This is a sad, frustrating, yet compassionate story. In this book, is the main villain (I was going to write "antagonist", but villain is more appropriate) is alcohol that seduces and creates monstrous behaviour sympathetic characters. Although Agnes seems to be the main character, this is Shuggie's story. He is our anti-hero. For most of … Continue reading “Shuggie Bain” a novel by Douglas Stuart
Category: book reviews
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
“…that’s what influenza means, she said. Influenza delle stelle- the influence of the stars. Medieval Italians thought the illness proved that the havens were governing their fates, that people were quite literally star-crossed.” (pg 147). The Pull of the Stars is a novel that takes place over 3 days in a “Maternity/Fever” ward at St. … Continue reading The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage
Over the last year, I have been attracted to gothic mysteries and crime novels. Sometimes I google the genres I’m interested in to see what pops up on the screen. So when I typed “mystery gothic crime novels”, Elizabeth Brundage’s novel came up. What I thought would be an easy, quick, pulp fiction read turned … Continue reading All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage
Word Problems poem by Ian Williams
Word Problems poems by Ian Williams I was really apprehensive about responding to poetry. I don’t read a lot of poetry, I’m not sure why. I guess it’s because I don’t feel “qualified” to talk about it. That being said, one of my 2021 reading goals is to read more poetry and therefore my first … Continue reading Word Problems poem by Ian Williams
D (A Tale of Two Worlds)
by Michel Faber Apparently, this novel was written to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens. . As such, Michel Faber wonderfully inserts little allusions to various novels written by Dickens. (ie. Beak House, Magwhich) If you’re looking for a good read-aloud for junior high D (A Tale of Two Worlds) is … Continue reading D (A Tale of Two Worlds)
Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys
Truth be told I picked up this book because my mother’s side of the family comes from Saskatchewan, and years ago my mother taught in Weyburn. She had lots of teaching stories to share but I don’t ever remember her telling me about the mental hospital. Leonard’s is our protagonist. Leonard’s only friend in the … Continue reading Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Adaline lives in 17th century France with 17th-century societal expectations- she must marry. Now Addie doesn’t want to get married. She wants to travel and learn and meet new people. She definitely doesn’t want to keep a home and have babies. So she does the only thing she can do to get out and makes … Continue reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Delicates
Delicates is the second in a graphic novel series by Breena Thummler. Where the first novel Sheets introduces us to Marjorie Glatt’s story and her story, Delicates continues her story but also introduces us to a new character Eliza Dunn. At the beginning of Delicates, Marjorie is still coming to terms with her mother’s death with the support of … Continue reading Delicates
A Book To Read on Remembrance Day
I’m not a “re-reader”. I rarely re-read books mainly because there are so many stories out there just waiting to be read I don’t want to “waste” my time visiting the ones I already know. One story I DO revisit at least once a year is the novel A Long Long Way by Sabastian Barry. … Continue reading A Book To Read on Remembrance Day
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Ok, I've read a lot lately about Matt Haig's books. I've meant to increase my exposure to speculative fiction, and Haig's books seem as good a place to start. If you look on Goodreads, almost all of his books have a 4+ star rating (not that Goodreads ratings matter. Ok, Goodreads reviews may gently nudge … Continue reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Covid Conundrum
I wanted to read.But I couldn’tI wanted to write.But I didn’t.I am at a time in life that is opaque, where there are no bold lines, only shadow and shades. So I have begun to redefine myself. On the cusp of retirement, a time when I aspire to hone my passions and strengths (without being … Continue reading Covid Conundrum
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne
written by Elsa HartI am a reading fiend. I can read book upon book upon book upon book. Summer holidays usually offers the opportunity where I make up for the lack of time I had during the work year. But this year was different. You would think that with a quarantine one would have more … Continue reading The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne
The Toll by Cherie Priest
"The things I take are mine to keep" (135) One of my favourite genres is Gothic Literature so one day, a couple of months ago I Googles "Contemporary Gothic Literature" and up popped a wonderfully detailed list of titles. One of the titles on this list was "The Toll" written by Cherie Priest. The caption … Continue reading The Toll by Cherie Priest
