Literary Novels from my Stacks

Wendy, at Caribousmom, wrote a post a couple days ago about themed reading. She tends to collect literary prize winners and then they sit on her TBR pile. I always pay particular attention to the Canadian Award Winners. In November she is planning to read the Giller winners/nominess that she owns and in December the Governor General Awards. My reading tends to slow down near the end of the year, but should I be able to stick with it, I thought maybe I would join in. These are the books I have on my TBR pile that would fit:

Giller Awards:

(I only went with winners & the short list. If I included long-list we could be here for a while.)
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The Piano Man's Daughter by Timothy Findley
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Cure for Death by Lightening by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe
Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo
A Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
A Good House by Bonnie Burnard
Pilgrim by Timothy Findley
A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay
The Russlander by Sandra Birdsell
Martin Sloane by Michael Redhill
Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor
The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart
The Polished Hoe by Austen Clarke
The Navigator of New York by Wayne Johnston
The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji
The Island Walkers by John Bemrose
The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald
The Time in Between by David Bergen
The Assassin's Song by M.G. Vassanji
Effigy by Alissa York
Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon
The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels

Governor General Awards:

Fiction:

(Winners and the Short List.)
The Origin of Species by Nino Ricci
Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe
Nights Below Station Street by David Adam Richards
The Wars by Timothy Findley
The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott
Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
The Last Highway by David Adams Richards
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley

Non-fiction:

(These are just the winners. I will have to find the short lists because I know I own more...)
Christie Blatchford, Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army
Karolyn Smardz Frost, I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad
Lt.-Gen. Roméo Dallaire, Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
Pierre Berton, The Last Spike

Fall by Colin McAdam

A masterpiece of adolescent perspective, emotion, impulse, and relationships: the riveting story of two male roommates at a co-ed boarding school and what happens when the girlfriend of one of them goes missing during their final year.

From an internationally acclaimed, prizewinning author, whom critics have compared to Dave Eggers and Michael Ondaatje, comes a tour de force: a mesmerizing novel that is at once a spellbinding psychological thriller and a brilliant portrait of adolescence that goes deep into the heads of two very different boys.

Awkward Noel thinks he's been allowed into the inner circle of his elite boarding school when he discovers his senior-year roommate is to be handsome, athletic Julius. Julius, in turn, cares only for the fleeting joys of teenage life: sneaking out to parties, playing pranks with friends, and most of all, spending the night with his girfriend, Fall. As Noel narrates this fateful semester from a perspective of many years, interwoven is Julius's own in-the-moment experiences of first love and male camaraderie.

Always an outsider, Noel develops an unhealthy fascination with Julius, and his crush on Fall begins to border on a dangerous obsession. As Julius experiences all the pleasures of an eighteen-year-old in love, we watch as Noel self-consciously analyzes his interactions with Julius and Fall, convincing himself of a deep connection that might not exist. When Fall disappears close to winter break, Julius and Noel are forced to face their own inner desires, a confrontation that ushers the two boys out of the innocence of adolescence and into adulthood.

A tremendous literary page-turner that perfectlycaptures the agonies and delights of adolescence, Fall is the exhilaration and angst of teenage love and friendship- and the ultimate transience of those feelings.

From BarnesandNoble.com

I was going to leave 2009 in the past and start fresh for 2010, but there are a few books I read last year and loved. I thought they at least deserved a review. I read this book because it was shortlisted for the Canadian Giller Award. I always plan to read them all, and I own most of them, but my reading always slows down at about this time of the year. Needless to say I did get around to a few of them and this was my favourite so far. There was a time in the middle of the book where I thought it was going to all come crashing down, but McAdam managed to keep the novel alive for me. I was disappointed it didn't win the Giller, but I also haven't read the book that did win yet. If it was better than this one it must be a really great read!

This book takes place in a boarding school, which I have discovered is an aspect of novels that I really enjoy. I am not even sure why, but some of my favourite reads from the last few years have taken place in boarding schools. I thought that McAdam wrote very believable characters that have stayed with me even though a few months have gone by since I have read the book. Even scenes from the novel are still circulating in my mind as I write this review. It is not like it is about things that have never been written about, but it is done in such a way that will keep you on the edge of your seat. While I can not necessarily relate to the experiences that these teens have, I can relate to the emotions that you experience as a teen and are trying to fit in any way that you can. It was a very believable book.

I really think you need to give this book a read. It is easily one of my favourite Canadian reads from 2009. I am looking forward to reading more from McAdam in the future. I think he has a Giller in his future if he can keep up the strengths of this novel.

This was my very first read of a review copy from Penguin Canada. I am very happy that my first experience was a win!

Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

The long-awaited new novel from Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood is a brilliant visionary imagining of the future that calls to mind her classic novel The Handmaid’s Tale.

Adam One, the kindly leader of God’s Gardeners — a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion — has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have been spared: Ren, a young trapeze-dancer, locked inside a high-end sex club; and one of God’s Gardeners, Toby, who is barricaded inside a luxurious spa. Have others survived?

By turns dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and witty, The Year of the Flood unfolds Toby’s and Ren’s stories during the years prior to their meeting again. The novel not only brilliantly reflects to us a world we recognize but poignantly reminds us of our enduring humanity.

Today is a buddy review with Chris from book-a-rama. This is the first time, but hopefully not the last. The review is broken into two parts. The first part is posted here and the second half is posted on Chris' blog.

Kelly: I think the best way to start this conversation off is to say why we read the book in the first place! I actually am not a big Atwood fan; but for some reason I bought Oryx & Crake when it first came out IN HARDCOVER. I have no idea why looking back, but I am sure I had a great reason at the time... Anyway, I ended up really liking it and when I heard that this book was connected to it I once again acted like a crazy person and bought an Atwood book in hardcover. How about you?

Chris: I like Atwood's dystopian novels, like Handmaid's Tale and Oryx & Crake. When I heard that The Year of the Flood was a sequel (sort of) to Oryx & Crake I wanted to read it. I really liked that it was a different point of view of the events in Oryx & Crake. Jimmy wasn't a very reliable narrator being self-absorbed and drunk or crazy a lot of the time, so seeing what else was happening in the outside world was interesting. Did you like that aspect of the book?

