This is a story that will stay with me for quite awhile. The details, setting, and circumstances may fade from my memory, but I’ll always remember the protagonist Meena – the woman who sacrificed her body for those she loved. Honor by Thrity Umrigar* is a bestselling novel, many people have read it, including thousands…
In 2021, people got excited about this book; A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa was declared brilliant and unique by many book critics and bloggers alike. I had it on my shelf from an early stage as Biblioasis was kind enough to send me an ARC, but it wasn’t until this week…
Right off the bat, just want to warn you all this book is NOT about candy, or treats of any kind (disappointing, I know). The Candy House by Jennifer Egan is a warning wrapped in multiple layers of story. The candy house in the title is referring to a few different things, mainly the promise…
I won’t say my reading is influenced by awards, because it rarely is – quite often, my book choices depend on the themes I’ve come up with for my monthly radio segment, and the books that land on my doorstep for review. But every so often I break out of this pattern and pick up…
Sometimes it feels good to just have a little cry, and you’ll have to keep the therapeutic benefits of sobbing in mind if you plan on reading If You Hear Me by Pascale Quiviger, translated from the French by Lazer Lederhendler. It’s a daunting read knowing it centers on the fracturing of a family’s life…
When I saw the cover of this book I was intrigued (and mildly grossed out?), but when I read the description of it, and the promise of sex scandals with professors on campus, I thought – sounds spicy! Perfect for this time of year when everything is melting, muddy, and generally dingy outside of my…
I seem to have great luck with the translated books that I read, and that success is mostly due to the careful eye of the editors at the Arachnide imprint from Canadian press House of Anansi. They regularly choose the best and the brightest when it comes to translated works that will impress English Canadians…
Does a book called “Hot Stew” all about a crowded neighborhood kind of give you the willies? Normally I’d say ‘me too’, but because I’ve spent the last two years avoiding people, Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley sounded like something I wanted to dive into immediately. It’s set in the present day (sans Covid) in…
Classic films and television have never been an interest of mine; perhaps it’s because I don’t have time to watch much these days, the thought of sitting down to something produced decades ago never held much appeal, but knowledge of films from the 40s, 50s and 60s would have come in handy while reading The…
This slim little novel piqued my interest when I saw a short description of it in a catalogue. It touches upon race, class, gender, and the existential dread that millennials in particular seem to dwell upon, (what does it all mean? etc.) made even worse by the pandemic. Although Assembly by Natasha Brown doesn’t include…
What’s the difference between a good and bad person? What makes a person selfish? Can regularly volunteering at a food bank cancel out the sins of cheating on a partner? Even So by Lauren B. Davis asks all these questions, and although not all of them are answered readers are given a glimpse into the…
I don’t get the chance to read classics all that often because I’m usually reading the latest releases from publishers, which is of course exciting and I’m grateful for that opportunity BUT I also follow lots of bloggers who extoll the virtues of classic reading, and I can’t help but feel left out of the…
