Unlike Isola with its mysterious Italian title, How to Survive a Bear Attack has its main thesis right up front. This niche little Canadian book totally won me over, despite not being interested in either bears or living an outdoorsy life.
All in Canadian Authors
THE LOST TAROT
I love finding random books from library displays, and The Lost Tarot fits that description perfectly. It was exhibited with other books that are set in Toronto, one of which, River Mumma, I reviewed last month. (read review here) The Lost Tarot really only begins with the protagonist in Toronto, and the story includes multiple time periods as well. And despite the word Tarot in the title, the book deals mainly with fine art and how we credit its creators, as well as how a cult is formed and what it takes to break free.
ORYX AND CRAKE; THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD; and MADDADDAM
With an author as prolific as Margaret Atwood, I know it’s unlikely I’ll ever read her complete works. And although she is Canadian literary royalty, I hadn’t picked up one of her books in a long time. So when I came across The Year of the Flood in a little free library, I grabbed it, only to discover it was book two of a trilogy!
THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE COMMON OCTOPUS
For those of you who read and loved Remarkably Bright Creatures and can’t believe there is another new novel about octopi, you can rest easy because in The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, the octopus is a metaphor, not a character. Emma Knight’s The Life Cycle is a brilliant coming-of-age novel about a young Canadian woman who sets off for the University of Edinburgh to complete her undergraduate study.
ONE GOLDEN SUMMER
The much anticipated sequel to Fortune’s breakout hit Every Summer After (read review here), One Golden Summer is the sentimental, sexy summer read we all needed this year. And rather than just extending the story of her first protagonists, she introduces Alice, a lonely photographer taking care of her grandmother for the summer in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. (Lily)
GALORE
I picked up Galore from my shelf with some trepidation because the only other book by Michael Crummey I had read, Sweetland, was excellent but bleak and depressing. But Crummey is my father-in-law’s favorite author, so I wanted to give him another try. I’m so glad I did because this book is a wonder.
THE BERRY PICKERS
I had seen The Berry Pickers recommended a few times, but it hadn’t yet made it to my stack of books when my mother-in-law gave it to me for Christmas. Books are always a good bet as a gift for me, but this one was such a wonderful choice that I gave it back to her as soon as I finished it so she could read it too!
STILL LIFE
Thinking about my favorite kind of novels, I must admit that mysteries fall towards the bottom of my list. I feel like I’m not good at keeping track of all the clues that should lead me to figure out “who done it” before the writer actually reveals the killer. I know I’ve said this before, but this is one of the reasons why I love being in a book club. We make our book selections and inevitably some of those books I would never have read on my own. And guess what? Sometimes I really enjoy the books. Louise Penny’s Still Life is a perfect example of this phenomenon.
HALF-BLOOD BLUES
Many of you will remember the glowing review my mother wrote of Edugyan’s novel Washington Black (read review here), which was one of my favorite books that year as well. So when I saw that an earlier book of hers had won the Giller prize, I scooped it up from the library immediately. A similarly sweeping historical drama dealing with race across several continents, Half-Blood Blues did not disappoint.
OBASAN
I’ve mentioned before the odd coincidence when I feel that a theme or time period is suddenly everywhere in my life. Right now all of my media seems to be World War II related. Not the most uplifting moment in history, and sometimes downright traumatic. But even though I am feeling a bit inundated, Obasan stood out as a truly remarkable piece of writing.
FIVE LITTLE INDIANS
As I turned the last page of Five Little Indians, I honestly felt a sense of relief. My first instinct was to put it in one of the little free libraries near my house and be done. But over the next few days, I found myself thinking about the characters often and realizing that although their stories were brutal at times, they were also deeply affecting. Perhaps the book held more than I initially experienced.
THE SLEEPING CAR PORTER
Every year when the Giller Prize, one of Canada’s top literary awards, is announced, I buy the book. I finally got around to reading the 2022 winner, The Sleeping Car Porter. This book was engrossing and beautiful and I would never have discovered it if not for the Prize.
EVERY SUMMER AFTER
I absolutely love when I end up reading the right book at the right time, and Every Summer After lined up perfectly with the first warm days of spring in Toronto. This is a true beach read and a very enjoyable one.
WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE
Samra Habib is an Ahmadi Muslim who spent her early childhood in Pakistan before fleeing persecution with her family and settling in Toronto. As a young teen in Canada, Habib faces huge challenges from bullying to being the sole translator for her parents as they navigate a whole new bureaucracy.
WHAT STRANGE PARADISE
What Strange Paradise is an incredibly difficult read emotionally, but one I have to recommend for its tragic portrayal of the hope we all harbor as humans and what good can come from reaching out to one another.
SEA OF TRANQUILITY
I truly believe that Emily St. John Mandel is well on her way to Margaret Atwood status in terms of Canadian authors we (yes, I’m Canadian-ish now) delight in bragging about. My only caveat to demanding that you run out and buy this book and then read it immediately is that if time travel annoys or confuses you, maybe give this a pass.
THE HEART GOES LAST
With an author as prolific as Margaret Atwood, it seems I can always find another of her books to read. I don’t remember how this 2015 novel made its way onto my reading list, but it is a fascinating story with plenty of psychological tricks and thrills, like so many of Atwood’s better-known works.
FALL ON YOUR KNEES
If you are looking for an epic, historical family drama, look no further. Set in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in the first half of the 20th century, Fall On Your Knees weaves together the stories of the Piper family over four generations, as well as the stories of their extended families and neighbors. MacDonald expertly reveals both dark secrets and terrible mistakes her characters make at the same time ensuring you feel the same love for them that she does.
FIFTEEN DOGS
Fifteen Dogs is one of the most entertaining books, with one of the weirdest premises, that I have ever read. Set in and around downtown Toronto, the story begins with a conversation in a bar between the gods Hermes and Apollo, who share a drink and make a wager. They debate whether the cause of human unhappiness is consciousness, and so decide to bestow human consciousness on a group of dogs so see if their lives are made happier by it.
WASHINGTON BLACK
This completely original and unforgettable book will captivate you from beginning to end. Edugyan opens the book with young Washington Black (Wash) who is enduring life as a young slave on a sugar cane plantation on Barbados in 1830. Under the dominion of the ruthlessly cruel plantation owner, Erasmus Wilde, Wash struggles to understand how so little value can be placed on the slaves’ lives.