Kelly: I have to be honest that I hardly remembered Oryx & Crake... It came back to me as I read it, but it took me a while. I read Oryx & Crake back when it first came out, so it wasn't very fresh in my memory. I really liked the narrators to this book, though.

Chris: I think I read it 2 years ago. I remembered more of it as it too. I didn't recognize Glenn or Jimmy right away. I liked the female narrators as well.

Kelly: I actually think I will probably reread Oryx & Crake now that I have read this one. I want to remember the story better. Did you feel the urge to read it again?

Chris: I do. I'd like to compare the two books in case I missed anything.

Kelly: I know I missed a lot! It was too long ago! Who was your favourite narrator?

Chris: I really liked Ren. She was always so optimistic even though things were so bleak. What an odd career she had. What about you?

Kelly: I would probably say Ren, too, but I also liked Toby a lot, too. She is probably who I could see myself more in. I suppose we can't really talk about this book without discussing the Gardeners. What did you think about them?

Chris: Yeah, it's hard to choose. I liked Toby too even though she could be harsh at times.... The Gardeners. At first I thought they were just a bunch of nut jobbers but then I wondered if they were smart to hide their politics behind their bizarre dogma.

Kelly: I think Toby had to be harsh. She had a rough life and that is how she chose to deal with it all.

Chris: Yes, the stuff with her parents hardened her.
Kelly: I know. I thought the Gardeners were a bit odd in the beginning! But, as the novel progressed and we saw their story more, I thought they were a lot more than we were first lead to see them as. It impressed me, really, at times.

Chris: Yes, especially since it turned out that they were right. A lot of them had nowhere else to go and didn't believe in the whole thing themselves. But I think Adam One believed in it with his whole heart.

Kelly: I know. Adam One seemed to know what everyone needed better than they knew themselves. His entire character could have been a bit odd, but I actually think he was written pretty well.
Chris: He was a good leader. I wonder what he was before the Gardeners. What did you think about the weird science in the book?

Kelly: Me too! He would have been a good narrator. I was really curious about him and I don't think we got to see enough of him.
As to the science, it was all about strange. I think that was the point, though. Atwood was trying to make a point about science and how it can get a bit overdone. I think, anyways. What did you think?

Chris: There were no ethics. If they could do it, they would. It was terrifying! Those pigoons were awful. And lionbams- that was a ridiculous idea. Science without ethics is a bad idea. There has to be a line of "ok, this is too out there. Stop."

Kelly: The thought process behind why they combined lions and lambs was just crazy, didn't you think! It almost made sense it was so out there. It's a scary world, and we are actually not that far away from it...

To read the second half of the review head over to book-a-rama. Enjoy!

Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

It turns out that is it buddy review week. I hope it is not too many in a row! This one is a buddy review with Melissa from Book Nut. This is the first half of the review. To read the second half you have to go Melissa's blog. Enjoy!

Kelly: I guess we should start with a bit of a background. For those that don't know, I live in Canada and Melissa lives in the U.S. We were trying to decide on a buddy read and I thought that reading a Canadian book together would be fun. So, I sent Melissa a list of books on my TBR pile and she checked it against her library and Sweetness in the Belly won. I have wanted to read this book for a very long time, so I was glad to finally get an oppurtunity to.

Melissa: Why?

Kelly: Well, for starters, because it was nominated for the Giller Award (a Canadian book award) and I would like to try and read them all. Then, when it came out people were saying good things about it.

Melissa: How did you hear about this book?

Kelly: Not sure, actually. I think I actually saw it on the bookshelves when it first came out and thought it looked good by the book description, but I didn't really know anything about it . Then, it started to get some press and I decided I really wanted to read it. I have had it in my hands several times to buy, but only just recently bought it at a thrift store. Have you ever heard of it before?

Melissa: Nope. I was actually surprised my library had it. Then again, I'm not exactly up on the book awards -- American or Canadian... I think it's also because books about Africa aren't really on my radar.

Kelly: When I recommended it for us to read, I actually couldn't remember what it was about. I didn't read the back when I bought it recently. I just added it to the pile.

Melissa: Going off what you "usually" read: it's not something that you tend to gravitate to, is it?

Kelly: Nope! I knew about it because it was a Canadian book (in a sense), but otherwise the subject matter was not something I was familiar with at all. I never would have gone to the bookstore looking for a book set in Africa during the 1974 revolution and beyond in Ethiopia. It's not to say that isn't interesting, but I didn't know there was a revoution during the '70's in Ethiopia. It was entirely a new subject for me. What about you? Did you know about the events portrayed in the novel?

Melissa: You know, it's Canadian only because the author is Canadian: I would describe it as an African book.The only thing I could tell you about Ethiopia during that time is from the We Are the World video from 1984. I'm so undereducated about that part of the world. Which was, actually, one of the things I really liked about the book.

Kelly: Me too. But, like I said, I didn't know that at the time. My thoughts have changed now.

Melissa: I liked how Gibb wove the history in with the story; it wasn't ALL about the history, but there was enough there for the reader to get a sense of what was going on in that country during that time. What really surprised me was how much classism? division? there was in Ethiopia itself.

Kelly: Yes, while on the one hand the history was important, on the other hand this is the story of Lilly and her struggles as a daughter of deceased British parents being raised as a Muslim in a country that is predominately darker skinned. She was an outsider and was actually looked down on as a result. Then, when she went to Britain later she had to deal with all the things that had happened to her in Ethiopia and that she had lost.

Melissa: And yet, in spite of all the opposition, especially in Ethiopia, she was able to make a place for herself. Interestingly, it was more difficult for her in England because of all that she went through in Ethiopia. I liked how Lilly saw herself as Ethiopian, how she identified more. It was less about color and race and more about culture and shared experiences.

Kelly: I know! Lilly was actually a really great character. She didn't really see her limitations as anything to worry about. She just did what she need to do to survive. She fell in love with someone considered of a very low standing in Ethiopia because of how dark he was, but didn't let other people's opinions stop her. She changed a lot when she got to Britain, though. I didn't always know if I liked her or not. She seemed to have really given up, which was a shame because she was so strong. She never saw anything wrong with being a white, Muslim in Ethiopia and I really liked that.

