Remember 2019?

I do! Hope you'll check out these wonderful reads (and a bonus surprise!)

Firstly, thank you to all my subscribers! I’m settling into this more and an email will land in your inbox once a month, alternating with a blast from the past and new reads from 2025.

I’ve recently read (and loved) ZZOO by MA|DE (Palimpsest Press), The Only Constant by Najaw Zebian (Penguin Random House), The Science and Spirit of Seaweed by Amanda Swinimer (Harbour Publishing) and Canada Crosswords by Gwen Sjorgren (Harbour Publishing) and reviews will be coming up in April (as well as other books I plan on reviewing) but this March blast shines a spotlight on 2019 — and what a year it was.

I hope you’ll check out these books, and, bonus, the first two sentences of 45 sensationally great books!

A SAFE GIRL TO LOVE by Casey Plett (Topside Press)
Razor sharp, heartbreaking, searing and brilliant. When you read these stories, you live in these bodies, not just physically but emotionally, spiritually. The angst push and pull of desire and resistance, longing and hate. A constant battle to find a place to be and not be in the world. Of tangled familial relations, religions, traditions, gender, sex, societal expectations, friendships, love, magnetic and raw attraction, complications and contradictions. Utterly unflinching and beautiful.

“… we are all human and therefore we are all the same. EXACTLY THE SAME.”
And! A book with Advocaat! That in itself makes me love it.

And in case you haven’t read it, be sure to check out the Little Fish, WINNER, Lambda Literary Award; Firecracker Award for Fiction; $60,000 Amazon Canada First Novel Award, (Arsenal Pulp Press)

GRAVEYARD SHIFT by Melissa Yi (Windtree Press: Olo Books)
Book Reviewed by Judy Penz Sheluk, author of the Marketville and Glass Dolphin Mysteries
Emergency Physician and award-winning writer Melissa Yi is in top form in this seventh installment of her Dr. Hope Sze medical crime series. An aspiring ER physician, Hope is prepared for all that comes with covering the graveyard shift at a Montreal hospital—at least she thought so until this particular night.
Yi’s natural wit and humour shines through her effortless prose, while real-life medical knowledge educates and entertains in equal measure. Though part of an ongoing series, Graveyard Shift can definitely be read as a standalone. But readers beware: you’ll want to go back and read books 1 through 6. Why not add those to the stocking while you’re at it?

ROAD WARRIOR by Vivian Meyer, About the Book and Review by (Reviewed by Jan Rehner, author of Missing Matisse, Inanna)
I really enjoy mystery novels that take place in Toronto, and most of the action here occurs in the particularly vibrant communities of Kensington Market and Little Italy. It’s great fun to “eat” your way through Road Warrior: lots of gourmet coffee at a local shop run by Mario (a beguiling character), pizzas at the Café Diplomatica and the Gatto Nero, Pho on Spadina, and a heavenly description of Vietnamese coffee that should be posted on Toronto tourism sites. There’s lots of bike lore too that will satisfy any aficionado, including the joys of the Humber Trail, and the perils of Toronto traffic. This is the third novel in the engaging Abby Faria series, and it won’t disappoint. While Abby, bike courier and amateur detective, hunts for the runaway son of her friend Maria, she must confront what she knows and doesn’t know about paedophilia. Throughout the novel, the italicized sections build suspense, and there’s a terrific twist at the end. Spoiler alert: Don’t read the full description of this book posted on Goodreads—it gives away too much of the ending.

SIMULTANEOUS WINDOWS by Mary Corkery (Inanna Publications)
Book reviewed by Carole Giangrande, author of The Tender Birds and All That is Solid Melts Into Air
Mary Corkery’s first collection of poetry is a joy to read. She engages her subjects at a midpoint between the observant journalist and the soul engulfed in suffering; it’s detachment that remains connected and involvement that is never overwhelmed by its subject. The poetry is beautiful, filled with evocative language, specificity of detail and frequent startling endings that cause the reader to put the book down, take a deep breath and read the poem again. Highly recommended.

THE ALLSPICE BATH by Sonia Saikaley, (Inanna Publications)
Book Reviewed by Aparna Kaji Shah, author of The Scent of Mogra and Other Stories
The Allspice Bath is a gripping novel that I just couldn’t put down. It is a powerful and moving depiction of the conflict between the values of the “old country” and the “new country”, the confrontation between generations, as well as the barbaric violence of the patriarchy that is horrifying. But it is also a coming of age story of the defiant Adele who finds her own voice in this conservative family, and who despite the odds, strikes out on her own; it is her resilience and courage that we cheer for, as also her compassion and sensitivity. Saikaley has breathed life into Adele so that we feel her every emotion, mood and thought, to the quick. It is a multi-faceted story that skilfully draws together the themes of the immigrant experience, the status of women, domestic abuse, and the growing strength and maturity of a young girl. And despite its darkness, it is in the final analysis, a novel about hope and freedom.

Book reviewed by Anita Kushwaha, IPPY award-winning author of Side by Side and Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters
Sonia Saikaley’s The Allspice Bath is a deeply-moving portrayal of family life and an intimate exploration of the ties that bind. From the first chapter, we are drawn into the vibrant lives of the Azar family, particularly the Azar sisters, first-generation Lebanese-Canadians who have a foot in the culture of their birth and another in that of their parents’. The result is at times a precarious balancing act, brought to life with compassion and realism through Adele, our counter-culture, free-thinking protagonist. Saikaley shows with vivid, and at times heart-breaking prose, what it takes for a young, modern woman to breakaway from tradition in pursuit of her own dreams. I felt like this was the book I needed as a young woman of colour growing up in a small town, struggling to live my dreams while balancing familial expectations. I connected strongly with Adele, who knows her own mind. I found myself envying her headstrong nature and confidence, and also, the loving and real connection between the Azar sisters. This book will resonate strongly with any reader who has felt torn by living between two worlds, made sacrifices to pursue a dream, or faced the hard truth that it is often the ones who love us the most that hurt us the deepest. However as Saikaley demonstrates with enviable pathos, when it comes to family, where there is love, forgiveness is always possible.

THE TENDER BIRDS by Carole Giangrande (Inanna Publications)
Book Reviewed by Hannah Brown, author of Look After Her (Inanna)
Carole Giangrande seems to have been profoundly affected by the events of September 11. This book, The Tender Birds is a third novel of hers in which that event affects the movement of the story. It is by turn inwardly focussed and outwardly observant. It happens in old churches and deep ravines, among people reflecting upon their faith and following the dramatic presence of birds of prey, and despite its quiet tone, is dramatic in its revelations. The dialogue is true, as you would expect from a former broadcaster, and the passages of description are so beautiful, you want to re-read them and follow their flight again. A very satisfying read!

THE WAY TO GO HOME by Catharine Leggett (Urban Farmhouse Press)
Book reviewed by Jocelyn Cullity, Amah & the Silk-Winged Pigeons; The Envy of Paradise, (Inanna Publications)
The Way to Go Home is a story about the travels and struggles of a drifter named Buddy who eventually lands in Southern Ontario. We follow Buddy as he seeks and finds what it means to be really at home in the world.

Leggett evokes the physical beauty and danger of her cold, stormy landscapes – and lets us see deeply into the warm heart of her main character. Written by a writer who rides right alongside her scrappy characters, and who deeply loves them, Leggett displays a mature ability with novel structure. She is also a writer who spins sentences into gold. The Way to Go Home is a wonderful winter read.

