This fascinating book has a Dan Brown-like plot (but with much better writing). Academics search for clues to find missing persons and to research Vlad Dracula’s life (is he still living?). This research is conducted in medieval libraries (yay!) with much travel: Oxford, Istanbul, Budapest and Bulgaria. Actions happen in three times: the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s, often with parallel stories so the complex plot with much historical detail requires the full attention of readers. This is a really enjoyable read; thanks Steph, for this recommendation.
Category: Genre
The Golem and the Jinni – Helene Wecker
A second recommendation from Steph, so thanks again. This book is another example of a remarkable first novel, notable both for its imagination and context. A golem is created from clay and brought to life by her master who then promptly dies, leaving her adrift in New York. A jinni is accidentally released from a copper container. Much of this book is about alienation – how to fit into a human population. And the context is glorious: New York in 1899 with detailed descriptions of Little Syria and the Jewish enclave with some fantastic trips to Central Park. And yes, there is a wicked villain! This is a very entertaining book.
LaRose – Louise Erdrich
This is a fantastic Indigenous novel, set in North Dakota in 1999. There is a powerful start to the story, a tragedy on page 2. What follows is an attempted reparation, guilt and paralyzing grief; a long-standing grudge which leads to revenge; and a gradual reconciliation. The story shifts back and forth in time, and has a mystical element. There is, amidst all this angst, a delightful plainness, a simplicity that engages and delights. For example, there is a transcendent passage about a volleyball game that captures the psychology of young adolescents perfectly! Although this is a multi-generational story, it is the children who are the most complex characters, particularly in circumstances where they are forced to be mature beyond their years (similar to Glass Castle). This book is wonderful storytelling.
This Is Happy – Camilla Gibb
Camilla Gibb is a very fine novelist (Sweetness In The Belly, for example). This remarkable book is a memoir that is brutally honest and uncomfortably candid. There are heartbreaking descriptions of loneliness and alienation leading to profound depression and suicide attempts, of feelings that she does not deserve happiness. Single motherhood provides an incredible challenge. The adage that “it takes a village to raise a child” is proven true as single mother Gibb constructs a unique extended family to help her care for her daughter: this is a compelling story.
The Tiger In The smoke – Margery Allingham
This is a wonderful book, written in 1952 describing events in London in 1949 so the dense toxic London fog is a prominent feature. The writing is fabulous with words like lugubrious (full of sadness or sorrow). Although this book is identified as a Mr Campion Mystery, there is little emphasis on the police. Instead the psychology of different individuals (criminal and non-criminal) is described in detail: what is goodness and what is evil. This is a totally fun read; thanks Amy*!
*Amy says: “Erin and I picked it up in one of those wee community library houses on the way to the Folk Festival – sheer luck that it was good!”
The Child – Fiona Barton
Barton’s very successful debut novel, The Widow, was going to be a tough act to follow, and admittedly The Child is not as good. However, there are some very strong aspects to this second novel. Once again, this is a well-written psychological thriller/mystery. What is the relationship between skeletal remains of a child found in a construction site with a child abduction case from the 1970s? Also this is a story almost entirely about women including Kate, the intrepid reporter from The Widow. Male characters other than the plodding police are either inconsequential or sleaze balls. And finally, one of the female characters has incredibly poor parenting skills, setting up the engrossing question – what will she say/do next? Overall, this is a book that becomes hard to put down.
Sailor Girl – Sheree-Lee Olson
Sometimes a story can capture time and place perfectly, and this book is a prime example of that success. The time is 1981; the place is a Great Lakes steamship. And Kate is a rebellious 19 year-old: too much drinking, too much casual sex in a very sexist environment. Her reckless lifestyle has an incredible intensity that is intoxicating. A very good read.
By Gaslight – Steven Price
Generally I read mostly contemporary fiction but the historical fiction presented in this book is fascinating and entertaining because of a vivid description of context: the American Civil War with violence and sickness and cruelty, and London in 1885 with orange-yellow fog and a trip into the sewers! The book describes an intricate cat-and-mouse conflict between two men over several decades: a master and mysterious thief and an obsessed detective (a Pinkerton). The back story unfolds in many flashbacks, the classic slow reveal of motives and actions. Very enjoyable.
Kiss Of The Fur Queen – Tomson Highway
Given the struggles with reconciliation and ongoing issues of cultural appropriation, I have decided to read more Indigenous authors. This novel begins in Northern Manitoba in 1951 with fishing and hunting as dominant activities in a simple but harsh life. Two brothers experience abuse at a Residential School and then settle in Winnipeg where alienation and estrangement complicates their struggle to survive. Dance and music provide a welcome respite. Although emotionally complex, the novel has a triumphant tone. And throughout, the brothers are watched over by the trickster fur queen. An excellent look at remarkable changes in Indigenous life over a 40 year period.
What David Read 