Melissa: I liked that, too. I also liked that she didn't see color at all when dealing with people; she just saw people. So, it was confusing to her, all the different distinctions people would make between what is good, and what is appropriate. I didn't know if I liked her English self. Perhaps it was because what she and Aziz had was so fleeting? But, I agree: she had given up hope. What did you think of the religious aspect of the book?

Kelly: I thought they were really interesting, actually. I just recently read a religious memoir, Girl Meets God, with Eva from A Striped Armchair and I have been thinking a lot about my total ignorance of religion. I know the basics, but when you get any fancier than that I am totally lost. For example, it was a bit into the book before I understood it was strange for a white woman to be Muslim. It never even crossed my mind that it wasn't the norm! I also enjoyed that here she was, a white woman back living in Britain and she held on to her beliefs while the other women around her that were actually of Ethiopian descent were adopting white ways. Even if I don't actively practice a religion, I have always been impressed by those that believe so strongly in something that they cannot be swayed.

To read the second half of the review head to Melissa's blog!

Giller-a-thon

Those that have been reading my blog for more than a couple months will know that every year I make the lofty goal of reading the Giller-nominated books for the given year. I wasn't sure if I was going to do it this year because of financial restraints (meaning I really don't need anymore books, so stay away from the bookstore) and timing (so many books I want to read, so little time). Then, yesterday, the short-list was announced. I have not read any of the books on it, but I own them all! I was shocked! This means that I will be doing my Giller-a-thon afterall. The goal is to read all five books before the winner is announced.

The short listed books are:

Linden MacIntyre – The Bishop’s Man
Kim Echlin – The Disappeared
Colin McAdam – Fall
Anne Michaels – The Winter Vault
Annabel Lyon – The Golden Mean

As to the list. If the Michaels wasn't on the long-list, I probably never would have got it or read it. I am one of those few human beings that didn't like Fugitive Pieces at all! Otherwise, I have another book by Linden MacIntyre on my TBR pile. That is the extent of my familiarity with these authors.

And, yes, I was shocked that Margaret Atwood didn't make the list. I also wondered about Alice Munro, but I guess she removed herself from the running! I missed that announcement. As to Atwood, I am actually not a bit Atwood fan. The only book by her I have ever read and enjoyed was Oryx & Crake. The Handmaid's Tale was all right, but it took me three or four tries to finish that book. There is something about her writing that just doesn't appeal to me. So, even though it didn't make the list, I will still be reading Year of the Flood because it is a companion book to the only book by her I ever really enjoyed!

Speaking of Canadian books, there is something else on the agenda for today! I was talking to Chris, from Stuff as Dreams are Made on on Twitter the other night and we got on the topic of Canadian books and authors. It turns out that Chris has not read very many Canadian authors! This lead to me being given (or, well volunteering) the chance to pick a Canadian book for Chris to read! Unfortunately, the book I wanted him to read is not available at his library. He is on a book-buying ban, so buying was really out.

After careful consideration, though, I have decided that he should read Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King. It is one of my favourite Canadian fiction books.

Giller Long-List

I am not doing very well with Canadian fiction this year! The Giller long-list was announced and I haven't read anything off it!

• Margaret Atwood – The Year of the Flood
• Martha Bailie – The Incident Report
• Kim Echlin – The Disappeared
• Claire Holden Rothman – The Heart Specialist
  
• Paulette Jiles – The Colour Of Lightning
• Jeanette Lynes – The Factory Voice
• Annabel Lyon – The Golden Mean
• Linden MacIntyre – The Bishop’s Man
• Colin McAdam – Fall
• Anne Michaels – The Winter Vault
• Shani Mootoo – Valmiki’s Daughter
• Kate Pullinger – The Mistress of Nothing

I do own Margaret Atwood and Paulette Jiles' books, but that's it. Normally I try to read the whole list, but maybe this year I will have to wait for the short list... What about you? Read anything on the list that you recommend?

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

This brilliant novel with universal resonance tells the story of three people trying to survive in a city rife with the extreme fear of desperate times, and of the sorrowing cellist who plays undaunted in their midst.

One day a shell lands in a bread line and kills twenty-two people as the cellist watches from a window in his flat. He vows to sit in the hollow where the mortar fell and play Albinoni’s Adagio once a day for each of the twenty-two victims. The Adagio had been re-created from a fragment after the only extant score was firebombed in the Dresden Music Library, but the fact that it had been rebuilt by a different composer into something new and worthwhile gives the cellist hope.

Meanwhile, Kenan steels himself for his weekly walk through the dangerous streets to collect water for his family on the other side of town, and Dragan, a man Kenan doesn’t know, tries to make his way towards the source of the free meal he knows is waiting. Both men are almost paralyzed with fear, uncertain when the next shot will land on the bridges or streets they must cross, unwilling to talk to their old friends of what life was once like before divisions were unleashed on their city. Then there is “Arrow,” the pseudonymous name of a gifted female sniper, who is asked to protect the cellist from a hidden shooter who is out to kill him as he plays his memorial to the victims.

In this beautiful and unforgettable novel, Steven Galloway has taken an extraordinary, imaginative leap to create a story that speaks powerfully to the dignity and generosity of the human spirit under extraordinary duress.

In my attempt to read Giller-nominated books, I am crossing another one off my list! Having not yet read all of them, and I doubt I ever will, I have to still say this... I think this book should have made the short-list. I am also not surprised it didn't. There was just something about this book that pulled me. About a very dark period in the earth's history, this is the story of people surviving the only ways that they know how.

My favourite part of this book, though, was the cellist. He has made it his mission to play the cello where a group of people were killed waiting in a breadline. Twenty-two died, so he has made it his mission to play everyday for twenty-two days. One of the characters in the book, Kenan, goes to listen to the man play and I really like how the experience is described, so I am going to quote:

None of that matters to Kenan anymore. He stares at the cellist, and feels himself relax as the music seeps into him. He watches as the cellist's hair smoothes itself out, his beard disappears. A dirty tuxedo becomes clean, shoes polished bright as mirrors. Kenan hasn't heard the cellist's tune before, but he knows it anyway, its notes familiar and full of pride, a young boy in a new coat holding his father's hand as he walks down a winter street.