TRAPS by Sky Curtis (Inanna Publications)
About the book: After dealing with the grizzly murder of a sexual assault victim near her cottage in Huntsville, Ontario, Robin MacFarland, the feisty Home and Garden reporter for a major Toronto paper, feels she must go elsewhere for a peaceful family holiday. She, her cop boyfriend Ralph, and her adult kids, travel to the beautiful long sand beaches on the South Shore of Nova Scotia for a few weeks in August. She continues to tussle hilariously with her weight, drinking, feelings towards her boyfriend, and spiritually while coping with a dry well in the cottage she's rented, systemic racism issues in the local population, and escalating anger towards the fish farms dotted along the shore which are destroying the lobster industry. A sensational murder of a local politician coupled with the "accidental" death of the owner of the fish farms captures her interest. When she mentions the situation to her editor at the Toronto Express, her best friend Cindy, a crime reporter at the paper, is dispatched to cover the story. Again, Robin finds herself in the position of convincing everyone that the accidental death was no accident, that the two deaths are intertwined, and that the murder weapon is extremely ironic. (Goodreads)

My review: I always look forward to Robin MacFarland books so much! Her self-deprecating humour is absolutely hilarious! She’s one of the most original sleuth-by-mistake heroines to come along in a long time. And, as always, Sky Curtis weaves a fabulous plot, this time on the east coast. And if you haven’t yet read the others in series, you can read this book as a standalone – but since it’s the holiday season, why not treat yourself to the series?


WE ALL WILL BE RECEIVED by Leslie Vryenhoek, Breakwater Press.
This novel starts off gritty and nail-biting, Bonnie and Clyde meets Goin’ Down The Road and it doesn’t let up. Even once you’ve read the last page, you’re still enthralled and you’re still right there, in the refurbished Graceland Inn, hoping there’s more book to read because you’re not ready to say goodbye to the characters. You know a book is great when you’re so tired but you read through the night. What extraordinary prose, so fine, so sculpted. I loved the complexity of the characters and the scope of the story. In a way, it rings similar to The Irishman by Martin Scorsese where the sins of the past complicate the relations of the present and cannot help but surface to an action-packed climax. I loved the timeline of this book, how the plot wove back and forth and looped seamlessly to gather up the lives of many. The characters were written with a beautiful subtlety that carried vivid poignancies which spoke volumes.

STEEL ANIMALS by S K Dyment
Ursula Pflug (author of The Alphabet Stones, Motion Sickness and Mountain) has flagged this book to become a cult classic and I fully second that! I’m not sure it’s possible to adequately describe the joy of reading Steel Animals! The poetic brilliance of the writing, along with razor-sharp insights into art, love, sex, nature, relationships, consumerism, the perception of the self, the philosophy of art, our connections to one other and the things that surround us, is a real treat.

The writing sparks every sense to vivid life, cracking like Absolut cherry pop-rocks exploding on your tongue, delighting you at every turn.

-.-

AN EXILE'S PERFECT LETTER by Larry Mathews
The funny thing is, I thought I had posted about this book at the end of last year but I didn’t actually do it! I wrote the review in my head and I guess I imagined the rest! I met Larry Mathews at the FogLit Festival and immediately purchased his book. His reading was great and the book was a delight to read! It reminded me of my university days (which made me happy) and I loved Hugh Norman with his self-deprecating insights into aging, love, writing, poetry and life in St. John’s Newfoundland. I was sorry when the novel came to an end, I wanted to keep hanging out with Hugh! I loved the observations on writing and it made me stop (and worry!) that I had committed the sins that Hugh points out with such scathing clarity! A highly-enjoyable read with a lot of excellent humour about art, the politics of tenure, fame, crime and the meaning of life.

THE KNOCKOFF ECLIPSE by Melissa Bull
The short stories in this are so powerful I had to pace reading them. They don’t hold back any punches and this book offers some of the most vivid ‘in another’s body’ experience I’ve read. You smell the sunburn, the lake water, the dirt, taste the tears, feel the cold and hear the voices as clearly as if the characters were standing in the same room. Gritty, tough, with lives on the edge of falling apart and yet, they just don’t… just. The stories are vignettes of the beautiful intimacy that can be found in quiet and precious moments and the very real sense that sometimes, just being is enough.

NIGHTS ON PROSE MOUNTAIN by bpNichol (Coach House).
I have read small excerpts of bpNichol’s writing before and of this book, I have only one thing to say – I need to a buy a copy! I borrowed this copy from the library but I will need much more time than afforded to me by a loan, to read and enjoy this book. Prologue (from Craft Dinner) had me mesmerized and Still was incredibly powerful. Yes, this will need several reads and rereads!

THE JOURNEY PRIZE, is a collection of short stories selected by Kevin Hardcastle, Grace O’Connell and Ayelet Tsabari (McClelland & Stewart). I loved the stories in this collection. They carry a visceral sadness that will stay with you – but in a good way! I wanted to follow the lives of the characters in these stories, particularly, Reading Week by Sharon Bala, They Come Crying by Sarah Kabamba and A Girl and a Dog on a Friday Night by Kelly Ward.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Like The O. Henry Prize Stories, The Pushcart Prize, and the Best American Short Stories series, The Journey Prize Stories is one of the most celebrated annual literary anthologies in North America. For almost 30 years, the anthology has consistently introduced readers to the next generation of great Canadian authors, a tradition that proudly continues with this latest edition. With settings ranging from wartime China to an island off the coast of British Columbia, the ten stories in this collection represent the year's best short fiction by some of our most exciting emerging voices.
A young boy who believes he is being stalked by an unstoppable, malevolent entity discovers that he may not be the only one. In a sweeping story set against the fall of Shanghai during the Second Sino-Japanese War, a pregnant woman waits anxiously for her doctor husband to leave the city before it's too late. A river that runs through a First Nations community is the source of sustenance, escape, and tragedy for a girl and her family. The haunting footage of the politically motivated self-immolation has unexpected reverberations for a Tibetan-Canadian woman dealing with multiple conflicts in her own life. A man who works a back-breaking job at an industrial mat cleaning service is pushed to his limit. When her mother has to return to Kinshasa to bury a family member, a girl gradually learns of the intricacy and depth of grief, in an evocative piece that illuminates the cultural gaps common within immigrant families, and the power of food and stories to bridge them.

YOUNG VOICES published by the Toronto Public Library and was very moved by the selection of writing and the artwork. Toronto Public Library's magazine of creative writing and visual art, created and selected by Toronto teens, published annually for over fifty years.

This collection offers courageous and compelling insights into the lives of young people struggling with the complexities of school, love, becoming adults, watching their parents. Very worth the read. One wants to gather all these ducklings and make the world a safe place for them but, as they are already all-too-aware, it’s too late for that, but one can move forward with brave hearts and a drive to create.

-.-

CLOCKWORK CANADA, The Exile Book of Anthology Series, Number Twelve, edited by Dominik Parisien.

While this book was published in 2016, I reread it very recently. The introduction by Parisien reads: “What started as Victorian retro-futurist fantasy has gone global and now spans across multiple historical periods. … Some of the stories contain steam, others don’t; clockwork frequently appears, as do automata, airships, trains, copper, brass, goggles, mechanical limbs; the works of Jules Verne inspire a character or two; the magical and the mechanical sometimes coexist; alternate history is often at the forefront; and great and fantastical inventions abound.” And this is very true! If you’re looking for a different kind of anthology, I recommend Clockwork Canada!

