The Bookseller: David Worsley, Words Worth Books (Waterloo, ON)
The Pick: The Rasmussen Papers by Colleen Gault (Thistledown Press)
An unnamed biographer narrates this sly story of subterfuge, in which the attempt to get to Aubrey Ash's letters and memories of the enigmatic Canadian poet, and his former lover Marianne Rasmussen, is complicated by reticence, secrets and sleight of hand on both sides.
The plan is to rent the room in the Ash residence and charm to an end, but the brothers Ash have a puzzle of their own. This is a literary novel with layers, small gestures that reveal a clicking plot and uncommon depth of character, and with a couple hundred perfect sentences. This'll be tough to top.
*
The Bookstore: Massy Books (Vancouver, BC)
The Bookseller: Erin
The Pick: This Country Is No Longer Yours by Avik Jain Chatlani (Doubleday)
Written from three perspectives – before, during, and after – This Country Is No Longer Yours tells the story of Peru during the Maoist Shining Path campaign, and the aftermath of their defeat. A student visits Cambodia to study the Khmer Rouge regime, and is ultimately inspired by the political violence he witnesses. A government official uses his surveillance training for personal gain. A journalist disregards the pleas of a reader for help to pursue a story of the counter revolution brewing in the foothills of the Andes. Two former guerilla fighters reconnect and find how differently their lives have turned out post war.
This Country Is No Longer Yours focuses on the human toll of war and revolution. With powerful, haunting prose, Jain Chatlani delivers a powerful critique of nationalism, and those who abuse their power, while also warning of zealotry among idealists.
The Bookseller: Dani
The Pick: Behind You by Catherine Hernandez (HarperCollins)
Catherine Hernandez's step into the mystery/thriller genre will send chills down your spine in this fictionalized account of a very real Scarborough serial killer. An all-too-familiar commentary on toxic masculinity & rape culture that keeps you asking who the real perpetrator is. Is it the man next door, your coworker, a stranger you pass on the street, or someone in your own home? Or, is everyone complicit in creating a culture that normalizes the everyday violence against women & femmes?
Behind You stares straight into the eyes of the shadows that follow women and femmes through their everyday lives, and the sexist narratives that blame victims for what happens in those shadows. This story, however, is not just about the darkness. It's also about the light that guides us through the darkness and back to ourselves. It's about chosen family, consent, hope, and the many corners of our lives where healing can live. It is a reminder we are not defined by what has happened to us.
*
The Bookseller: Mike, Bookmark Booksellers (Halifax, NS)
The Picks: Moon of the Crusted Snow (ECW Press) and Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
After watching people pick up Moon of the Crusted Snow with such a great sense of enthusiasm and excitement for so long, I finally invested myself. I was completely captivated by Waubgeshig Rice's tale of a northern community's strength in the face of ecological disaster and societal breakdown. Having now finished Moon of the Turning Leaves, I am more convinced than ever that Rice is one of our most compelling storytellers and talented writers. I would follow him anywhere and truly wish he might reconsider writing a third instalment. I miss these characters dearly and want to continue on their journey as they strive to build a better future in a more green and benevolent world.
*
The Bookseller: Shelley Macbeth, Blue Heron Books (Uxbridge, ON)
The Pick: The Good Women of Safe Harbour by Bobbi French (HarperCollins)
Stayed up late and cried my eyes out with this one. Bobbi French has beautifully captured childhood friendship and how everything in life can change in the blink of an eye. Mental health, trauma, kindness, and rebirth are all handled deftly. The characters are skilfully portrayed and the East Coast "voice" is clear. This one will stay with me.
*
The Bookseller: Nena Rawdah, Cross & Crows Books (Vancouver, BC)
The Pick: The Jellyfish/La méduse by Boum, translated by Robin Lang and Helge Dascher (Pow Pow Press)
Probably the biggest delight and surprise of this summer for me has been The Jellyfish/La méduse, a graphic novel by Montréal artist Boum, translated by Robin Lang and Helge Dascher. The restrained, atmospheric ink art is beautiful and essential to telling a tender story of a nonbinary bookseller and artist who is in a new relationship—and experiencing the early stages of a new disability. Nonbinary identity and disability are both underrepresented in literature; this own-voice graphic novel eloquently expands those universes for its readers.
