Tag: drama
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Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Pachinko is one of those novels that I felt I should have read a while ago. It had been recommended to me so many times, by so many different friends I was curious how I would finally react once I read it. It’s a meaty book that made it perfect for my 2022 holiday break,…
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The Boat People by Sharon Bala
Sharon Bala’s The Boat People is controversial, to say the least. Featured in the 2018 Canada Reads competition only to be ousted on day one, it takes an honest attempt to steer the course of Canadian conversation by directly addressing one of our hot-button issues of the moment. In this case, the refugee crisis. Starting in 2009,…
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Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
I first saw Hot Milk in the recommended books section at Green Apple Books in San Francisco. Its beautiful cover and intriguing title drew my attention but I passed on it to save room in my suitcase. This past Christmas, a friend gifted it to me from an equally cool bookstore here in Toronto, ReReading,…
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A Year of Missed Reviews
A lot has happened in 2017, I took a short break from blogging which turned into a long break so I could focus on my job and non-profit activities. I don’t regret my choice really but every now and again I’ll be riding the subway or walking down the street and I would think of…
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The Back of the Turtle by Thomas King
The Back of the Turtle by Thomas King was recommended to me by the same friend (and fan of King) who suggested I read Truth and Bright Water. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I loved both of them! The Back of the Turtle follows a few different characters, each chapter alternating…
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No Place Strange by Diana Fitzgerald Bryden
I seem to have made it a habit of picking books that are difficult to write about even though I know that I will spend more time going back and forth about what I can and can’t say than actually sitting down and trying to write a review. First, it was student suicide, now it…
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Monoceros by Suzette Mayr
Lately, I’ve been challenging myself to read more outside of my comfort zone. When I spotted Monoceros‘ beautiful cover on the discount shelf at TYPE Books, I thought why not give it a shot? I read the summary on the back and it seemed alright. I was not disappointed! Inside was a beautiful and tragic story. Unfortunately,…
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No-No Boy by John Okada
I picked up John Okada’s No-No Boy in the Alcatraz Island gift shop when I was visiting San Francisco. It was part of a display about the time period that Alcatraz prison existed in, and when I found out that Okada’s novel is considered the first Asian-American novel I knew it was going to be my choice…
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Tales from The Moth
The Moth is releasing its second book, All These Wonders on March 21st! What better time to review their first collection? From the outset, I wasn’t sure how I was going to write about The Moth book, or even if I should. As a collection of stories from the incredibly popular podcast and touring show, which features…
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Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
The funny thing with reading a lot and only writing in my odd spare moment on weekends means that I often have to remind myself what I read and if I had written a blog about it yet. I was surprised this morning when I realized that I hadn’t actually written my review of Hag-Seed…
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Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Do Not Say We Have Nothing is a critically acclaimed new novel from Madeleine Thien. Winner of the Giller Prize and Governor General’s Award as well as shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and longlisted for an Andrew Carnegie Medal, it is effectively the book of 2016. I can’t believe I actually read it before…
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Family Life by Akhil Sharma
I was transfixed reading Akhil Sharma’s Family Life. The semi-autobiographical novel is full and heavy with grief and comedy following the story of the Mishtra family from the perspective of Ajay, the youngest son, as they cope not only with immigrating to America from India but the tragic loss of their eldest child. Birju becomes brain…