THE MOTHER SUITE by Ruth Zuchter (AngelHousePress)
I’ve long admired the work published by AngelHousePress. I was first introduced to them with Of Being Underground and Moving Backwards by Heather Babcock which was listed on The Minerva Reader when I first started the site. Heather has a book scheduled with Inanna in 2020, Filthy Sugar and I was delighted to read an early copy of the book – readers are in for a treat with Filthy Sugar!

And, most recently from AngelHousePress, and part of today’s features, is The Mother Suite by Ruth Zuchter.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Through letters, diary entries, snippets of remembered conversations and post cards,
Ruth Zuchter collages together a portrait of a complicated mother-daughter relationship in The Mother Suite.

MY REVIEW:
Maternal relationships are seldom straightforward. In Ruth’s words: “Through letters, diary entries, snippets of remembered conversations & post cards, The Mother Suite collages together a portrait of the complexities of a mother-daughter/daughter as mother & caregiver relationship.”

And, what a powerful, compelling read it is. I feel like this collection speaks not only to the relationships between mothers and daughters but also to the complexities of the relationships we have with ourselves, our internal dialogues, observations and self-flaggellations. Being human is such a complex, wonderful, terrible mess and this collection speaks to all of that and does it so very beautifully. This is the kind of work that you could pick up on any given day and find a few sentences that sums it up exactly – you think, yes! That’s exactly how I’m feeling now and then you go about your day, cheered.

THE WAR BENEATH by Timothy S. Johnston (ChiZine)
I was immediately drawn in by the cover, with artwork by Erik Mohr (Made by Emblem) and the cover design by Jared Shapiro. Beautiful work!

And I loved the story – such a great concept of cities under the seas and the writing was so cinematic that I felt like I was there, in the seacar. It felt a little hard to breathe at times, which was the writer’s intention and it was very well done! Fast-paced, good old-fashioned Cold War espionage set underwater in 2099, this book offers a great escape! Shortlisted for the 2018 Global Thriller Award and Semi-Finalist for the 2018 CLUE Award.

SKYJACK by K.J. Howe (Headline)
Wow, K.J. Howe rocks! Talk about action-packed! Reading a Thea Paris book is like watching a Mission Impossible movie only we’ve got a sizzling hot female protagonist who thinks fast and acts even faster! I really enjoyed the characters in this book and I’m loving the Thea Paris series. It’s so great when you get to meet a heroine you really like and you look forward to the next book. I loved the way K.J. Howe writes – reminds me of Michael Connolly and his Bosch series – no padded fat, action all the way. And the plot keeps you on your toes with a lots of authentic details about the mechanics of flying.

SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC: A MARKETVILLE MYSTERY by Judy Penz Sheluk
(Barking Rain Press)
I really enjoyed this fun read! I’m not generally much of a cozy reader but this felt more like a Kinsey Millhone novel to me (Sue Grafton’s series), than a cozy. I really enjoyed the characters and the sense of small town intrigue, coupled with the secrets from yesteryear. Most families have skeletons in their attics and it was a fun adventure to find out the truth inside the coffin of this one! I look forward to reading more of Judy Penz Sheluk’s work!

CLAUDINE by Barbara Palmer (Penguin Canada)
Not a book I would ordinarily head for, I came via Claudine when chatting with an author friend about trying to find a home for my rather risqué novel, Boomerang Beach. This bestselling author revealed a secret – she had written a sexy novel herself! So of course, I nabbed copy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This author’s writing is, without fail, so polished and smooth and Claudine is no exception. The attention to detail is sensual, provocative and painterly. Claudine herself was a work of art and I really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes prepping for a night out with high-class clientele. There were moments when I felt as if Claudine was a Harlequin romance on Viagra or steroids, particularly when it came to the romantic side of things, but this didn’t lessen the enjoyment of the read – in fact, to the contrary!
Note to readers, the book contains explicit eroticism.

A SEASON AMONG PSYCHICS By Elizabeth Green (Inanna Publications)
A fascinating, funny and thorough journey into the mystical realms of life in a human body and beyond. Whether you’re a believer in alternative healing or not, this book will refresh your soul and lift your spirits. Try something different and spend A Season Among Psychics!

this is why we're made in the dark by Justin Lauzon (Quattro)
If I hadn’t met the author and was asked to describe him, I’d say he’s a kindly European gentleman, Spanish perhaps, thin, in his eighties, a fine-looking man, serene but strong. A great-grandfather and lover of life, a sensual man, loving to his children, stern at times, judicious and mathematical. A man careful with his words, a thinker, an observer, a man who sees the worlds behind the closed curtains of our lives.

This is how I would imagine the author of this is why we’re made in the dark. And if you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Justin, you’d know he is a young man, with his whole life before him.

It's just that the poems are so layered and so intense that it’s a wonder they’ve been written by one so young. Luciano Iacobelli spotted Justin Lauzon at an open mic reading and urged him to work on his collection and it’s easy to see why. This is a collection I will return to often.

FISHING FOR BIRDS by Linda Quennec (Inanna Publications)
My Review: As beautiful as the mirrored reflection on a still lake, this novel of love, loss and loneliness will pull you in from the very start. A tour de force of elequent prose that is equal parts tranquil and gentle, powerful and compelling. As stories within stories unfold, layers of perfectly imperfect lives are revealed. Fishing For Birds is a sensual exploration of the human need for storytelling as we try make sense of being alive and then, how we continue onwards, when nothing is straightforward.

THE BOY ON THE BICYCLE: A FORGOTTEN CASE OF WRONGFUL CONVICTION IN TORONTO by Nate Hendley (Five Rivers Publishing)
Intriguing, immediately engaging, often disturbing and filled with fascinating facts, The Boy on the Bicycle transports you to a different era of Toronto. Life in the 1950's in "Toronto the Good" wasn't kind to everyone, not by a long shot. The Boy on the Bicycle is written with such vivid attention to detail that this story of injustice and human cruelty will live in your mind long after you’ve read it. And it makes you wonder, how many other innocents suffered the same harsh fate and subsequent fallout that irrevocably damaged their lives? This is true crime at its finest.

DROP DEAD: A HORRIBLE HISTORY OF HANGING IN CANADA by Lorna Poplak (Dundurn)
About the book: Take a journey through notable cases in Canada’s criminal justice history, featuring well-known and some less-well-known figures from the past. You’ll meet Arthur Ellis, Canada’s most famous hangman, whose work outfit was a frock coat and striped trousers, often with a flower pinned to his lapel. And you will also encounter other memorable characters, including the man who was hanged twice and the gun-toting bootlegger who was the only woman every executed in Alberta. Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada illustrates how trial, sentencing, and punishment operated in Canada’s first century, and examines the relevance of capital punishment today. Along the way, learn about the mathematics and physics behind hangings, as well as disturbing facts about bungled executions and wrongful convictions.
My Review: A somewhat grisly read, this book is fascinating. It paints a vivid portrait of the time and the characters involved and is well worth the read.

10-33 ASSIST PC BY DESMOND RYAN
About the book: In the first of the Mike O’Shea Crime Fiction Series, 10-33 Assist PC brings us into the dirty world of human trafficking through the eyes of the cops who put their lives on the line every day to shut it down. When his partner dies in his arms, the world as Mike knew it ends and he must decide how to move forward without forgetting the past. Real Detective. Real Crime. Fiction.
My Review: Desmond Ryan promises to bring real crime, fiction, from a real detective. And he delivers on that promise. A gritty and compelling read with personable, relatable characters. I look forward to Mike O'Shea's next adventures.