The building behind the cellist repairs itself. The scars of bullets and shrapnel are covered by plaster and paint, and windows reassemble, clarify and sparkle as the sun reflects off glass. The cobblestones of the road set themselves straight. Around him people stand up taller, their faces put on weight and color. Clothes gain lost thread, brighten, smooth out their wrinkles.

This is a quote from page 209, so the book is nearing its conclusion. It goes on from there, and I just love this imagery.... but then I don't at the same time. Reading is my main hobby, but I also have a soft spot for music, and so, while I cannot relate to the circumstances, I can related to the idea. This is what music does, really. It brings hope. This novel shows one more instance of people doing horrible things to other people, but a short period of time for twenty-two days... these people have hope. The story is told from the viewpoint of three different people. It's horrible, really, what people go through. These three people are battling their own personal battles, and at the centre, their is this man and his musical tribute.

Like I said, I haven't read all of the Giller-nominated books, but I am very happy that I read this one. I can't even say I love it... I just think it is a book that will stick with me for a long time. If you get a chance to read it, I recommend that you do! It could easily be a book about a lot more than just that one period in history.

And, this is another book for the 2nd Canadian Challenge, eh?

My thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book!

Conceit by Mary Novik

"St Paul's cathedral stands like a cornered beast on Ludgate hill, taking deep breaths above the smoke. The fire has made terrifying progress in the night and is closing in on the ancient monument from three directions. Built of massive stones, the cathedral is held to be invincible, but suddenly Pegge sees what the flames covet: the two hundred and fifty feet of scaffolding erected around the broken tower. Once the flames have a foothold on the wooden scaffolds, they can jump to the lead roof, and once the timbers burn and the vaulting cracks, the cathedral will be toppled by its own mass, a royal bear brought down by common dogs." (p.9)

It is the Great Fire of 1666. The imposing edifice of St. Paul's Cathedral, a landmark of London since the twelfth century, is being reduced to rubble by the flames that engulf the City.

In the holocaust, Pegge and a small group of men struggle to save the effigy of her father, John Donne, famous love poet and the great Dean of St. Paul's. Making their way through the heat and confusion of the streets, they arrive at Paul's wharf. Pegge's husband, William Bowles, anxiously scans the wretched scene, suddenly realizing why Pegge has asked him to meet her at this desperate spot.

The story behind this dramatic rescue begins forty years before the fire. Pegge Donne is still a rebellious girl, already too clever for a world that values learning only in men, when her father begins arranging marriages for his five daughters, including Pegge. Pegge, however, is desperate to taste the all-consuming desire that led to her parents' clandestine marriage, notorious throughout England for shattering social convention and for inspiring some of the most erotic and profound poetry ever written. She sets out to win the love of Izaak Walton, a man infatuated with her older sister.

Stung by Walton's rejection and jealous of her physically mature sisters, the boyish Pegge becomes convinced that it is her own father who knows the secret of love. She collects his poems, hoping to piece together her parents' history, searching for some connection to the mother she barely knew.

Intertwined with Pegge's compelling voice are those of Ann More and John Donne, telling us of the courtship that inspired some of the world's greatest poetry of love and physical longing. Donne's seduction leads Ann to abandon social convention, risk her father's certain wrath, and elope with Donne. It is the undoing of his career and the two are left to struggle in a marriage that leads to her death in her twelfth childbirth at age thirty-three.

In Donne's final days, Pegge tries, in ways that push the boundaries of daughterly behaviour, to discover the key to unlock her own sexuality. After his death, Pegge still struggles to free herself from an obsession that threatens to drive her beyond the bounds of reason. Even after she marries, she cannot suppress her independence or her desire to experience extraordinary love.

Conceit brings to life the teeming, bawdy streets of London, the intrigue-ridden court, and the lushness of the seventeenth-century English countryside. It is a story of many kinds of love — erotic, familial, unrequited, and obsessive — and the unpredictable workings of the human heart. With characters plucked from the pages of history, Mary Novik's debut novel is an elegant, fully-imagined story of lives you will find hard to leave behind.

Well, I was on my way to bed when I happened to glance at my book pile in my bedroom and my eyes fell on this book. I forgot to review it! So, I headed back to my computer to remedy that. Conceit came to my attention last year because it was short-listed for the Giller Awards. Not surprisingly, I am still reading Giller nominees from last year this year. I should have got around to this book sooner because I must say, it was a very good read!

The problem with this review is that product description is rather long and detailed, so I don't really want to rehash what is already said above. I must say, I seem to be experiencing a theme where I read books with the main female character being rather eccentric. I read a lot of books where females are the main characters, and lately, they have been a rather interesting bunch. Pegge is just another working their way into that theme. I love her, though. She had a very engaging voice and you never knew quite what she was going to do next. The story follows her from her childhood to her older years when her children are all grown up, so you get a good taste of her as a person.

I am amazed that this is Novik's debut novel. Once upon a time it took Canadians so long to get recognized, and here she is writing this book and getting nominated for a Giller right away! Not to mention, I liked this book better than Late Nights on Air, the book that would go on to win the Giller, but I am sadly not one of the judges! Not to say that she would be my choice for the award, though, because I haven't read the rest of the books yet... In any case, this was a very strong debut novel. It had really interesting characters that I loved reading about! I look forward to what Novik comes out with next.

My thanks to Random House for sending me this book!

Giller-a-Thon Time!

Last year I aimed to read all the Giller-nominated books, and I came really close to this goal! I just had a hard time tracking down a couple of the titles. I really should read those couple others that I never did get to, huh? Maybe I will work them in with this years... So, this year I am just going to read those I can easily track down. A couple I already own, but haven't read... Story of my life!