*
The Bookseller: Jo Treggiari, Block Shop Books (Lunenburg, NS)
The Picks:
Grey Dog by Elliott Gish (ECW Press)
An atmospheric, gothic, literary historical in which the suspense grows insidiously, entangling the reader in various tentacles which blur reality with delusion, until the inevitable end. Debut author (and Haligonian) Gish has crafted a very clever allegorical novel where the sexuality, female power, and self-discovery of the God outside war with the societal mores and strictures of the God inside. Our buttoned-up heroine Ada, a spinster schoolmarm in 1901 with few options available to her, is wrestling with a tragic loss, and encumbered by a shameful secret from the past that keeps her under her father's thumb, as well as the other male authority figures of the new small town community she becomes part of. The building darkness, told through Ada's diary, meshes with her growing acceptance of her sexuality and her desire to defy expectations. It is a wonderful thing to see her begin to push against her limitations and embrace her wild heart. A feminist horror for readers of Sarah Waters and Anne-Marie MacDonald.
A Gentleman and a Thief by Dean Jobb (HarperCollins)
Haligonian and Kings’ professor Jobb's newest meticulously researched true-crime historical almost reads like a novel with its taut plot and surprising turn of events. To borrow a phrase from The Barnacle's editor, Jesse Ward, there's an almost Gumpesque (as in Forrest Gump) quality in the way that Arthur Barry, our gentleman jewel thief, interacts with notable personages of the day (e.g., The Prince of Wales, Houdini and some notable gangsters of the era). The "day" is the heyday of the Jazz Age, the locale is New York and Long Island, and these are the glittering, excessive and carpe diem times of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby. Jobb has an uncanny ability to breathe life into his characters and settings, giving us all the minutiae which really set the stage. The result is a propulsive pace that places the reader on the edge of their seat and encourages them to keep turning the pages. Barry is a complex character, flawed yes, but we can't help but root for him, as we're granted a window into his remarkable life. Recommended for fans of Erik Larson and David Grann and PS it's already a Canadian bestseller!
Lockjaw by Matteo Cerilli (Tundra)
A creatively-told, somewhat experimental YA novel that combines supernatural horror with coming of age and the power of friendship, and includes themes of deep-rooted generational biases, queer identity, rage and revenge. Debut author Cerilli masterfully plots a slow-burn thriller from multiple perspectives, which demands the reader pays close attention. Jumping back and forth in time, Cerilli lays plenty of breadcrumbs, culminating in a powerful twist. The small-town setting is claustrophobia-inducing and haunting. This is an assured, multi-layered story, dark and propulsive and suspense-building. The marginalized characters are fully dimensional, and trans and queer kids are portrayed realistically and empathetically. The reader grows to love these kids and the twisty reveals by story's end resonate long after the last page is turned.
*
The Bookseller: Christina Kinney, The Mulberry Bush Book Store (Qualicum Beach, BC)
The Pick: The Off Season by Amber Cowie (Simon & Schuster)
For fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware, this is a twisty suspense by a local BC author, based on her two favourite novels, Rebecca and The Shining.
I enjoyed Amber’s writing style and talent for keeping the story moving quickly with creepy, sinister vibes. It's about an off-season stay at a remote grand hotel which becomes a filmmaker's nightmare. No one is as they appear and everyone has dark secrets.
Such a great summer read and highly recommended to take your mind away while sitting at the beach. A perfect thriller to read this summer!
*
The Bookseller: Julie Hillier-Vrolyk, The Book Keeper (Sarnia, ON)
The Pick: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune (Penguin)
Carley Fortune shot to bestseller status with her first two novels set in Muskoka: Every Summer After and Meet Me at the Lake. They were instant bestsellers for weeks and Meet Me at the Lake was featured this year on Canada Reads.
This Summer Will Be Different IS different. It takes place between P.E.I. and Toronto. You will want it to stay in P.E.I. because that is where the hunk is. This book has gloriously beautiful descriptive writing that has you tasting the salty air, feeling the wind in your hair, hearing that squeak in the sofa bed and seeing the P.E.I. sand and shoreline.
Why is this the perfect summer read? It has a sexy guy with locks of hair constantly falling over his forehead. A woman, appropriately dressed in red and white gingham for her first visit to the island. Lots of sexual tension and lots of "release." Oyster shucking – lots of it, with lots of muscles straining a white t-shirt while it’s happening. Championship oyster shucking. The classic romance with two people trying hard not to fall into lust (too late) or love with each other.
*
The Bookseller: Colin Holt, Bolen Books (Victoria, BC)
The Pick: Matty Matheson: Home Style Cookery (Abrams Books)
Home Style Cookery is one of those fantastic cookbooks that is equal parts easy-to-follow recipes, gorgeous mouthwatering photographs and highly entertaining commentary and anecdotes. It is perfect to go-to cookbook if you need to put together the perfect meal for your next dinner party or if you just have a few minutes to read about why tomatoes are the greatest fruit in the world.