THE BEST LAID PLANS ANTHOLOGY
The Best Laid Plans is an exciting new anthology by Editor, Publisher and Author, Judy Penz Sheluk, author of Past & Present: A Marketville Mystery #2
Whether it’s at a subway station in Norway, a ski resort in Vermont, a McMansion in the suburbs, or a trendy art gallery in Toronto, the twenty-one authors represented in this superb collection of mystery and suspense interpret the overarching theme of “the best laid plans” in their own inimitable style. And like many best laid plans, they come with no guarantees.

PROOF I WAS HERE by Becky Blake, Wolsak and Wynn
I immediately gravitated towards this book because of the title! Then, admittedly, it had all my favourite elements; Barcelona, young thieves, hustlers, buskers and graffiti artists. Broken hearts, complicated friendships, freeganism (fascinating idea), and dysfunctional familial relationships. This book was my perfect kind of escape read. Nikki aka Jane, kleptomaniac when stressed kept me following her adventures, holding my breath and wishing her all the best.

ALBATROSS by Terry Fallis, Penguin Random House Canada
Yes, Terry Fallis’ books are funny. But they’re more than a simply comedic read, they really do, as the acknowledgment says, talk about life. What happens when you’re happy to make do with the lemons life has given you and you’re content to set about making lemonade but then out of nowhere, you win the DNA lottery and you’re pretty much force-fed champagne lemon gelato? Ad if you’re not sure what I’m getting at, you’ll have to read the book! The albatross of good fortune is an interesting concept, as is that of God given talents vs that which one works so hard to achieve. As always, the road is hilly, life is messy and the results are bittersweet. A reaffirming read, I enjoyed Albatross and there are interesting insights into writing, publishing and fountains pens!

LIVING ON A BLANK PAGE by Gili Haimovich, Bue Angel Press
I met Gili Haimovich years ago when this volume of poetry came out and we recently reconnected on Facebook. I always remembered the beauty and power of her launch reading and the powerful poignancy of her words. I’m very happy to see Gili’s continued success as a poet and it’s a lovely treat to revisit her words.
Here's an excerpt from Living on a Blank Page:
one last poem
like one last chance
to be
vague and beautiful

FROM THE ASHES: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way by Jesse Thistle, Simon Schuster

This is one of the best books I've read this year. I was fortunate to get an Advance Reader Copy because in my day job, (I'm a magazine designer), sadly more books come in than can be reviewed. But I'd buy this book and I highly recommend it.

From the moment I started it, I couldn't put it down. I read it every moment I could, on the subway and at lunchtime. That's the mark of a good book.

It's unflinching self-reportage of the darkest moments imaginable to a person. And to a child.

It was, at times, hard to read but the writing is exquisite and Thistle never shies away from absolute self-honesty.

I felt as if I were with Jesse Thistle every step of the way, such was the vivid strength of the writing. There wasn't a moment when I didn't want to reach out to him and help him but he ultimately rescues himself, which is the most important lesson of all. Yes, he had help and support and love but one got the definite sense that Jesse never wanted the life of an addict – he fought it and his demons as fiercely as they battled to keep him in the prison of addiction.

If there is any redemption to the human condition it is that we can, indeed, rise from the ashes. Thank you, Jesse Thistle for this book. You're a wonderful writer and I look forward to reading more of your work because my feeling is that there are more stories to come. And kudos too, to your courage and determination.

THE SCENT OF MOGRA by Aparna Kaji Shah, Inanna Publications.
What a beautiful read, one that appeals to all senses. You truly get the sense of being inside each protagonist and vividly experiencing their lives. This collection has one of the saddest, most beautiful stories I’ve read in a very long time – I won’t say which one because I urge you to read the collection! Each story gripped and I couldn’t put the book down while in the middle of a story. Once I finished one, I took a break to savour what I had just read, to mull over the character’s situation and the stories resolution. They’re the kind of stories one needs to ponder, almost have an internal dialogue with the character to ask them for more, to continue being a part of their lives. I love how each voice had such a strong sense of indivuality.

SOMEONE WE KNOW by Shari Lapena
As you know, The Minerva Reader/A Turn of Phrase is all about the unsung hero, a treasure you might have missed. I recently read Someone We Know by Shari Lapena, picking up the ARC from the book table at work. I love a good escapist read! Shari Lapena crafts finely-tuned, tightly written works and I really enjoyed this one. But Shari Lapena is not an unsung hero so while I wanted to mention the book here, I also wanted to say that if you enjoy books like like Lapena’s, then I highly recommend the Pat Tierney trilogy by Rosemary McCracken (and I am hoping there will be more in the series.) Jack Batten, the Toronto Star‘s crime fiction reviewer, calls Pat Tierney “a hugely attractive sleuth figure.”

UNDERCARD by David Albertyn, Spiderline / House of Anansi Press Inc.
A visceral no-holds-barred novel that’s as tight and strong as the bodies that populate it. The book grabs you from the get-go, it’s a compelling, character-driven tough-guy revenge story about life’s disappointments and the self-acceptance of being a bench starter. There are lots of sporting analogies for the failed relationships and scars of the wars of adult life, both figuratively and literally. It’s a gritty and powerful read and the characters will leave you hoping there’s a sequel in the works. This is a true Vegas tale of winner takes all - but do they really?

IRVING LAYTON: OUR YEARS TOGETHER, Harriet Bernstein, Inanna Publications.
Gianna Patriarca, author of Italian Women and Other Tragedies and All My Fallen Angelas, was right, “ This is a love affair that refuses to end long after the flames are spent. Even if Irving Layton were not the fascinating literary character that he is and, by virtue of that fact alone, intriguing, this novel would hold you in its thrall. It’s a tour de force of passionate sensual love and a riveting read that demonstrates all the complexities of a perfectly imperfect, doomed love. A love affair so wonderful at times that as a reader you ask yourself how it could all have gone wrong. But not all great loves are intended to last forever, they burn so brightly that their light reflects long after they are gone, a spent star still sending shimmering and mesmerizing light.

SIDEWAYS ROOTS by Gili Haimovich, Kimchi Press.
Gili Haimovich’s poetry captures an astonishing integration of place and emotion, with the same poem speaking to a breadth of moments and feelings. Which is why one can reread her poems so often over the years. It’s extraordinay, her way of capturing and startling the reader with observations and insights into a day, summing up the poignancy and the sufferings we endure – a wondrous ablity to surprise and delight with these perfect observations of something you thought or would have thought if you had been able to formualte that thought but for you, it was more a vague feeling but then you read the poem and there it is, only it comes with a conclusion that leaves you slightly sucker-punched but in the best possible way, as if showing you a sharp-edged truth that you were not entirely surprised to find was there.

​CRIME CLUB by Melodie Campbell (Orca Book Publishers)
About the book: Sixteen-year-old Penny has moved with her mom and huge dog, Ollie, to live above a small-town pub owned by her aunt. It's a relief to start over in a place where no one knows her father is in prison.

It's summer, and the only person she knows is her nerdy cousin Simon. Soon she meets Simon's best friend, Brent, and Brent's twin sister, Tara, and their pug, Wolfgang.