David Adams Richards for his novel The Lost Highway (I own this, but Richards is not working for me lately... I used to love him, and now, I still get all his books when they come out. It just takes me forever to read them!)
David Bergen for his novel The Retreat (I did not like his first book. I couldn't even finish it! I might try this one, though.)
Joseph Boyden for his novel Through Black Spruce (I loved his first book, Three Day Road, so I am looking forward to another book by him. )
Austin Clarke for his novel More (I have other books by him, but, of course, never read him)
Anthony De Sa for his collection of short stories Barnacle Love (I'm not much of a short story reader... We will see.)
Emma Donoghue for her novel The Sealed Letter, (I own this. I have even started it! I just, well, haven't finished it... Are we surprised?)
Marina Endicott for her novel Good to A Fault (Never heard of her or the book before)
Steven Galloway for his novel The Cellist of Sarajevo (I like the title...)
Rawi Hage for his novel Cockroach (Never read him before but I have heard things...)
Kenneth J Harvey for his novel Blackstrap Hawco (I own it. Just received it the other day!)
Patrick Lane for his novel Red Dog, Red Dog (Not sure on this one.)
Pasha Malla for his collection of short stories The Withdrawal Method (Just not one for short story collections...)
Paul Quarrington for his novel The Ravine (I have been wanting to read Quarrington. This might be an excuse to finally get to him)
Nino Ricci for his novel The Origin of the Species (I don't know about this one.)
Mary Swan for her novel The Boys in the Trees (If I go just by the title, it doesn't sound like my kind of book, but we will see...)

A Secret Between Us by Daniel Poliquin

Date Completed: October 2007
Pages: 304
Publication Year: 2007
Purchased in 2007 for my Giller-a-thon.

Reason for Reading: Another book in my goal to read all the Giller long-listed books by hopefully the end of the years.

An epic tale of a wartorn society in the midst of astonishing transformation by the author of The Straw Man.

When young Lusignan sets off from Ottawa to the First World War with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, he has already survived a tragicomic Catholic childhood and a writing career that has brought him both acclaim and disgrace. Shortly before the men depart for Europe, Lusignan has an encounter with a fellow officer, the aristocratic Essiambre d'Argenteuil, that proves to be the defining moment of his life.

Returning from Europe a hollow man, Lusignan keeps the memory alive by shadowing Amalia Driscoll, a woman whose strait-laced proprieties were challenged by this same d'Argenteuil. He encounters Concorde, the untutored young maid struggling to get by in the Flats district of Ottawa, and the Capuchin monk Father Mathrun, who longs for martyrdom in a foreign land. Providing the backdrop to Poliquin's incisive character study is a vivid evocation of a pivotal era in Canadian history.

I would have been happy if this book won the Giller, but I think they only put book small press books on the short list to make it fair. They rarely seem to win, it is usually the bigger press books that win. Which is the case this year, with a Random House book winning for the 8th time.

In any case, I quite enjoyed this book by Daniel Poliquin. I am glad that I bought it because I have never read him before, so it was a good introduction to a new author. A lot happens to the main character in this novel, especially considering this is not a long book. Before he goes to fight in World War I he has already had an interesting childhood. His parents married a bit later than was customary during this time. His father was very quiet and stuttered, while his mother was a bit mentally unbalanced and very religious. He grew up praying over everything and never really having a normal childhood until his mother was sent to an insane asylum for her unusual ways. Then, it is just him and his father. His father will reappear during different courses through the novel, even when he does not think that he really needs his father.

The novel flashes back from later in life to the events of his past. One of the common themes to the novel is the First World War, a changing place for many a man during this period of history. He goes back to other events from his younger life. People from his life who keep reappearing in his later life for various reasons. I feel this review is not really doing the book justice. I really liked it. I thought the flashing back to other events in his life was interesting, that he was a bit of a sad man that was down on his luck, but he made for a compelling character to follow through periods of his life. And, I have a thing for the World Wars. I am not really sure why, it might be a bit morbid, but I like the time period.

I recommend this book. I notice a lot of people participating in the Canadian Reading Challenge that is circulating are reading very popular authors of the English language. Poliquin would be a good way to read from the French perspective, even if it is translated.

Giller Award Winner Announced

Somehow, last night I missed the Giller awards on television. It turns out that the station I was watching was advertising them but not actually playing them, which makes me mad. So, last night ended up being 'search the internet to see who won'. Elizabeth Hay won for Late Nights on Air. I was shocked, is probably the best way to look at it. I still have not read Alissa York's book or Vassanji's effort, but I have read Michael Ondaatje and the small press nominee, A Secret Between Us, and I liked both of them better than Late Nights on Air. So, I think it is great that someone new won the Giller this year, and that Vassanji did not get his hat trick, but if I was choosing, she would not have won.

I am interested to see how the Governor General awards play out because Elizabeth Hay did not get nominated for it. Vassanji and Ondaatje battle it out again, the independant book is by David Chariandy (and I doubt it will win.), Barbara Gowdy makes the short list for this one with a book that I do not consider one of her best, and Heather O'Neill makes an appearance with a book for the very first time.

Some Progress Reports

I have been paying attention to some of the reading awards this year. Here is a progress report of sorts of how successful I am. I was concentrating on the Giller, but since I own all the Governor General nominees in fiction, I will likely end up reading those too. The Booker, at this point I will read the few I have and maybe the rest of the short list. I plan to read the winner but the bookstores do not seem to have it.

Booker Awards:

• Darkmans by Nicola Barker (4th Estate) - Getting for Christmas
• Self Help by Edward Docx (Picador)
• The Gathering by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape) - Waiting for the bookstore to get it back
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Hamish Hamilton)
• The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies (Sceptre)
• Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (John Murray)
• Gifted by Nikita Lalwani (Viking)
• On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape)
• What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn (Tindal Street)
• Consolation by Michael Redhill (William Heinemann) - Own but have not read.
• Animal’s People by Indra Sinha (Simon & Schuster) - Still need to track down a copy.
• Gift Of Rain by Tan Twan Eng (Myrmidon)
• Winnie & Wolf by A.N.Wilson (Hutchinson)

Giller Award:

