The Secret to Superhuman StrengthAlison BechdelHoughton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021 Review by RJ McDaniel It is with a flurry of activity that Alison Bechdel, acclaimed cartoonist and MacArthur genius, welcomes readers to her new graphic memoir, The Secret to Superhuman...
The Lights of PragueNicole JarvisPenguin Random House, 2021 Review by Nikki H. The Lights of Prague is a standalone historical fantasy written by Nicole Jarvis. This debut novel tells the story of Domek, a monster hunter known as a...
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...