When Ollie digs up a human bone in the backyard of the pub, police are called. It turns out the bone is over twenty years old. Who can the dead person be? Surely Aunt Stella can't be involved.

Penny and Simon decide to investigate. Together with Brent and Tara, they form The Crime Club. And before long they discover one thing: if you've killed before, you can kill again.

My review: A heartwarming YA novel written by talented author Melodie Campbell. I always love reading Melodie’s work, her words are polished and smooth and she has great empathy for her characters. Perhaps Penny Capelli will get up to more adventures!

ONE DAY IT HAPPENS by Mary Lou Dickinson (Inanna Publications)
About the book: One Day It Happens is an eclectic collection of short stories by Mary Lou Dickinson, which deal in myriad forms with communication or lack thereof in the lives of the characters. One of the universal factors in human existence is the need to connect with one another. When these characters fail to do so, it is the result of fear, of loneliness, of violence, of impending death. Sometimes they succeed in spite of everything to reach a place of insight and understanding, usually in unexpected ways and to their own surprise. About some of the stories: Margaret, in "The Empty Chair," almost 90 and lonely after the death of her husband, has a bizarre sexual encounter with a man living in the same retirement home. In "A Country Weekend," a visit to the family cottage prompts a terrifying and almost fatal swim across the lake. A writer in "Hello, Angel," imagines and fears the sexual assault and abduction of a young girl by his next door neighbour. "From the Front" explores the typical day of a telephone crisis counsellor. Eva, in "White Sails on Lake Ontario," at last takes steps to leave an abusive relationship. In "The Train Ride," Joe, who rides the train in order to have conversations with people, fails to connect with a fellow passenger. Libby, in "One Day It Happens," visits a friend whose husband is recovering from a heart attack, making all of them feel vulnerable and close to death in a number of ways.

My review: I know this isn't a new release but I've wanted to read this bok for a while and it was such a treat. Each short story has the richness of a novel. I love Mary Lou’s insights into the human condition, be it with regard to love, loss, aging, loneliness, sex and happiness.

DIG by Terry Doyle (Breakwater)
About the book: In twelve dialed-in and exceptionally honed short stories, Terry Doyle presents an enduring assortment of characters channelled through the chain reactions of misfortune and redemption. A construction worker's future is bound to a feckless and suspicious workmate. A young woman's burgeoning social activism is constrained by hardship and the desperation of selling puppies online. A wedding guest recognizes a panhandler attending the reception. And a man crafts a concealed weapon with which to carry out his nightly circuit of paltry retribution. Through keen-eyed observation, and with an impressive economy of statement, Doyle conveys these characters over a backdrop of private absurdities and confusions--countering the overbearance of a post-tragic age with grit, irony, and infinitesimal signs of hope.

My review: A very real and empathetic sense of the struggle of ongoing daily lives, not so much pivotal turning points but vignettes of the day-to-day, the celebrations, losses and loans, arguments, injuries, siblings and families – every strand that makes up the fabric of lives going quietly, deeply wrong. Doyle writes with enviable clean prose that cuts close to the bone.

CHASING THE BANYAN WIND by Bernadette Gabay Dyer (LMH Publishing Limited)
About the book: In the mid 1920s an English family, Jonathan and Wilemina Gunn, and their two young children, Dunstan and Eliza emigrate to the Caribbean island of Jamaica. With help from locals they build a home in a remote rural location on the island's north coast. Previous perceptions of the island do not prepare them for the reality of the island's diverse English speaking population that includes Negroes, East Indians, Chinese, Jews, Europeans and Syrians.
My review: Epic and sweeping, sensual and insightful, I fell into this read. Another country, another time, another world. I felt the wind on my skin, could taste the cuisine, feel the rain, see the flowers and countryside. Chasing The Banyan Wind will transport you like a time machine. A very good read to escape into.

THE TICKING HEART by Andrew Kaufman (Coach House Books)
About the book: In Metaphoria, everything means something, and thoughts and fears turn into objects. Charlie Waterfield finds himself there working as a detective because he can't get over the death of his wife and child. When Shirley Wythchildde hires him to find her husband's missing heart, she replaces Charlie's heart with a ticking bomb and gives him forty-eight hours to solve the case.

So begins The Ticking Heart, a novel in three connected parts. In the second, we meet Warren Templeman, a blocked writer in a psychiatric ward who claims to be a scout from an alien race, which his doctor believes is a ruse to keep from grieving his wife and daughter. The final part begins on the ninth birthday of Warren's daughter, when he runs over a dog in a Toys R Us parking lot. As he drives around town trying to find help find for the dog, he's finally forced to defuse the bomb in his own heart.

My review: What a magical book! This book should be prescribed reading for every jaded adult. Magical realism and metaphors mingle to create a marvellous mix that will make you quite giddy in the best possible way. Read this book for the chapter titles alone – but then, read the whole book for the sheer delight of it.

SIDE BY SIDE by Anita Kushwaha (Inanna Publications)
About the book: Kavita Gupta is a woman in transition. When her troubled older brother, Sunil, disappears, she does everything in her power to find him, convinced that she can save him. Ten days later, the police arrive at her door to inform her that Sunil's body has been found. Her world is devastated. She finds herself in crisis mode, trying to keep the pieces of her life from falling apart even more. As she tries to cope with her loss, the support system around her begins to unravel. Her parents' uneasy marriage seems more precarious. Her health is failing as her unprocessed trauma develops into more sinister conditions. Her marriage suffers as her husband is unable to relate to her loss. She bears her burden alone, but after hitting her lowest point, she knows she needs to find a better way of coping. Desperate for connection, she reaches out to a bereavement group, where she meets Hawthorn, a free-spirited young man with whom she discovers a deep connection through pain. After being blindsided by a devastating marital betrayal, she wonders if a fresh start is possible in the wake of tragedy. Will she escape her problems and start over? Or will she face the challenges of rebuilding the life she already has? Side by Side is a story about loss, growth and the search for meaning in the wake of tragedy, illuminated through one woman's journey from harm to care.

My review: I admit I was a little wary of reading this book because suicide is something we are all too familiar with – many of us have lost people in our lives, have had friends or family who have committed suicide and it’s true that the grief never goes away. The grief changes, and this book is a thoughtful and beautiful examination of that journey. The book is a homage to those who died too soon and to those who live in the shadow of that loss.

I BECOME A DELIGHT TO MY ENEMIES by Sara Peters (Strange Light)
About the book: An experimental fiction, I Become a Delight to My Enemies uses many different voices and forms to tell the stories of the women who live in an uncanny Town, uncovering their experiences of shame, fear, cruelty, and transcendence. Sara Peters combines poetry and short prose vignettes to create a singular, unflinching portrait of a Town in which the lives of girls and women are shaped by the brutality meted upon them and by their acts of defiance and yearning towards places of safety and belonging. Through lucid detail, sparkling imagery and illumination, Peters' individual characters and the collective of The Town leap vividly, fully formed off the page. A hybrid in form, I Become a Delight to My Enemies is an awe-inspiring example of the exquisite force of words to shock and to move, from a writer of exceptional talent and potential.

My review: Compelling, astounding, incredible and utterly brilliant.
This work necessitates at least three reads the first time and more thereafter
Incredible perceptions of body and space. This book blew me away. I can’t wait to read it again.