• David Chariandy for his novel "Soucouyant" (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Sharon English for her short-story collection "Zero Gravity" (The Porcupine's Quill)
• Barbara Gowdy for her novel "Helpless" (HarperCollins Canada)
• Elizabeth Hay for her novel "Late Nights on Air" (McClelland & Stewart)
• Lawrence Hill for his novel "The Book of Negroes" (HarperCollins Canada) - Own
• Paulette Jiles for her novel "Stormy Weather" (HarperCollins Canada) - Own
• D.R. MacDonald for his novel "Lauchlin of the Bad Heart" (HarperCollins Canada) - Own
• Claire Mulligan for her novel "The Reckoning of Boston Jim" (Brindle & Glass Publishing)
• Mary Novik for her novel "Conceit" (Doubleday Canada) - Own
• Daniel Poliquin for his novel "A Secret Between Us," translated by Donald Winkler (Douglas & McIntyre)
• Michael Winter for his novel "The Architects Are Here" (Penguin Books Canada)
• Alissa York for her novel "Effigy" (Random House Canada) - Own
• Richard Wright for his novel "October" (HarperCollins Canada)
• Michael Ondaatje for his novel "Diversadero" (McClelland & Stewart)
• M.G. Vassanji for his novel "The Assassin's Song" (Doubleday Canada)

Governor Generals Award:
Fiction:
David Chariandy, Vancouver, for Soucouyant
Barbara Gowdy, Toronto, for Helpless
Michael Ondaatje, Toronto, for Divisadero
Heather O’Neill, Montreal, for Lullabies for Little Criminals - Own
M.G. Vassanji, Toronto, for The Assassin’s Song - Own

Non-fiction:
Rodrigo Bascuñán and Christian Pearce for Enter the Babylon System: Unpacking Gun Culture from Samuel Colt to 50 Cent
John English for Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Volume One: 1919-1968
Stephanie Nolen for 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa
Karolyn Smardz Frost for I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad
Bridget Stutchbury for Silence of the Songbirds: How We Are Losing the World’s Songbirds and What We Can Do to Save Them

Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay

Date Completed: October 10, 2007
Pages: 364
Publication Year: 2007 (McClelland & Stewart)
Received from McClelland & Stewart in 2007.

Reason for Reading: I have started with my Giller-a-thon again. I have been crazy busy lately, and October has not been a good reading month.

The eagerly anticipated novel from the bestselling author of A Student of Weather and Garbo Laughs.

Harry Boyd, a hard-bitten refugee from failure in Toronto television, has returned to a small radio station in the Canadian North. There, in Yellowknife, in the summer of 1975, he falls in love with a voice on air, though the real woman, Dido Paris, is both a surprise and even more than he imagined.

Dido and Harry are part of the cast of eccentric, utterly loveable characters, all transplants from elsewhere, who form an unlikely group at the station. Their loves and longings, their rivalries and entanglements, the stories of their pasts and what brought each of them to the North, form the centre. One summer, on a canoe trip four of them make into the Arctic wilderness (following in the steps of the legendary Englishman John Hornby, who, along with his small party, starved to death in the barrens in 1927), they find the balance of love shifting, much as the balance of power in the North is being changed by the proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline, which threatens to displace Native people from their land.

Elizabeth Hay has been compared to Annie Proulx, Alice Hoffman, and Isabel Allende, yet she is uniquely herself. With unforgettable characters, vividly evoked settings, in this new novel, Hay brings to bear her skewering intelligence into the frailties of the human heart and her ability to tell a spellbinding story. Written in gorgeous prose, laced with dark humour, Late Nights on Air is Hay’s most seductive and accomplished novel yet, and is already garnering interest abroad.

This book became short-listed for the Giller when I was reading it. This is the first time I have read Elizabeth Hay, although I have heard of her before. I did not know that had been nominated for a Giller before, though. Some people really want her to win this time around. I personally did not love this book, I still like the Ondaatje better, but it would be nice if someone relatively unknown won this time around. People like Ondaatje and Vassanji do not need more publicity, people are going to read them anyways.

One thing about this book was it was the first time I have read a book set up North in a while. It is always interesting to read books set up there because I have never been there before, and in many ways it is the 'exotic' setting to Canada. This novel is about a group of people that find themselves in Yellowknife and working at a radio station. This was before the television was available up there, so radio is the most popular form of entertainment up there. It is how the North keeps track of the outside world. This book is about more than radio, though. It is about the lives of the people in the novel. The book is told by many different people, so you get to see many story lines from several different viewpoints.

Hay talks about the history and the people. For me, the history lessons were very interesting. There are a few things I would like to read more about in the future. Harry is the character that in many ways brings all the characters in this book together. He has just moved back to Yellowknife after his stint on television did not work out. That summer he finds himself in charge of the radio station, and in love with a voice on the radio. The rest of the characters are added as time goes on through interactions with Harry and with the characters that Harry brings alive in the novel. There is Dido, the woman that seems to have everything going for her, but you soon find that things are not always as perfect for her as it seems. There are still a few things I wonder about in regards to her character. Opinions I had on her that were never really elaborated on, so I am left wondering if I saw things correctly.

One of the things to remember about life up North is that most of the people that live there are transplants. Very rarely are they actually born there, so they just find their way there. Harry is there after a failed job attempt, Dido is there after failed love, etc. Overall, a good book. I would not be disappointed to see it win the Giller, but it is still not my favourite. I also still have a few more books to read before I make my final opinion.

I do recommend this book! To check out all the details, click here.

My Giller-a-thon

Life got in the way, and I did not get to finish my Giller-a-thon. I still intend to read the ten that I own, and now I will likely buy a copy of Daniel Poliquin's novel. If I can find it easily. Of the short-list, I have read Divisadero. Of the three I have completed, and the one that I am working my way through, it is still my favourite. Obviously, October and Helpless did not make the short list. I am not really surprised, even if I have nothing to judge it by, because both authors are capable of much better books. In my opinion, anyways. That being said, I am reading Late Nights on Air right now, and while I am not finished it so my opinion can change, I am not super excited with it.

So, I will continue reading. I imagine I will concentrate on the short-list and then read the other books later. I need more hours in the day, I really do! So, what does everyone think? Will it be one of the books by an author that have never won before, Ondaatje who is a seasoned Canadian writer, or will Vassanji pick up his third Giller win? The critics are voting for Vassanji. I will save my opinion until I read the other 4 books and finish the 5th.

I am really surprised that Lawrence Hill did not make the short list. That book looks like it would be a great read... I will see if my problem persists when I actually have read the book. Yes, I did say I need more hours in the day!

