The sequel to the Atlas Six. Five magicians, now members of the secretive Alexandrian Society, continue to study and learn. Can the library archives be sentient if some knowledge is withheld? As magicians become even more powerful, can they become gods? The price of power requires a choice, to pick a side. The intersection of dreams and time becomes an important factor in the apparent disappearance of one of the magicians. Overall, a very compelling story.
Author: AJ
Our Missing Hearts – Celeste Ng
Imagine a dystopian America dominated by the Preserving American Culture and Traditions (PACT) act. Particular negative attention is directed at persons of Asian origin so Bird’s Chinese American mother disappears to protect her son. Now 3 years later, he receives a cryptic message and embarks on a quest to find her in a world of surveillance and suspicion. What is remarkable in this topical story is the importance of words and stories, and libraries and librarians. Highly recommended.
Babel – R.F. Kuang
This is an imaginative work of historical and speculative fiction. The context is all important: Oxford in the 1830s where scholars (professors and students) work in the Royal Institute of Translation, in an academic tower known as Babel. Is there power in words, in etymology? Words lost in translation can be added to silver bars to create magic: protective wards and the casting of spells. Academics can also serve colonialism; can change ever occur peaceably, or does profound change encompass the necessity of violence? What is striking in this book is the role of indecision and questionable motives. Highly recommended.
Cloud Cuckoo Land – Anthony Doerr
Simply put – this is a great book, highly imaginative with a clever storyline and beautiful writing. Imagine three timelines: the past (15th century Constantinople), present (a library in Idaho), and future (an interstellar spaceship). These three timelines are linked by an ancient Greek tale about Aethon by Diogenes. The result is a soaring story about children who find resilience. A final positive comment: this book reminded me of the best of David Mitchell (The Bone Clocks), which is high praise.
Hollow Kingdom – Kira Jane Buxton
An innovative treatment of apocalyptic fiction because the narrator is a domesticated crow called ST (you will have to read the book to learn the origin of this acronym). What happens to animals when a virus creates an addiction to the to the electronic world which devastates the human population (called MoFos by the crow)? Subject matter includes both violence and oddball humour. And finally, the setting of this conflict for survival is Seattle. Thanks Amy, for this recommendation.
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century – Kim Fu
Ms. Fu is a very fine writer (The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore), but this new book is a Giller short-listed collection of 12 short stories. The impact of these stories is variable; some are deliciously creepy, a blend of emotional realism and surreal imagery, Highly recommended.
Hey, Good Luck Out There – Georgia Toews
Full disclosure: Georgia is the daughter of Miriam so great writing may be inherited! This first novel is a gritty story about substance abuse, specifically alcoholism. There is no supportive network for the un-named young woman, not in the 30-day rehab program, not in post-rehab life: mean girls abound throughout. There is a telling phrase on page 107: “I didn’t want to lie, or tell the truth”, a telling dilemma. This is a solitary struggle. What happens when one is alone in a war with an intrusive inner creature? This is a compelling look at someone both vulnerable and brazen.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands – Kate Beaton
Ms. Beaton left her Cape Breton home in 2005, to work in the Alberta Oil Sands to pay off her University student loans. The stark black & white drawings in this graphic novel illustrate perfectly her loneliness and isolation, often dealing with overt misogyny in a hyper-masculine environment. And the environmental degradation and rampant capitalism amplify the human cost to the workers. Overall, a compelling coming-of-age narrative.
We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies – Tsering Yangzom Lama
This very impressive debut novel is Giller short-listed. Two sisters, Lhamo and Tenkyi, flee the Chinese invasion of Tibet to resurface in Nepal in the 1960s. Fifty years later, Lhamo’s daughter Dolma is living in Toronto with Tenkyi. This is a beautifully written book about female relationships, a truly epic story of displacement and survival, exile and loss.
What David Read 