Full disclosure: this is an unequivocally sentimental book about love, the love of books and love between people. The context: a little town in the south of France in the 1960s. There are two themes. First, the orphan Marie-Jeanne and her foster-father Francis (a bric-a-brac dealer) start a mobile library; chapter 10 has the provocative title “Books are not for cowards”. Thus literary choices become the basis for self-awareness and friendships. But second, Marie-Jeanne can “see” the marks Love has left on the village people. Can she facilitate the union of soulmates? This is an elegantly crafted examination of the elusive nature of love, and is completely charming.
Category: love
What I Know About You – Eric Chacour
This remarkable first novel is a Giller finalist. The story starts in Cairo in the 1960s, and eventually includes a Montreal sojourn. Plot details are unnecessary. Suffice it to say this is a love story when a chance encounter leads to obsession. The writing is beautiful; a simple action like the lighting of a cigarette becomes poetic, or when describing Cairo’s heady olfactory aura creates a visceral sensation. This is a must-read book, in my opinion.
Before The Coffee Gets Cold – Toshikazu Kawaguchi
A small basement cafe in Tokyo offers time travel, to travel back in time subject to specific rules. For example, nothing that is done in the past can change the present, and the duration of the trip is brief, limited to as long as it takes for a cup of coffee to become cold. Given these profound constraints, what is fascinating is the motivation for time travel as explored in four scenarios. Thanks Amy, for this book.
The One Hundred Years of Lenn and Margot – Marianne Cronin
Full disclosure: this amazing story may result in copious tears! Seventeen-year-old Lenni is on a life-limited (aka terminal) ward in a Glasgow Hospital. She meets 83-year-old Margot in an art therapy class, and they begin an ambitious project: to paint 100 pictures, one for every year they have lived. With the art comes details of their back stories. This compelling story is about friendships, how a found family can surround one with love. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, this is a remarkable book.
Pageboy – Elliot Page
This memoir is subject to the general caveat of a story based on memory. Nevertheless, what is striking in Page’s writing is the brutal honesty. There is shame and self-disgust, fear and panic, confusion and angst that is accentuated by having a public persona as an actor. The book is presented with a non-linear timeline, consistent with memory. There are two dominant narratives: coming out as queer in 2014 at age 28, and then acting on severe gender dysphoria to be transmasculine. Overall, a well-written journey of love, discovery and eventual strength.
This Is How We Love – Lisa Moore
Ms. Moore is a very fine writer (February, Caught) but this is her best book to date. A multi-generational story set in St. John’s creates a superb relationship book, of mothers mostly and children who are loved, neglected, lost and re-found. What makes a family? Do we ever really choose who we love? Warning: there is violence, a stabbing. And much of the story takes place in a legendary winter storm, a snow-mageddon! Overall: a rich tapestry of the sacrifice, pain and joy of loving, for tour-de-force storytelling.
Open Water – Caleb Azumah Nelson
A beautifully written story of a male-female relationship, a gentle evolution from friendship and desire to intimacy and love. It is also about vulnerability, about being seen and the overpowering burden of racism. Thanks Amy, for this recommendation.
The Good Women of Safe Harbor – Bobbi French
There is much to admire in this first novel. First, it is a female relationship book that deals with gritty subjects: teenage pregnancy, suicide, and medically assisted death. And second, the setting is Newfoundland. Some core values: friendship and forgiveness, the decision to love and be loved.
All Adults Here – Emma Straub
This charming book is about complex family relationships – the good, bad and ugly. Astrid has three children and three grandchildren, and lives in the Hudson Valley in New York state. Astrid is somewhat closed and flinty: “She believed pets were useful only in teaching young children about death. She knew this was an unpopular opinion”. This multi-generational story is about delayed adolescence with some persistent poor decision making, but also about love and resilience. Finally, there are some inspired comic situations – highly recommended.
What David Read 