Hamilton is a great writer (A Map Of The World, The Book Of Ruth, etc.). This new book is a very fine addition to her list of novels, a book about complex family relationships but mainly a coming-of-age story about a young girl who doesn’t want to grow up. Consequently, at times her behaviour is wildly erratic, both frustrating and endearing. Highly recommended.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26031214-the-excellent-lombards
Butler’s imaginative novel, written in 1979, uses time travel to explore two very different times and places: 1976 LA and Maryland in the early 1800s. Specifically, an African-American woman is transported multiple times to a time and place of slavery. The book explores how behaviour is influenced by context, of how a modern woman is required (or coerced) to take actions that enable slavery because of complex relationships and situations. This book has strong and compelling story-telling.
Sarah and I were introduced to Tammet as an interviewed author at the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival. Tammet is an autistic savant with incredible mathematical and linguistic skills. For example, he memorized the value of Pi (3.14 ….) to 22,514 decimal places and recited this in Oxford in a performance that was >5 hours. He also learned the Icelandic language in 7 days. He also has another rare characteristic: synesthesia, the ability to visualize numbers as colours, shapes and texture. In this book, Tammet describes his childhood as an “odd kid”, and his evolution to become an independent living fully functioning person who has a loving relationship with his partner Neil. This is a remarkable story.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74812.Born_on_a_Blue_Day
Editors Note: Also of interest might be Daniel Tammet Ted talk “Different ways of knowing”
This is a very fine book by one of Alberta’s best writers. First the settings of a 1960s farming family next to a sour gas plant in Southern Alberta and contemporary Fort MacMurray are described perfectly, especially the farming story. And second, the complex relationships are rich with nuance: husband-wife, parents-children, siblings, and so forth. This is excellent story telling on an increasingly relevant topic.
After the death of her husband, Frances begins to chronicle her life, her confessions, from marriage in the 1960s to 2006. She has been a Latin teacher so there are lovely passages about learning Latin in Italy. Her spiritual conversations (NOT confessions) with a Catholic priest provide a surprising element, along with some dialog with God. This is a very good read.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18594395-the-confessions-of-frances-godwin
This is Ishiguro’s first novel (published in 1982) and has the features that characterize some of his later books: a curious early fact (in this book, on page 17) that is just odd, and that is explained much later. This story switches between post-WWII Nagasaki and later England. Enigmatic relationships between characters abound, and MUCH is left unsaid in this short novel. If you like/love Ishiguro’s later classics (Never Let Me Go, Buried Giant), this is a very worthwhile read.
Smith was a chance discovery by Sarah and I as part of an interview of three authors at the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival in Montreal. Boo is Smith’s first novel, and presents an imaginative view of heaven, a not very celestial place that is segregated by age. Thus Boo is in a unique hereafter for dead 13 year-olds. This book has wonderful story-telling.
This is a fabulously imaginative book that has the following sub-title: “A progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable”, so consult your dictionaries to also learn about panagrams. At its core, this is a cautionary tale about the evolution of institutional madness which is pertinent in this Trump world.
Bill Stoner lives a remarkably passive life characterized by: (a) a disastrous marriage, and (b) a 20-year feud with his University English Department Head. Indeed, the description of University politics is perfect. He has one brief period of passionate love that is doomed by his naivety. The ending of the book has transcendent writing. This is an excellent read; thanks Sarah for this recommendation.
What David Read 