A Giller short-listed book describes historical fiction from the 17th century. Two children, Joan and Thomasina are plague survivors. Joan becomes a maid to Lady Margaret Long; Thomasina decides to adopt a male persona. And overall, there is the pall of witch accusations and ignorance producing confusion. Fleming’s account of life in England and especially a perilous sea journey, is fantastic.
Category: Location / Setting
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.
Wandering Stars – Tommy Orange
This is a brilliant follow-up to Orange’s There There with some of the same characters. The first part of the book is historical, the legacies of the Sand Creek massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Industrial School for Indians. Misguided attempts at assimilation by governments and adoptions are devoted to the eradication of Native history, culture and identity. The next section of the book entitled Aftermath is even better, detailing the brutal reality of contemporary life in Oakland for two grandmothers and their three grandsons. When is life more than surviving?
This book is both shattering and wondrous – highly recommended.
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.
Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect – Benjamin Stevenson
Spoiler alert: there is a murder on a train, a plot device that has been used before, I think. The key to this very entertaining book is the context – the Australian Mystery Writers Festival takes place on a train, the Ghan, as it travels from Darwin to Adelaide. Six authors are invited to participate in literary discussions about their books, but when one is murdered, can the remaining crime writers turn into detectives, to solve the murder? There are wonderful phrases like “knees that click like the Wheel of Fortune” – great fun.
Behind You – Catherine Hernandez
Another riveting novel (her third) by Ms. Hernandez. Alma is a film editor for a True Crime series. An assignment to edit video information about the Scarborough Stalker triggers flashbacks to when Alma was a child, a 10-14-year-old, when her community was terrorized. Although female resilience is a worthy outcome, the ugly face of misogyny, romantic power struggles and generalized complicity in rape culture produces a gritty and disturbing story.
Cloudstreet – Tim Winton
Cloudstreet is a broken-down house in Perth, Australia, that becomes a home to two wildly disparate families, the Pickles and the Lambs. Their story begins in 1943 and spans about 20 years of heartbreak, turmoil, boisterous energy and yes, even some joy. Overall, a vivid portrayal of the remoteness of Western Australia.
The Bright Sword – Lev Grossman
Grossman (author of the magnificent The Magicians trilogy) provides an entertaining re-imagining of the King Arthur legend by focussing on a young knight Collum who arrives in Camelot two weeks after the death of Arthur at the battle of Camlann. It is a time of chaos with conflicts between knights and pagan-Christian issues. Can Camelot be preserved, be rebuilt with only a few surviving knights of the round table? There are strong women like Morgan le Fay, Nimue, and yes, Queen Guinevere, imperfect men, quests and, of course, magical fairies. Highly recommended.
If I Fall, If I Die – Michael Christie
Twelve-year-old Will lives in Thunder Bay with his agoraphobic and eccentric mother, who states that if Will steps outside their home, he will die. So of course, Will’s curiosity compels him to leave his house and instead of disaster, he experiences a complicated freedom. This is a beautifully written story of family and friendship, with skateboarding!
Michael Christie also wrote Greenwood.
What David Read 