Prizes, Awards & Contests – Page 7

Martin John by Anakana Schofield

Martin John by Anakana Schofield This book was on the Giller short list. Martin John is a sexual predator, with actions ranging from touching himself in public to inappropriate touching of others. What is fascinating is that the voice of this book describes the circular thoughts in his head with clear evidence of mental illness. And there is his Mam, frustrated by MJ’s pattern of offending and re-offending – how far can a mother’s love stretch. This is an excellent and provocative book.

Amy notes: As seen Vancouver Writers Festival 2015

And The Birds Rained Down by Jocelyn Saucier

And The Birds Rained Down by Jocelyn Saucier.jpg A beautiful and moving story about ageing on your own terms. The novel is set in Northern Ontario where 3 elderly men can hide in the remoteness. But two women join the hideaway and life for all changes. The ending is wistful and transcendent. This was the second funner-up in Canada Reads 2015 (with Martha Wainwright as the proponent), a very well-deserved recognition of exceptional writing.

When Everything Feels Like The Movies – Raziel Reid

This book provides a demoralizing and disturbing view of young people in small-town Canada. Life is particularly dismal for Jude as a gay teenager who is bullied. This is an important book to read but it will be uncomfortable (but Ru still deserves to have won the Canada Reads competition).

The Hero’s Walk by Anita Rau Badami

The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami A sweeping story of a multi-generational Indian family near Madras: a mean-spirited mother of two, a spinster daughter aged 42 and the older brother Sripathi who is the major figure in this story. Sripathi is married with a stay-at-home son and an estranged daughter living in Vancouver. Sripathi is angry is angry with life: his job; corruption in India; but his major disappointment is his family relationships, in particular his daughter who defied him by rejecting an arranged marriage. All live in a single big house that is decaying literally. A very important element in this book is dealing with change, their declining standard of living. When their estranged daughter is killed in a traffic accident, the 7-year-old grand-daughter (who they have never met) comes to live with them, a fourth generation, forcing them to cope (poorly) with even more change. This is a very fine book about India.

Note: this book is also from the CBC list mentioned above. And later was in the 2016 CBC Canada Reads list)

The Ever After Of Ashwin Rao – Padma Viswanathan

The Ever After Of Ashwin Rao - Padma Viswanathan A Giller finalist and another WordFest author. This is a sweeping story from the early 1980s in India to the 1985 Air India bombing, and the aftermath leading to the trial in 2004. A search for coping mechanisms for grief produces a very strong story with distinctive characters, both in India but mainly in Canada.

Cataract City by Craig Davidson

cataract-city-by-craig-davidson This is a real testosterone-filled guy book starting with two 12 year old boys lost in the woods and then progressing to: wrestling, pit bull dog fighting, bare knuckle fighting between men, greyhound dog racing and finally another “lost in the woods” episode. Ultimately the book is about friendship and loyalty. This was a Giller nominee.

The Orenda – Joseph Boyden

At times a slow-moving story of a Jesuit priest inserted into the ongoing conflict between the Huron and Iroquois (Haudenosaunee). The story is bloody to be sure but there is an interesting veneration of violence in how vanquished foes are tortured, using the word “caress”.

Note from Amy: later won 2014 Canada Reads