The Pine IslandsMarion PoschmannTranslation by Jen CallejaCoach House Books, 2020 Review by Kris Rothstein It is with a nod to Kafka that something absurd and unforeseen happens to Gilbert Silvester in the opening scene of The Pine Islands: a...
The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak Grace Lau Guernica, 2021 Review by Kate Gorton If it were possible to titrate Grace Lau’s stunning poetry debut down to one line from one poem, this would come closest: “Where is me?”...
The Hour of the StarClarice LispectorNew Directions Publishing, 2020 Review by Rachel Gerry Brazilian journalist José Castello tells a bizarre anecdote about a run-in with Clarice Lispector on the streets of Rio, shortly before her death: Clarice is standing...
Kimiko Does CancerKimiko TobimatsuArsenal Pulp Press, 2020 Review by Muniyra Douglas A life turned upside down by a single phone call. A young woman must navigate difficult familial, platonic, and romantic relationships suddenly impacted by a new medical revelation....
UnderstanGavin BarrettMawenzi House, 2020 Review by Kate Rogers Gavin Barrett’s poetry collection Understan takes the reader on a beautiful kaleidoscopic journey from Goa, India, throughout the various places he has lived, including Toronto and environs. The poems sojourn with...
PhillisAlison ClarkeUniversity of Calgary Press, 2020 Review by Rachel Narvey In Alison Clarke’s latest publication, Phillis (2020), Clarke cracks open time and form to craft a paean for the beloved eighteenth century poet, Phillis Wheatley. As a child, Phillis...
TENDERLaiwan Talon Books, 2020 Review by Clayton Longstaff Laiwan’s poetry takes root in the most hostile of urban landscapes, and breathes deep. In breathing, it becomes a living force in the felled detritus of capitalistic and colonial wreckage. From...
Stoop CityKristyn DunnionBiblioasis, 2020 Review by Chantelle Cho “It’s like last winter when she took that girl Lena on a road trip and left me to finish my thesis in the sub-zero gloom.” This is how the first story...
Eat A PeachDavid ChangClarkson Potter/Publishers 2020 Review by Caileigh Broatch David Chang wears a lot of hats, the first of which is a chef’s hat. He is, after all, the founder of the Momofuku Restaurant Group (with a new...