I recall first reading this in the mid- to late 80s, and it’s been a story that has stuck in my memory as provocative and well written. I don’t think I’ve reread it since then, despite having included it on my ever-changing favourites list for many years. Reading it now, I can see how and... Continue Reading →
The World According to Garp, by John Irving. Pub 1976
It was the summer of 1982. I was 15ish and, while waiting for the bus at the corner of Portage Avenue and Vaughan Street in Winnipeg, I saw the marquee of the theatre across the street advertising the film The World According to Garp. I think I had seen a trailer for the film earlier... Continue Reading →
The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yōko Ogawa. Pub 2003. Translation by Stephen Synder. Pub 2009
In a recent bookshop trip, I sought out more Yöko Ogawa, after enjoying The Memory Police earlier this year. The Housekeeper and the Professor novel is not speculative fiction, but has an emphasis on the role of memory and how it shapes our lives and relationships. The story is about found family and how connections can... Continue Reading →
Matrix, by Lauren Groff. Pub 2021
Another recommendation from my fellow bookclubber, I was looking forward to this book after enjoying Groff’s Fates and Furies last year. While Matrix was good, it wasn’t great. The novel tells the imagined story of Marie de France (who may have been a few other Maries of the 12th century), a quasi-noblewoman in the court... Continue Reading →
My Name is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout. Pub 2021
My fellow bookclubber read and highly recommended this one, so I read it over the Thanksgiving weekend. Like previous Strout reads, this one was very good. Lucy Barton is an author and mother in New York. She grew up in poverty and with a disturbed family, and was able to break away from that by... Continue Reading →
The Silence, by Don DeLillo. Pub 2020
This was an impulse purchase during a recent bookshop trip. I had a vague notion that DeLillo is an important author, and this slim and inexpensive book appealed as an introduction. (I bought a second, longer but also inexpensive book, which will be a future read.) The best word to describe this book is “weird”.... Continue Reading →
The Death of Jesus, by JM Coetzee. Pub 2019
Book three of this trilogy, and I’m left no further ahead in truly understanding all of the connections between the story and Jesus. After finishing this one, I did extensive reading of other reviews and assessments of the books and found many were just as confused as me (although some readers were able to go... Continue Reading →
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. Pub 1899
I first heard of this book on the podcast Backlisted, and then again in a book about banned books. The podcast praise made me interested in reading it, but I was hesitant due to comparisons with Virginia Woolf. Then the book was displayed at a bookshop during a recent shopping trip, so I took it... Continue Reading →
Item #32: Fridge magnets
Most people use the face of their fridge* as a kind of bulletin board, photo album, directory, and home for miscellanea: kids artwork, school and vacation photos, take-out menus, business cards for plumbers and electricians, bills, brochures for events, timetables, mementos, oven mitts, note pads, recipes, utensils. While most of those items are ephemeral or... Continue Reading →
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler. Pub 1993
I don’t recall where I heard about this book or what prompted me to get it, as I was completely unprepared for the story I encountered. Midway through, I did some online poking around to try to remind myself of why I picked this one, and while I found plenty of plaudits and effusive praise,... Continue Reading →
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