*
The Bookseller: Adriana Burns, Audreys Books (Edmonton, AB)
The Picks:
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (Picador)
Ray Nayler blends the realism of marine biology with the awe-inspiring world of science fiction. Sentient octopi are discovered on a remote island in Vietnam which triggers a global race to dominate the future. This book covers themes of identity, language, and culture under the exploitation of a mega science corporation. Ideas that are not far fetched in this day and age. In short Nayler draws parallels to cultural exploitations from corporations in our world to that in his book. Though Nayler doesn't live here anymore, his Canadian roots and themes of language and identity are something that are deeply rooted in the mosaic of current society.
The Sky Is Falling (The Guests of War Series Book 1) by Kit Pearson (Tundra)
The Guests of War novels are the first books I chose for myself fifteen years ago and couldn't have been more grateful for. Set during the Evacuation of British children to Canada in World War Two the story of siblings Nora and Gavin are one of many during that time. Kit Pearson writes about the transition to Canadian society for young children who have had to leave their families across the world. The trilogy takes place from 1940–1945. A snapshot of a time that is now a distant memory but provides a glimpse into Canadian life during World War Two.
Les Belles Soeurs by Michel Tremblay
A classic piece of Quebec literature, originally published in French, depicts class and language realities of the 1960s. Middle-class women who internally battle the "real" Parisian French by being shamelessly themselves in an authentic working class environment. Each of the fourteen characters have their own hopes, dreams and struggles. Tremblay is a pioneer of staging the realities of Québécois life with real people and real language. Up until the late 1960s much of Quebec literature and media was all in Parisian French, much different than the culture of Quebec. Distinctive Quebec vernacular from Tremblay's work has made him "the Father of the Quebecois language.” All Canadians can enjoy the raucous and rude woman of Les Belles Soeurs.
*
The Bookseller: Molly Kines, Russell Books (Victoria, BC)
The Picks:
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf)
The perfect book to encourage some serious reflection this summer. Is our world a simulation? In weird moments of déjà vu, or intense beauty, or inexplicable strangeness – are we experiencing a glitch, a fault in the illusion of reality? Emily St. John Mandel writes speculative fiction beautifully, which is to say that she uses a fictional, futuristic world to explain the present. She asks questions that afflict us all, about whether or not our world is real, whether or not it even matters, and ultimately, what it is to live a meaningful and good life. Read this – and remember, even if the whole simulation idea scares you, “A life lived in a simulation is still a life.” Right?
Fight Night by Miriam Toews (Knopf)
If you're looking for something that is at once laugh-out-loud funny and dark in the most human of ways, this book is for you! Toews deals masterfully with mental illness, with loss, and with a young girl’s struggle to accept life’s inevitable impermanence. Her writing is simple, yet chock-full of vivid imagery about how life is a constant fight to keep breathing, surviving, and loving. Ultimately, this story tells us that, sometimes, we have to forgive the people we love for not being strong enough to keep fighting. Sometimes, we have to put aside our anger, and we have to keep going with our own fight to live — because life is too strange and wonderful not to. Heartbreaking, funny, yet ultimately beautiful, this novel will stay in your heart for a long time.
Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro (Penguin)
Describing this book as a young woman named Del's coming-of-age story simply does not do it justice. Munro, through Del, explores gender roles, sexuality, religion, faith, in wonderfully descriptive and probing ways -- and you finish the book just in awe of her skill as a writer, her humour, and her observations of the world around her. My favourite line: "People’s lives, in Jubilee as elsewhere, were dull, simple, amazing, and unfathomable – deep caves paved with kitchen linoleum." There is so much beauty to be found in the everyday rhythm of our lives, and Alice Munro captures that every time. Discover a Canadian icon this summer – you won't regret it!
*
The Bookseller: Michelle Berry, bookseller emeritus (Peterborough, ON)
The Pick: Denison Avenue by Christina Wong and Daniel Innes (ECW Press)
Denison Avenue is an incredibly moving story about an elderly Chinese woman, Wong Cho Sum, whose husband suddenly dies and leaves her grieving and bereft in a rapidly gentrifying Toronto Chinatown. Wong Cho Sum roams the streets, taking note of the people and the shops, making friends, observing everything. She eventually decides to collect and return bottles, as an attempt to fill her lonely, changing life. Illustrated by Daniel Innes, with Wong Cho Sum’s dialogue written in Toisan dialect, this book is as much a novel as an art piece. Beautiful and moving, it is no wonder Denison Avenue has been such a success.
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