MOTEL OF THE OPPOSABLE THUMBS by Stuart Ross (Anvil)
About the book: In Motel of the Opposable Thumbs, Stuart Ross continues to ignore trends in Canadian poetry, and further follow the journey he began over four decades ago with his discoveries of the works of Stephen Crane, E. E. Cummings, Nelson Ball, Ron Padgett, Victor Coleman, Tom Clark, Nicanor Parra, Joe Rosenblatt, and David McFadden. In this eclectic, pleasurable gathering of poems and sequences, Mr. Ross unapologetically leaps from howls of grief and despair to zany incursions into surrealism and the absurd. He embraces this panoply of approaches to respond to our cantankerous existential dilemma. All that, and it’s structured after Bela Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4! Get a room and enjoy.
My review: I just love Stuart Ross’s brain! Here are some excerpts from the collection and all I can say is, treat yourself to this book!
Ovation :
the egg stood up
for itself
(from Grey Notes)
… When
we become old, after so much
wine and so much shouting
insects, we gaze into the stars,
newsprint straining our eyes,
scurrying between A and B,
until the streetscape shares
with us its freshly
unwrapped secrets
(from Pencil Shavings)
… The best way
to avoid a root canal is to replace
your head with a sparrow.
(from Important Information For Your Dental Health)
and…
Do you know how many small dogs you can fit into a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Do you know where I buried my lunch?
(from Efforts)

GIRLS NEED NOT APPLY by Kelly S. Thompson (McClelland & Stuart / Penguin Random House Canada)
What a compelling read! The sheer determination in the book keeps you captivated and the prose is so convincing that you feel every blister and broken bone. But more than the physical hardships, it’s the insidious, vicious workplace bullying that is appalling. Hopefully this book will shine a spotlight on areas that still need so much work (and not just in the army). Thompson’s love/hate relationship with her first career is wonderfully portrayed, as is the loss of that job which left her bereft. This book speaks to a specific situation (of Thompson’s army career) but more than that, it speaks to life and the challenges one faces, trying to not only survive but also thrive, in a cutthroat world.

SEND MORE TOURISTS… THE LAST ONES WERE DELICOUS by Tracey Waddleton (Breakwater)
I love the sharp originality of this collection! I’m going to dub it kickboxer grit lit - and make no mistake, this is lit – very fine lit – lit that will scour your sensibilities and tickle your funny bone at the same time. There’s joy as the upper cut of the stories catches you off guard and you fall to the mat laughing so hard that you wouldn’t have it any other way. The sheer energy is marvelous and there’s so much poignancy too. Yep, I love these stories!

CROW by Amy Spurway, Goose Lane Editions
Witty, energetic, and crackling with sharp Cape Breton humour, Crow is a story of big twists, big personalities, big drama, and even bigger heart.
MY REVIEW: What a delightful blend of Cape Breton magic and marvellous, salt-tang, tack-sharp writing! The characters and the story make this such a joyful, powerful, tragic, uplifting worthy read. Here’s to trees, books, family, friends, eccentricities and all such things that make life worthwhile – and I loved the way the book exposed the hypocrisy behind modern-day faux-mystical infused materialism which is really no more than a mask for rampant consumerism.

WHERE I RISE, SHE FALLS by Dean Serravalle, Inanna Publications
At first, I didn’t understand the title but then it was perfect. An enthralling story about two women on opposite ends of the social spectrum, yet bound by a single incident. What a brilliant (and yes, at times brutal but necessarily so) depiction of our troubled, complicated and conflicted world.

Also fascinating is the depiction of the lies we’ll tell ourselves and others, simply to achieve fame – and the depths to which we will sink – and the speed with which we will sink – in order to stay on the top rung of the Karshadian ladder of influencer fame and fortune. Selling our souls for celebrity status is the new evil: the desire to be the trending Google search is the apple in our Garden of Eden. Which, if you consider, is truly ironic, since Apple and Steve Jobs were indeed the poisoned fruit of our times. And yes, while so many levels of learning and communication have been opened up by their presence, the price for those gains has been steep.

There is the price of fanatics pretending to eschew the allure of the new fame and insist that they are the antithesis of it, but they eagerly buy into it by kidnapping and torturing fellow humans on live feed all while insisting they are ‘torture artists’ not terrorists and that their cause is pure. No longer is Andy Warhol’s ridiculously short-lived fifteen minutes of fame the prize, we are brainwashed into craving the enduring glory of the internet, even if it is all a lie, smoke and mirrors.
The book is unflinching in its examination of the tortures endured by ancient saints, and indeed, by the marriage of Heaven and Hell (and the Blake poem in this regard). This book is also fascinating in the examining the relationship between pain and saintliness, pain and Godliness.
“Where there has been no story, you have told one. Where there has been nothing, you have created life. Death is the destruction of the story. Life is the creation of one. Conscience is the remembering. Guilt is the regret of destruction. Redemption is the rewriting. Suffering inspires it. Suffering is the quill.”
And:
“If we managed to tell our story, it might destroy the marriage. I had always believed in the contraries. Hell needed a Heaven to corrupt, and Heaven needed an enemy to destroy. Could one story do anything but state what everybody already knew? The two needed each other to exist. Without the marriage, there would be no stories worth remembering. There would be nothing to create.”
And:
“I have always loved the scent of roses. I don’t know why. It’s like it comes from the thorns instead of the flower.”

WORRY by Jessica Westhead, Harper Perennial
Worry gave me goosebumps from the very first line! The first few pages are so utterly heartbreaking that you nearly shy away but the instant connection between reader and protagonist is established and you devour the entire book. And yes, you do worry, the entire way.

The novel takes you on a gripping journey that keeps you guessing, enticing you to want to know more while unfolding with perfect timing and suspenseful emotionality. And there’s a great ending, with suprising plot twists.

Worry is much more than a cottage country domestic thriller or a tale of childhood besties gone wrong, Worry looks at the pain we can leave behind versus that which we can’t or, that still needs work and then, what lies on the other side of endurance and healing?

THE UMBRELLA MENDER by Christine Fischer Guy, Wolsak and Wynn.
I was quite haunted by this book. When I read it, in 2014, I didn’t have The Minerva Review and Ididn’t write a review at the time. However, I wanted to showcase here now, as an upcoming event, to be hosted by Christine Fischer Guy, titled, Unforgettable Women in Fiction, reminded me how unforgettable her Hazel is. She is as strong in my mind today as she was back then. Enduring characters are a mark of wonderful fiction.

LITTLE FORTRESS by Laisha Rosnau, Wolsak and Wynn.
When I saw an ARC of Laisha Rosna’s book up for grabs, I lunged at it. It didn’t matter that there was no one around to arm wrestle the book from me and perhaps I was worried that book was a figment of my imagination and I had to nab it before it disappeared! I loved Laisha Rosnau’s first book, The Sudden Weight of Snow, and I just couldn’t wait to read this one.
I was slightly perplexed by the title, Little Fortress, given the book’s blurb. I wasn’t sure where fortresses would come into the picture, little or otherwise. But of course, as I read the book, it all became clear.
I don’t want to give the game away but fortresses come in many shapes and sizes and I loved Rosnau’s use of them. Women’s bodies, as fortresses, within which we live, from which we do battle daily, and which hold the sanctity of our inner strength and resources which, while strained, do not break. This is a beautiful story of endurance and survival.

