At the end of the book mentioned above
, Swyler is interviewed and gives a list of some favourite books with circus themes, and Logan’s remarkable first novel is from that list. It is some time in the future when rising sea levels have eliminated most land masses. Thus people are divided between the land lockers who live on islands, and the seagoing damplings. A circus troupe travels by boat; the sail becomes the big-top tent. And there is a marked plot change half way through the book that enhances the story – a very satisfying book.
Author: AJ
The Book Of Speculation – Erika Swyler
This is an excellent first novel about librarians conducting genealogical research based on a mysterious old book. And there is magic, circus performers and even a curse: what’s not to love! Parts of this book remind the reader of The Night Circus, high praise.
The Mandibles – A Family 2029-2047 – Lionel Shriver
Shriver writes impeccable novels about contemporary issues: the obesity epidemic (Big Brother), health care costs (So Much For That), and a mass killing (We Need To Talk About Kevin) and others (Double Fault is a favourite of mine). In this novel, she describes the near future (2029 and beyond) after the financial collapse of America. Her focus is on 4 generations in a family, so the psychological aftermath is even more chilling. This is an excellent read and very relevant post-2008 financial collapse; what if things had progressed downhill even more dramatically .
Do Not Say We Have Nothing – Madeleine Thien
Thien has written some fine books (Dogs At The Perimeter, Certainty), but this new book is her best yet – an epic story of China. The evocative writing describes the agony of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s leading up to the horror of the Tiananmen Square massacre. There are three central characters that are linked by their passion for music.
The coda at the end of the book describes the first time a lost composition for violin and piano is played: “At first, the violin played alone, a series of notes that slowly widened. When the piano entered, I saw a man turning in measured elegant circles, I saw him looking for the centre that eluded him, this beautiful centre that promised an end to sorrow, the lightness of freedom. The piano stepped forward and the violin lifted, a man crossing a room and a girl weeping as she climbed a flight of steps; they played as if one sphere could merge into the other, as if they could arrive in time and be redeemed in a single overlapping moment. And even when the notes they played were the very same, the piano and violin were irrevocably apart, drawn by different lives and different times. Yet in their separateness, and in the quiet, they contained one another”.
This book has great story telling with some transcendent writing – highly recommended.
Born On A Blue Day by Daniel Tammet
Sarah and I were introduced to Tammet as an interviewed author at the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival. Tammet is an autistic savant with incredible mathematical and linguistic skills. For example, he memorized the value of Pi (3.14 ….) to 22,514 decimal places and recited this in Oxford in a performance that was >5 hours. He also learned the Icelandic language in 7 days. He also has another rare characteristic: synesthesia, the ability to visualize numbers as colours, shapes and texture. In this book, Tammet describes his childhood as an “odd kid”, and his evolution to become an independent living fully functioning person who has a loving relationship with his partner Neil. This is a remarkable story.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74812.Born_on_a_Blue_Day
Editors Note: Also of interest might be Daniel Tammet Ted talk “Different ways of knowing”
Who By Fire by Fred Stenson
This is a very fine book by one of Alberta’s best writers. First the settings of a 1960s farming family next to a sour gas plant in Southern Alberta and contemporary Fort MacMurray are described perfectly, especially the farming story. And second, the complex relationships are rich with nuance: husband-wife, parents-children, siblings, and so forth. This is excellent story telling on an increasingly relevant topic.
The Confessions Of Frances Godwin by Robert Hellenga
After the death of her husband, Frances begins to chronicle her life, her confessions, from marriage in the 1960s to 2006. She has been a Latin teacher so there are lovely passages about learning Latin in Italy. Her spiritual conversations (NOT confessions) with a Catholic priest provide a surprising element, along with some dialog with God. This is a very good read.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18594395-the-confessions-of-frances-godwin
A Pale View Of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
This is Ishiguro’s first novel (published in 1982) and has the features that characterize some of his later books: a curious early fact (in this book, on page 17) that is just odd, and that is explained much later. This story switches between post-WWII Nagasaki and later England. Enigmatic relationships between characters abound, and MUCH is left unsaid in this short novel. If you like/love Ishiguro’s later classics (Never Let Me Go, Buried Giant), this is a very worthwhile read.
Boo by Neil Smith
Smith was a chance discovery by Sarah and I as part of an interview of three authors at the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival in Montreal. Boo is Smith’s first novel, and presents an imaginative view of heaven, a not very celestial place that is segregated by age. Thus Boo is in a unique hereafter for dead 13 year-olds. This book has wonderful story-telling.
What David Read 