The jury named the finalists. They are:

		Elizabeth Hay for her novel Late Nights on Air, McClelland & Stewart
		Michael Ondaatje for his novel Divisadero, McClelland & Stewart
		Daniel Poliquin for his novel A Secret Between Us, trans. Donald Winkler, Douglas & McIntyre
		M.G. Vassanji for his novel The Assassin’s Song, Doubleday Canada
		Alissa York for her novel Effigy, Random House Canada

Giller-a-thon: Book Number 2: October by Richard B. Wright

Completion Date: September 20, 2007
Pages: 240
Publication Year: 2007 (Harper Collins)
Received in 2007 from Harper Collins

Reason for Reading: Another book in my attempt to read as many of the Giller-nominated books by the time the short list is announced on October 9th. I don't think I will get as many read as I had hoped, but I am aiming for ten out of the fifteen.

A new novel that Richard B. Wright's Clara Callan fans will adore, October effortlessly weaves a haunting coming-of-age story set in World War II Quebec with a contemporary portrait of a man still searching for answers in the autumn of his life.

In England to see his daughter, Susan, who is gravely ill, James Hillyer, a retired professor of Victorian literature, encounters by chance a man he once knew as a boy. Gabriel Fontaine, a rich and attractive American he met one summer during the war, when he was sent on a holiday to the Gaspé, is a mercurial figure, badly crippled by polio. As an adolescent, James was both attracted to and repelled by Gabriel's cocksure attitude and charm. He also fell hopelessly in love with Odette, a French- Canadian girl from the village, only to find himself in competition with the careless Gabriel. Now, at this random meeting over six decades later - as he struggles with the terrible possibility that he could outlive his own daughter - James is asked by Gabriel to accompany him on a final, unthinkable journey. At last, James begins to see that all beginnings and endings are inexorably linked.

A classic Richard B. Wright novel, defined by superb storytelling, subtle, spare writing and characters who travel psychological territory as familiar - and uncharted - as our own, October is an extraordinary meditation on mortality, childhood and memory.

I find it a bit interesting that the marketing for this book is saying that this is a book that Clara Callan fans will adore, or something along those lines. I am not saying that I do not like this book, I just liked Clara Callan way better. I think that is my problem with Wright, since he won the Giller and Governor General's Award for Clara Callan, none of his other books have been anywhere near as good. This book is better than others, but I am still waiting for him to rise above Clara Callan. That being said, I did like this book, just that if you are going to compare it to his previous Giller-nominated book that he went on to win for, I have to say it is found lacking.

This is a novel about an older man living out he last few years of his life. The book all takes place predominately in October, but there are flashback scenes to a summer when he is 14-years-old. In this October he receives a phone call from his middle-aged daughter with very bad news, setting in motion all the events that happen during the course of this book. His wife died in her 50's from cancer, and now it looks like his daughter is battling the same thing. When he goes to England to visit her, where she is a headmistress at a boarding school, he encounters memories from his past. All this happens because after he leaves his daughter, he decides to stop off in another England town that is very fond of and he runs into a man that he has not seen in 60 years.

Seeing this man for the first time in all those years leads him to think back to the summer where they met for the very first time. They have not seen each other since, but his friend is still very obviously him. He had polio as a child and is cooped up in a wheelchair, this has made a very cranky, proud, and self-centred individual. During the course of the book we learn what he was like then, but also get a taste of what he is like now. They meet under strange circumstances, and go on to travel to Switzerland together for even stranger ones. This book deals with a few moral issues, and not everyone that reads it will agree with what occurs.

Overall, not a bad book, but I liked Michael Ondaatje's book better. It is probably comparable with Helpless, though, a good book, but not as good as some of the books that have come before from the same author. Of course, the Giller's are not based on passed books, but I cannot help thinking of them like that. Even if I did not compare them to other attempts, I think that Ondaatje's the best so far. Next up is The Book of Negroes because I am waiting for the others to arrive in the mail. I was hoping for some today to read over the weekend, but looks like I am waiting for Monday.

Giller-a-thon: Book Number One: Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje

Completion Date: September 18, 2007
Publication Year: 2007
Pages: 273
Received from Random House in 2007

Reason for Reading: My attempt to read as many of the Giller-nominated books as possible before the short-list is announced.

Michael Ondaatje's eagerly anticipated new novel, Divisadero, unravels a haunting story that ranges from northern California to central France, introducing characters who become part of our own lives. Divisadero brings together all of the elements for which Michael Ondaatje's fiction is celebrated.

When I started this book earlier today, I was not sure if I was going to like it, but as the book got going I was hooked. It is probably obvious in the fact that I read it in a matter of hours. I have only read one other Michael Ondaatje book, but now I plan to move his other books up the the to-be-read pile. I immensely enjoyed this book.

I find myself trying to pinpoint why I was captured with this book, and it is hard to put my finger on it. I liked the writing style. Not too much description that you got bogged down, but not so little that you were not aware of what was going on. I really liked how all the little pieces came together and how the lives of the characters were related not just by knowing each other, but just by moments that occurred in more than one life. The most unrelated characters could be so much the same in just a few pages, surprising me in how they came together so easily.

This book starts out being about two sisters and their adopted handyman. He was never thought of as their brother, but their father did in fact bring him in and raise him. At the onset of a storm, though, this happy unity is destroyed and the characters are pushed out into the world to create their own stories. The two sisters, Claire and Anna, and the handyman, Cooper, would appear again to tell their stories. Their lives would become intertwined with other characters that would lead to more stories being told. In many ways, this is not a predicatable book at all. There is thought behind each line and sentence that goes far in making a very brilliant framework for a story that is only revealed to the reader as they flip through the pages.

This book is relatively short, just under 300 pages, but the reader gets the chance to be caught up in a story that I was very sad to see end. It will leave you thinking as you flip to the last page, and it will capture you in such a way that you do not want to put it down. Ondaatje is a literary genius in many ways, and I look forward to reading the rest of his books.

My Giller-a-thon is off to a very good start!

Other Reviews I Posted Recently:
A Book I Recommed: Baptism of Fire by Nathan Greenfield.
One I Do Not Recommend: Mademoiselle Victorine

Giller-a-Thon

Okay, so 'Booker-a-thon' sounds better, but I am more interested in the Giller list than I was in the Bookers. I still plan to read the Booker short-list, though, I notice that the two books I could not find before are now available on Amazon.ca.

