How To Pronounce KnifeSouvankham Thammavongsa McClelland & Stewart, 2020 Review by Leslie Palleson In a recent interview with the Atlantic, Souvankham Thammavongsa describes laughter as the cornerstone of the stories in her debut collection How to Pronounce Knife. “Laughter does...
The Foley Artist: StoriesRicco Villanueva SiasocoGaudy Boy, 2019 Review by Serkan Görkemli Queer literary writing is enjoying unprecedented exposure in the world of publishing, but we need more stories that reflect the racial, ethnic, and geographical diversity in our...
The Baudelaire FractalLisa RobertsonCoach House, 2020 Review by Margaryta Golovchenko Sitting in the packed atrium of the MOCA for the launch of The Baudelaire Fractal (Coach House, 2020) as Lisa Robertson discusses history and legacy, I recall the words...
The Towers of BabylonMichelle KaeserFreehand Books, 2019 Winter WillowDeborah-Anne TunneyEnfield and Wizenty, 2019 Review by Marcie McCauley Near the beginning of Michelle Kaeser’s debut novel The Towers of Babylon (Freehand Books, 2019) there’s talk of Venezuela’s Torre David and,...
AriaNazanine HozarKnopf Canada, 2019 Review by Elina Taillon In the years prior to the Iranian revolution, a baby girl is abandoned in an alleyway in Tehran. Found by a man who will become her adoptive father, her life is...
Even That Wildest Hopeby Seyward GoodhandInvisible Publishing, 2019 Review by Kate Finegan Seyward Goodhand’s debut collection of short fiction, Even That Wildest Hope (Invisible Publishing, 2019) begins with a question: “How can a man with love in his heart...
Frying Plantain Zalika Reid-BentaHoue of Anansi Press, 2019 The StudentCary FaganFreehand Books, 2019 Review by Marcie McCauley Right now, the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto is relentless: traffic is crawling. On the page, however, Eglinton Avenue...
Little BoyLawrence FerlinghettiDoubleday, 2019 Review by B.H. Lake In his latest book, Little Boy, Lawrence Ferlinghetti tells a story that took place in his teenage years. An older boy once held him down and refused to let him up...
MeteoritesJulie PaulTouchWood Editions, 2019 Review by Elina Taillon In her third short story collection, Meteorites, Julie Paul offers us quiet glimpses into a Canadian quotidian that simmers underneath those thornier, tangled parts of life: a family rift, impotence to...