This is a fantastic book, a remarkable first novel that was long-listed for the Giller, and that, in my opinion, is much better than some of the books on the Giller short list. Full disclosure: this is a relationship book which everyone who reads this blog knows is my favourite topic. The story is about psychological intimacy, a couple that evolves to a consensual three-some and eventually to a four-some. The book is beautifully written with sub-headings like “Questions” and “Answers” and “What Kathryn Wants”. This is a delightful read about complex relationships with a brilliant ending – highly recommended, one of my best reads this year.
Category: Prizes, Awards & Contests
Giller, Govener
Bellvue Square – Michael Redhill
This is an imaginative book set in and around Toronto’s Kensington Market. The core of the book examines an existential question: is a doppelgänger real or a figment of imagination? How can a hallucinatory state be distinguished from reality? Redhill has written a darkly comedic and thoughtful book that justifiably has been placed on the Giller short list.
Precious Cargo – Craig Davidson
Davidson usually writes gritty guy-books (e.g. Cataract City) that are fiction. In contrast, this new book is non-fiction, an account of a year spent driving a school bus for five special-needs kids in Calgary. There are some very funny parts, such as the perils of substitute driving a school bus at Halloween, but Davidson takes a thoughtful look at how people with disabilities are viewed by the non-disabled, in school and in society in general. The book also includes an introspective examination of himself as a struggling writer at the time – overall, a very worthwhile read.
The Break – Katherine Vermette
It is inexplicable to me that The Break was the first book eliminated from the Canada Reads 2017 competition. Admittedly this is a tough book to read, and the first in my experience that has on the cover page: “TRIGGER WARNING: This book is about recovering and healing from violence. Contains scenes of sexual and physical violence, and depictions of vicarious trauma”. This is a timely book about Indigenous women survivors, specifically 4 generations of women survivors who are flawed and damaged. This is a sisterhood book about resiliency – powerful storytelling but take the trigger warning seriously.
Stag’s Leap – Sharon Olds
I read novels almost exclusively because generally short stories are too short for plot development and context (Alice Munro’s writing is an obvious exception). And because I read quickly, I typically do not read poetry where so much meaning is often attached to a single word. However, a fellow reader (Renee) who I respect greatly told me about Stag’s Leap, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and it is fantastic. The poems tell the story of the ending of the author’s 30-year marriage. The poem “Last Look” will take your breath away and probably make you cry. The poems are an insightful look at loss and resulting invisibility – remarkable emotional poetry.
The Luminaries – Eleanor Catton
An epic story set in a remote gold mining frontier town in New Zealand’s South Island in 1866. There is a mystery with murder and disappearances; everyone is hiding misdeeds and withholding information. The structure of this Man Booker prize winning novel is fascinating. The first half of the book essentially describes a meeting of 13 men and each fairly long chapter provides a different point of view unique to each character. The second half has shorter chapters as more back story is revealed, mostly about some really delicious villains. This is fabulous story telling, even better as a second read compared to when I first read this book.
The Sympathizer – Viet Trans Nguyen
This is a brilliant book, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, about the aftermath of the Viet Nam war from the point-of-view of Vietnamese people. The narrator is a Communist double agent who flees to America after the fall of Saigon, and then returns to Viet Nam to be subjugated to the extreme brutality of a Re-Education Camp. This book has a brilliant presentation of politics and ideology, moral ambiguity, and the existential crisis of leading a double life that is complex, compelling and frustrating. The legacy of war is presented in graphic detail.
Party Wall – Catherine Leroux
This is a really excellent book, not surprising since this was a Giller finalist. The chapters are all about pairs, for example, two sisters. But some of the pairs are not what they seem: a husband and wife, a mother and son, and a brother and sister. There is a strong sense of place but not of time. And finally, lives begin to intersect. This is dazzling writing and exceptional translating (the translator won a Governor General’s Award), so a “must read”.
The Best Kind of People – Zoe Whittall
This powerful book is about rape culture. George, a revered high school teacher, is accused of sexual misconduct and attempted rape; the complainants are 12-14 year-old school girls. George then recedes into the background as the book vividly details the collateral damage to his family who want to be supportive of a good husband/father but powerful emotions like guilt over suspicion, anger and confusion are inevitably present. Feelings of powerlessness are described evocatively. The consequences of living in a small judgemental town with attendant lies and betrayal is another vivid characteristic in this fine novel (Giller nominee). In fact, the verdict delivered by the end of the book is inconsequential: lives have been changed irrevocably.
What David Read 