I've had this on my radar for a while, since it first came out and won so much acclaim. I love a good retelling of a classic story, whether from another character's perspective (Natalie Haynes is brilliant at this) or transposed into another era (Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead is a great example). The key with these examples is... Continue Reading →
The Ghost Orchard, by Helen Humphreys. Pub 2017
Helen Humphreys is a writer beloved by me for her poetic descriptions, lyrical narratives, and unusual blending of fiction and non-fiction (see Machine Without Horses for a great example). I have read almost her entire oeuvre, but this one (a Christmas gift) had been lingering on my shelves for a few years until recently. On a... Continue Reading →
Pandora’s Jar, by Natalie Haynes. Pub 2020
I took this book on a recent bus trip under the mistaken impression it was a novel. While I was initially disappointed to have no fiction in my travel book selection (the other being a non-fiction maths book), I stuck with it and found it enjoyable and enlightening. I've read two novels by Haynes (both... Continue Reading →
The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali, by Uzma Aslam Khan. Pub 2019
I've read one previous book by Khan (Trespassing) and enjoyed it very much, so was looking forward to this and was not disappointed. Khan has a knack for creating small believable stories within larger historical settings, providing a glimpse into lesser-known situations through her characters. In this novel, we are transported (like most of the... Continue Reading →
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. 20th anniversary edition, pub 2023.
Given the January 2026 revolution on the streets in Iran, this seemed like a timely read, and one I've been meaning to get to for some years. While graphic novels are not usually my thing, it seemed like an interesting way to engage with the topic, and indeed it was. Persepolis (which is actually two... Continue Reading →
Julia, by Sandra Newman. Pub 2023
This is billed as a retelling of George Orwell's 1984, with the imprimatur of approval from the Orwell estate (while the original novel is in the public domain in England, it is still under copyright in the US, and the estate has further protected both the title, the phrase "Big Brother is watching you" and the... Continue Reading →
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones. Pub 2025
This had been lauded by the New York Times on a year-end book review, in a breathless but brief summary, but turned out to be about something much different than I expected. In the last few years, I've been trying to include some writing by Indigenous North Americans (not always Canadian) in my book choices,... Continue Reading →
Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. Pub 1992. 25th anniversary edition, with foreword and afterword, pub 2017.
This book was a gift from someone who suggested I read it while or after I finished the bible. It was certainly an interesting counterpoint. While not great literature, its ideas are highly original and thought-provoking. There is not much of a story in the novel, as it consists almost entirely of a conversation between... Continue Reading →
The Bible, new standard revised version, Catholic edition, Anglicized text. Printed 1995.
My pop used to say that a hallmark of a smart person is that they've read the bible. In the spring, when going through some of his things with my sister, we found his bible - a Jerusalem bible, from 1966. I decided to take on reading it this year, but didn't want to risk... Continue Reading →
Sleeping Children, by Anthony Passeron. Pub 2022. Translation by Frank Wynne, pub 2025.
Another gift from my fellow bookclubber, this autobiographical and historical novel tells the story of the early years of the AIDS pandemic. In parallel chapters, we read about the narrator's uncle, Désiré, the family's golden boy and eventual heroin user who becomes an early case of AIDS, as well as the entire family saga before,... Continue Reading →
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