Category: Genre

Starling House – Alix E. Harrow

This is an excellent modern gothic fantasy. There is a spooky mansion that may be sentient. Can dreams and nightmares create monsters? What constitutes bad luck? Opal is a 26-year-old survivor who is fighting to create better future opportunities for her younger brother. And finally, the Kentucky setting provides a sinister background to a tale of worlds within worlds. Highly recommended.

The Spoon Stealer – Lesley Crewe

Be advised: this is an emotional tear-jerker so have tissues nearby, especially for the end of the story. The book is presented in two parts. In 1968, 74-year-old Emmaline reads her poignant life story to a group of English women as part of a memoir-writing class. In the second half, Emmaline returns to Nova Scotia to confront her fractured family. Her personality is a fascinating blend of brassiness and abrasiveness, but also generosity. The core of the story, however, is friendship between women.

The Future – Catherine Leroux

A superb depiction of an alternative dystopian story for Detroit, with urban decay and ecological disasters. In particular, feral children leave their homes to live wild in a park. Gloria arrives after the death of her daughter (an unsolved murder) to search for her two missing grand-daughters. What follows is a brilliant portrayal of family resilience. This book should be a powerful contender in the upcoming Canada Reads competition, championed by the brilliant Heather O’Neill.

Hang the Moon- Jeannette Walls

Previously, Ms. Walls has written autobiographical (The Glass Castle) and biographical (Half Broke Horses) books. This new book is a novel that follows the trials and tribulations of Sallie Kincaid in 1920s Virginia. At ages 17-20, Sallie has to deal with family secrets in rural areas dealing with the prohibition. There are conflicts between what is right and wrong, and legal and illegal. Sallie is both clever and quick, but how will she operate in  a world that devalues women?

Girlfriend On Mars – Deborah Willis

A chance discovery at an October Word Fest event, Ms. Willis has written a superb relationship book. Amber and Kevin have enjoyed/endured a 14-year relationship even though they have very different personalities. Secretly, she decides to enter a billionaire-funded competition to travel to Mars, and amazingly becomes one of 24 contestants on a reality show to choose two “winners”. How does Kevin cope with Amber’s decision to leave him for a one-way trip to Mars? What is Amber’s motivation? The story is in part funny with a satirical treatment of fame, billionaire-funded space travel together with a quest for love. Highly recommended.

1979 – Val McDermid

Context is everything in this gritty crime story: Glasgow in 1979, with investigative journalists working in a newsroom filled with cigarette smoke and the din of typewriters. Tax avoidance with greed and Scottish ultra-nationalists are the nasty villains. A totally entertaining story with an appendix with a top-40 list of music from 1979. Thanks Amy, for this recommendation by the acclaimed “Queen of crime” writer.

Happy-Go-Lucky – David Sedaris

And now for something entirely different: a collection of mostly humorous essays. Sedaris offers wry observations on many topics (e.g., pandemic experiences) but his most poignant essays are about his family relationships, most notably with his elderly father. He is candid and self-deprecating, with the use of wonderful words (one-downsmanship) and phrases (crocheted blanket the colour of sorrow). A very fun read.

A World Of Curiosities – Louise Penny

This 18th Inspector Gamache mystery is genuinely suspenseful with some eery parts. The complicated but compelling plot combines elements of a cold case with current crimes. Gamache and Beauvoir are revealed to have blind spots, so very  human characteristics. There is art, and finally, a strong theme of forgiveness despite considerable darkness. This is one of Ms. Penny’s best Three Pines novels.