May Fowles' novels straight-through. It just happened. But although it was true of Be Good and Fear of Fighting, I was prepared to take my time with Infidelity, an emotionally exhausting subject. But, then, it happened again. Perhaps it simply comes down
In an effort to manage out-of-control stacks of reading, I try to choose disparate stories in the mass of current reads. Slipping Emily Schultz's The Blondes in with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah seemed like a good bet. A fantastic tale of a plague which seems to infect blonde women. Ifemelu
The title story of this collection, my favourite, "The Variance", is filled with so many details that it reads a little like a logic puzzle. (I like logic puzzles and short stories.) 2012; Doubleday - Random House, 2013 Sometimes the details have direct and practical significance, as with
"But you better not cross him or he’ll skin you alive....Like he does with his other stuff." 1994; Penguin, 2007 Liza's father warned her about Ladner, who made his living as a taxidermist, working for museums. It wasn't meant to be taken seriously. Indeed, after that, Liza and
