I must admit, I’m embarrassingly late to jump on the Rosie Thomas train. I consider myself an avid reader, yet I hadn’t even heard of this author until I was handed a free copy of her novel at Book Expo Canada this past June. Much to my surprise, Iris and Ruby is [...]

Posted on July 25th, 2007 by Erin McIntosh
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Set in a small town on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, Baker breathes life into its dusty farmlands and passion into an ordinary German community with layers upon layers of meaning — a pleasant surprise from a first-time novelist.
The Horseman’s Graves tells the story of Lathias, a half-breed farmhand, only a boy himself, who becomes the [...]

Posted on July 25th, 2007 by Erin McIntosh
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Responsibility and Consequences
“I will not desert you! I will protect you by every means in my power, dearest love, whatever you may have done or not have done!” (p.386)
Oh Mr. Hardy, must the female protagonist always die?
In the case of Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the answer is a yes. But not before struggling for her [...]

Posted on April 7th, 2007 by Mary Clare
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Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Wasting Candles
"Thus, in the midst of the mud and at the heart of the fog, sits the Lord High Chancellor in his High Court of Chancery." (p.18)
Those with a penchant for reading about the dark underbelly of Victorian London need go no farther than Charles Dickens Bleak House. Bleak House is [...]

Posted on April 7th, 2007 by Mary Clare
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"Wonderful music like this was the worst hurt there could be.  The whole world was this symphony, and there was not enough of her to listen." (p.143)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a book about people.  It is a book filled with characters that captivate and enchants the reader from the first page until [...]

Posted on April 7th, 2007 by Mary Clare
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"Banana’s rarely acknowledged each other’s existence, and when we did, the sniping and back-stabbing and incessant questioning was ridiculous. We were a ragtag collection of militants, intellectuals, mama’s boys, capitalists, whitewashed sellouts. Why bother even trying? I have no use for a ‘pile of sand.’" – Rick

One of my many favourite quotes from Banana Boys [...]

Posted on April 7th, 2007 by Ehren
Filed under: canadian, literary fiction | 1 Comment »