Anyways, I always like the Giller Winners, so this year I thought I would try and read as much of the long-list as possible. I have already read Helpless by Barbara Gowdy. That was a must-read because I love The Romantic, one of her earlier books. It was a good book, but I think I would be very surprised if it won. The second book I am reading off the Giller list is Michael Ondaatje's book, Divisadero. I have read one Ondaatje before, In the Skin of the Lion, but I own his other books. Reading so far, though, I am not enraptured, so I don't know if it is good enough to win. I am still newly into it, though, so my thoughts can change.

After finishing Ondaatje I am going to move on to October by Richard Wright. I am worried. I really really liked Clara Callan by him, but then anything I have read since I have not really liked at all. I have been humming and hawing over whether I want to try again, but I have heard good things about October, so I am going to give it a try. Plus, October is one of my favourite months of the year, so why not read a book with it as the title. (October is my birthday month, the time of the leaves changing that we are sort of famous for, and Halloween.)

After that, we will have to see. I really want to read Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes. Then, some of the others I have either heard good things about or never even heard of before. Some of the authors I have been meaning to try for years, so this gives me an added push. Anyways, back to Ondaatje. Remember, two days until my reading challenge officially kicks off!

Now For All the Things I Wanted to Say Last Night

After posting about the death of Robert Jordan, I decided that was enough for last night, but now I do have a few things I was planning on saying. Three more days until the official start of the Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge. Do remember that if you decide to start after the 20th, you are very welcome!

Did anyone watch the Emmys last night? I thought it was alright, but the people I wanted to win did not win. And, where was CSI? Being a fan of that show, one of few shows I really enjoy, I was shocked that there were was no nominations for it last night! I hope this does not mean it is going to be going off the air after this year because I really like that show. And, can I just say that I thought Sally Field's speech was wonderful, she really is a great actress! I heard it was censored in some places, it was not here, so I got to hear the whole thing. The Sopranos man at the end of the show also made mention of it, though whether it was meant to be taken seriously or not I am not sure.

The Giller long-list was announced today. I am planning on trying and reading most of them. I have only read Helpless by Barbara Gowdy, so hopefully I can get through several of them between now and the 9th of October when the short-list is announced. I generally like Giller books, so I am excited with this undertaking. I should read more Canadian authors, anyways.

David Chariandy for his novel Soucouyant, Arsenal Pulp Press
		Sharon English for her collection of short stories Zero Gravity, The Porcupine’s Quill
		Barbara Gowdy for her novel Helpless, HarperCollins Canada
		Elizabeth Hay for her novel Late Nights on Air, McClelland & Stewart
		Lawrence Hill for his novel The Book of Negroes, HarperCollins Canada
		Paulette Jiles for her novel Stormy Weather, HarperCollins Canada
		D.R. MacDonald for his novel Lauchlin of the Bad Heart, HarperCollins Canada
		Claire Mulligan for her novel The Reckoning of Boston Jim, Brindle & Glass Publishing
		Mary Novik for her novel Conceit, Doubleday Canada
		Michael Ondaatje for his novel Divisadero, McClelland & Stewart
		Daniel Poliquin for his novel A Secret Between Us, trans. Donald Winkler, Douglas & McIntyre
		M.G. Vassanji for his novel The Assassin’s Song, Doubleday Canada
		Michael Winter for his novel The Architects Are Here, Penguin Books Canada
		Richard Wright for his novel October, HarperCollins Canada, a Phyllis Bruce Book
		Alissa York for her novel Effigy, Random House Canada

This and that

I want to thank you guys for all the kind thoughts with the loss of Mittens and now Lana. It means a lot to check my email and see all sorts of people dropping in to pay their respects. I have tonnes of Lana pics, and I am calling the troops (aka the family) to acquire more. So, there will be lots of Lana moments until I run out of pics. I am still in shock, I think. I knew she wasn't going to come home today, but I still think I was hoping for a miracle. Everything just happened so fast, I am not sure I have totally digested everything.

In other news, I bought The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason today. I also bought a copy for my friend, because I am good at advertising and she has been telling me she wants to read more vampire-type books. Anyways, one copy I got through the internet, but the copy I got today recquired me to go to the store and locate it. It was not in the general fiction. I had to go to the romance section! Do not laugh, but I do not even think I have ever LOOKED at the romance section before. So, the person I was with was looking at me funny. Too bad they do not read, so my explanation fell on dead ears. Anyways, that was my adventures in getting this book. I plan to start it when I finish this post.

Also, I am a bit behind in my reviews. Okay, more than a bit. I am just going to do a big post with a brief summary and rating to finish off last year. I think I am going to rework my reviews so that I am more apt to not fall behind. But, since I seem to be having a bad week, just in case something else catastrophic decides to happen, there are two books that I have to mention that I read last year and did not review yet:

First up is Heat by George Monbiot. I thought this book was very eye-opening, it talks about global warming and what we have to do about it. The reason I was slow reviewing this book is that it is about a topic that I feel I would have to read more non-fiction books on in order to best rate how the book worked for me. I do not think I could give it a number value without reading other books pertaining to the same subject, which I plan to do. Anything about global warming is eye-opening, and I learned a lot about the subject, but I feel that I am too uneducated on the topic to give it justice without doing more research.

The other book is Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, the winner of the Giller. I am not big on short story collections, but I really enjoyed this one. I liked how the stories were interconnected and flowed together really well. I thought following the lives of four med students was a very good idea, and you see progression in characters, something that a short story collection does not always present. I would not give it a 5, but I would give it a 4.5. I STRONGLY recommend it. I cannot say he deserved to win the Giller, as I have not read all the other nominees, but I will say that I really enjoyed reading it and that for me, it was totally the best short story collection I have read to date. I will be looking for more books by him, as I believe he is working on a novel.

The reason I mentioned these two above all others is because they were from Random House, and I am very grateful for both of them. So, thank you Random House! I promise better reviews for all the books I read after, just have been disorganized lately.

To learn more about Colleen Gleason's book, click here and for more on Vincent Lam and George Monbiot's books, click here.