WHAT GOES AROUND by Ruth Clarke, Inanna Publications
About the book (from Goodreads):
What do a corpse, a painter, two smugglers, a clever ghost, a green parrot, a fashion show and a bank robbery have in common? Set in present-day Central America, a talkative parrot witnesses a crime; friendly spirits chaperone, shape, and direct their fellow characters in criminal pursuits, in romantic liaisons and in business endeavours, allowing them to make amends, and to right some of the wrongs of history through actions reminiscent of legendary Robin Hood. Simon Patrick, an artist, re-locates in Costa Rica. He inherits a parrot, Don Verde, once a drug mule for Marco Alvarez who has left behind the body of his wife, Isabella, in the well. But this is not a run-of-the-mill smuggler, nor is Isabella a passive ghost. What follows is a terrific tale of friendship, thievery, haunting, and finally redemption.
My review:
Vivid. Compelling and painterly. What Goes Around is a richly textured, sensual novel with a layered plot to match. There’s a crime and love, both good and bad, Wounds that would heal slowly but, when aided by the happenstance of good friends and fortune, heal more quickly. This would be a good novel to read during the bleak Canadian winter when we all need to feel as if we are in scented gardens or swimming in the ocean, feeling the sand underfoot and hearing the calls of ‘birds’

Looking Down Life, Why We Shadow Box Our Demons From The Poetry Ring, The Shining Few, A Dramatic Tribute to Emily Carr and Impulse on The Run by Peggy Fletcher.
Four volumes of poetry by Peggy Fletcher were perfect Minerva Reader finds! My husband was on a shoot in Sarnia and one of the locations was the community centre. His workdays are a great time fro me to explore and find story ideas. I wandered into the centre and found books for sale. I found four slim volumes – what a find!
Below is an article written by Debbie Okun Hill, President, The Ontario Poetry Society, January 14, 2012 and it perfectly sums up what I’d like to say about Peggy Fletcher’s work. I find her insights and observations unsettlingly accurate to the point of being unnerving. Thank you, Peggy, for so perfectly putting words to this magical mystical and strange human experience.

"I am not afraid of dying but the prospect of wasting away is what I fear most. I want people to remember me in a happier light not what I may become at the end. - Peggy Fletcher, November 23, 2011"
"Award-winning poet Peggy Fletcher knew how to touch people with her words. Even when faced with adversity, she accepted her fate, thinking of others before herself. For those who knew her well, she was the pillar of strength, the foundation and earth matriarch that so many infant writers have leaned on. Like the wind, her ideas swirled through the minds of those she taught and mentored. Her poetry danced: spirited not only with rich metaphors fueled by the fire of her imagination but also with a vision and clarity as pristine as ice.
Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, Peggy settled in Sarnia, Ontario where she continued to retain her Eastern Canadian and small town charm. As TOPS Sarnia branch manager, she spent more time helping others than marketing her own work. In addition to being a mother of five grown daughters and spending time with several grandchildren, she became one of Lambton County's most prolific writers.

She taught creative writing, was an editor for The Observer and the literary magazine Mamashee, had her work aired on CBC-Radio and published nationally in Chatelaine and other literary publications including Room, Quills and Mobius. She was also the co-creator and one of the original hosts of Spoken Word, an open mic event at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts.

Peggy's portfolio includes a short story collection, a full-length play about the life of Canadian artist Emily Carr, and over 15 poetry books/chapbooks including Why We Shadow Box Our Demons and One Hundred Sonnets Home. For close to fifty years, she played a vital role in Sarnia's literary scene and was a mentor to many members of Writers in Transition (WIT), a local writers group that she helped to establish in 1979.

As Peggy mentioned in late November, "I am so proud to have been a part of this writing community, and having contributed a small body of poetry and art that hopefully reaches standards that I tried to attain."

She will not be forgotten!

On behalf of all the members of The Ontario Poetry Society, thank you for all that you have done for this organization over the years as well as being my poetry mentor and dear writing friend. I know you are listening. I can feel you lurking in the wind, the way you stir the earth with your fingers, the way your literary fire roars through my grief, that writer's block of ice that makes me shiver.”

-.-

BONUS! Check out the first two sentences of these 45 sensationally great books!

We all know that the first two sentences are the first six seconds you’ve got to grab a reader and reel them in. These sentences are a master class on how to get it done.

• Every Little Piece of Me by Amy Jones, McClelland & Stuart.
“You are beautiful is so last month,” she said to Val, who was wrestling with a bubble-wrapped envelope full of what turned out to be two-dimensional paper flowers, cut from construction paper and painted with more glitter. “This should say Survivor. At least it would be shorter.”

• Bina by Anakana Schofield, Alfred A. Knopf, Canada.
“Eddie’s the kind of son you are landed with because no beggar wants to be bothered with him, and because he’s used up all his goodwill and will soon expire on yours.”

• Spirit River Dam by Susan Daly, in The Best Laid Plans (Superior Shores Press).
“In her mind’s eye, she saw the fateful figures reasserting themselves one by one, burning through the paper seal on the back of the painting. Like something in a Twilight Zone episode.”

• The Red Word by Sarah Henstra, ECW Press.
“No one in their right mind gives up power peaceably, Dyann would say. No one is ever going to hand over our freedom to us, just like that.”

• The Whisky King by Trevor Cole, HarperCollins.
“The foursome spent the night in Detroit, Zaneth somewhere on his own, presumably receiving his drugs, and the Poles trio out drinking, or so they said. He didn’t see them until noon the next day, but once they were together the trio wanted Zaneth to stay with them.”

• Up From Freedom by Wayne Grady, Doubleday Canada.
“Nothing is forgiven,” his father used to say. “Some things are forgotten but damn few. And nothing is ever forgiven.”

• Songs for the Cold of Heart, by Eric Dupont, translated from the French by Peter McCambridge, QC Fiction.
“He was shorter than me. I’m a little on the tall side, even for a German from the north, but he was fat too, wearing a black suit with a bowtie. Nothing says “I’m a total cretin” like a bowtie, Kapriel.”

• An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim, Penguin Random House Canada.
“He is at the end of time. There is nothing but ashy beach and giant, slithering crabs with palpitating mouths and pale, jerking antennae. He remembers the sounds of his world, birdsong and teatime, and he thinks, All that is over.”

• No TV for Woodpeckers by Gary Barwin, a Buckrider Book.
at this difficult time
in our lives, ladies and gentlemen
let us consider sandwiches:
if the only thing in the universe

• Subtitles by Domenico Capilongo, Guernica Editions.
“The music grows outward from ancient street corners. In wafts of cigar smoke, off the hoods of vintage cars, echoing between the rows of tourists who tap their feet, off rhythm.”

• Tender in the Age of Fury by Brandon Pitts, Mosaic Press.
we knew then
that the boy
who spoke with departed shades
was a prophet of things to come

so we called him
Sweet Medicine

• Four-letter Words by Chad Pelley, Breakwater Books.
“It had been a while, sure, a month or two, but this wasn’t about catching up, so he stood there, wordless, waiting to be invited in. She tightened her bathrobe and swooped her arm like, come in. A waft of lavender, some kind of bath product that smelled purple.”

• In the Bear’s House by Bruce Hunter, Oolichan Books.
“She was fragile now. He felt the tremor in her voice and the uncertainty in her eyes. “Not a word,” he said. Then she let him go.”

• Twelve Moons and Six More Poems by Ellen S. Jaffe, Pinking Shears Publications.
I clean out your kitchen
one last time,
bake the sweet, apple-rich cake.
You never felt hungry, you
told me before you died.
Now I hunger, I hunger,
and I eat.

• Send by Domenico Capilongo, Guernica Editions.
I’m like in love with you
like she walked in the room
and I’m like wow look at her
like if you think I’m pretty
like if I shouldn’t kill myself
like I got so many likes
it was like crazy

• The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley, Simon & Schuster.
“She created a Twitter account. She named herself Zoey W., left her photo the little white egg. It made her sad, the lonely little egg, but this was not about Zoey—or if it was, it was about creating the world she would have wanted Zoey to live in.”

• Dream Sequence by Adam Foulds, Biblioasis.
“As soon as he saw the desert, Henry knew he was in the right place. It was like no landscape Henry had ever seen before. It was absolute.”

• Blue Pyramids by Robert Priest, ECW.
Daniel slips away
but he’s still standing there
riding the blue wave
into a painting
into a story
or just a fantasy-thought
one more little cape
for identity to twirl in his
wild shaman’s shuffle

• The Street of Butterflies by Mehri Yalfani, Inanna Publications.
“On our honeymoon I realized I couldn’t live with him. He wasn’t my type. I couldn’t make myself love him.”

• Permission by Saskia Vogel, Coach House Books.
“Standing in that same window, it wasn’t the ocean I saw but the seams: silicone, grout, hinges and brackets. All that was holding the house together and all the ways in which it could fall apart.”

• Black Beach by Glynis Guevara, Inanna Publications.
“As she stepped away from the water and headed toward the unkempt trail back to town, she wondered what condition her mother would be in when she got home. She thought of her mother’s mother and her father’s sister, both of whom had suffered from debilitating mental health issues before their deaths. Will I end up like them?

• Motel of the Opposable Thumbs by Stuart Ross, Anvil Press.
My shadow contains three words:
Sh. Ad. Ow. I contain mulitudes
of headlice I’m hoping to comb out
before you arrive with your eyes in your face,

• There is a Place by Ivy Reiss, Ivy Reiss.
Nothing can compare to
The blunt breaking in
Of un-thought
Forgotten things

• Dear Evelyn by Kathy Page, Biblioasis.
“Running through the leafy lane, his shirt damp with sweat, his body warming to the work and liking it, his eyes growing sharper and taking in the almost-bursting buds and the spiderwebs bejewelled with glistening droplets, Harry forgets the argument completely.”

• Perspectives on a Crime Scene by Alex Stolis, Grey Borders Books.
“Together they looked like some noir tableau, a Hopper painting. When he got the drop on her she looked straight-edged, full of sin; ready to burn him to the ground.”

• Branches by Mark Truscott, Book*hug.
The feeling
we could be
Doing something
else is always
there, the
edge that
bespeaks the
thing is
here now

• One Day it Happens by Mary Lou Dickinson, Inanna Publications.
“But then, after your understood it all, and God knows, she thought she understood it—the sudden crushing desire to take the oar and be that woman she hadn’t been—then what did she understand?”

• Side by Side by Anita Kushwaha, Inanna Publications.
“Suddenly she can’t stand to look at the photograph any longer. Its lost beauty burns her eyes as if backlit with fluorescence. She turns away.”

• Beirut Hellfire Society by Rawi Hage, Alfred A. Knopf.
“One morning in late June, Pavlov, still in his pajamas and slippers, rushed along the street to get his French Gitanes Maïs cigarettes before the grocery’s metal doors, in deference to the impending passage of death, rolled with the speed of a guillotine.”

• Land of the Sky by Salimah Valiani, Inanna Publications.
Have you seen
the moon through
A square in the sky?
The moon looks like
the sun
In some measure
4 rays (instead of many)
pronounced and crisp
but not blindingly bright

• Dreaming Fidel by Heather Birrell, Proper Tales Press.
“There are insects that look like sticks in this world, and birds that can blend into flowers. Do you ever want to do the same, or does it bother you a little that they do not have the courage to make themselves known?”

• Journeywoman by Carolyne Van Der Meer, Inanna Publications.
We were removed
those summers
from our lives on Boundary Road
the little bungalow on the same street

• Roll With It by Heather Wood, Tightrope Books.
“Gregor was totally pumped that NASA just announced they discovered water on the moon. Apparently they did this by crashing a satellite on purpose. Because of this discovery, and as it was also a Friday night, he asked me out for a special date at a classier than usual pizzeria.”

• Terra Incognita by Adebe DeRango-Adem, Inanna Publications.
Remember the cries that came
from small workshop rooms

when you marched onto everyone’s notebooks,
left the door deliberately ajar;
spoke in bleeding headlines,
need to get the story straight

• Land Mammals and Sea Creatures by Jen Neale, ECW.
“The macaroni trudged down Marty’s throat. The world outside was dark, and he wondered what was outside the front door. The apocalypse could be long over. This dinner could have started ten years ago. Maybe he was stuck to the couch and didn’t realize it because he never tried to move.”

• Two O’Clock Creek by Bruce Hunter, Oolichan Books.
Blame it on this odd day
April in January
your parents’ empty house
an appropriate choice of music
you and your tangled hair
But the wind shook loose our clothes
sent us spinning like twin spells
tremulous through the house

• Beached Whales by Stedmond Pardy, World Enterprise Books
A quadruple rainbow, stretchedddddd across, A
Carnivorus,
Sky,
Our Black sheep, was about to get wrapped, Wrapped
In,
The Golden, FLEECE,

• From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle, Simon & Schuster.
“A million years of silence followed. Stars flickered and extinguished one by one, civilizations rose and fell, great pyramids were built and crumbled, yet she kept looking at me. And the wall, a thousand miles high, that I kept between me and the rest of the world didn’t exist—not a brick anywhere in sight.” (Home you'll check out my review of this stellar book in the Library 2019!)

• I know you are but what am I? by Heather Birrell, Coach House Books.
“The museum was colossal and quiet, like something God had built then abandoned. Not that quiet, with the people. Tourists chasing down culture. Lisa was one of them, and it smarted a little.”

• In the Days of the Cotton Wind and the Sparrow by Rafi Aaron, Exile Editions.
“And it was the time of disenchanted boulders
pounding on the plains and a time of courageous
endeavours when green plants stood against a
southern wind, and the feathers of the peacock
searched for colour.

• Drugs by Stedmond Pardy, World Enterprise Books.
Knowing
That “the elements in modern society
Destructive of the best qualities
Of human nature”
Have been laid out mercilessly
For our insatiable eyes
Countless times, you stand!!

• The Innocents by Michael Crummey, Doubleday Canada and McClelland & Stewart.
“It was a foolish undertaking but she knew there was no bringing him to his senses. “I’m coming with you,” she said.
“Sister,” he said. Though he knew she would insist and didn’t waste any more of his breath trying to talk her into staying back.

• The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson.
“Your mother is a tireless turds polisher,” was my father’s official position on the matter.
That night the brothers got drunk, picked a fight, and scrapped outside the bar.

• To the River by Don Gillmor, Random House Canada. “We can’t protect them forever, of course. But parenthood is made up of thousands of these moments—something visceral in the dark when you are pressed against your child with your secret thoughts.”

• The Sweetheart Scamster by Rosemary McCracken in The Best Laid Plans, Superior Shores Press.
“And that made me sit up straight in my chair. As a financial advisor, I’m well aware there are complexities to grey romance that are seldom present in youthful relationships.”