Canadian Book Clubs Book Reviews Forum: Literature & Fiction

Canadian Book Clubs Book Reviews Forum: Literature & Fiction http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ Canadian Book Clubs Book Reviews Forum: Literature & Fiction en Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:27:16 +0000 Publisher on "Stealing Nasreen" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/17#post-41 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:05:48 +0000 Publisher 41@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ Farzana Doctor would be happy to participate in book club meetings either in person in the Toronto area, or by speaker phone. To arrange this, please call Doctor at 647-899-8974. Publisher on "Stealing Nasreen" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/17#post-40 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 14:53:35 +0000 Publisher 40@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ Book Review When I picked up Stealing Nasreen, I expected an abundance of lesbian experiences, from the first time exploration to dramatic break-ups. As I started reading it, I thought it was about immigration to Canada and adaptation in Canada. The lesbian theme did occur but more as a tangent, a tease. Then I thought this book was about relationships. After getting to know the characters, I concluded differently on the author’s theme and purpose. The three main characters are very real, very credible, and very moralistic. Throughout the book, the characters grow, often fumbling and telling lies when attempting to avoid pain, grief, and loss. They finally understand that they must confront their fears and lies that created the problems in the first place. We are first introduced to Shaffiq, an Indian male immigrant. His lie is his continual optimism about being in Canada. He recognizes that he has faked this optimism after the "honeymoon" of being in Canada. Yet, he cannot reveal this lie to his wife, Salma. To spice up his mundane job, he searches for clues about the people around him, creating melodrama in his life. He focuses on Nasreen, a second-generation Indian woman. Nasreen does not represent romantic interest for Shaffiq, but Canadian success for an Indian person. Salma is the central character. Her lie is her efforts to make life successful in Canada. Starved for social stimulation, she turns to her religion. Dwelling on the past, on good things back in India, Salma returns to an unresolved thread in life and creates melodrama in her lonely life in Canada. Nasreen, a modern-day Canadian woman, finds herself in the middle of Salma and Shaffiq’s marriage, after unintentionally sparking off a crisis with these immigrants. Having lost her mother to cancer, Nasreen rejects the painful grieving process and her father, along with avoiding the grief from her break-up with her lover. She is the catalyst in the lives of Salma and Shaffiq. Farzana Doctor slowly introduces us to Salma’s and Shaffiq’s backgrounds and work histories. This purposeful direction enables us to see Salma and Shaffiq first as individuals, before our stereotyping can occur. In some ways, Shaffiq and Salma are very much like, practical in agreeing to an arranged marriage. Their cultural, ethnical, and economic backgrounds demanded practicality to ensure some individual control over their futures. Nasreen experiences no such restrictions. The demands in her life have been minimal which leaves her character development on a more superficial level than Shaffiq's and Salma's. Nasreen’s life revolves around either or choices on simplistic matters, rather than seeing other alternatives. Doctor illustrates this symbolically. Nasreen goes to the grocery store, and hears her mother and her ex-girlfriend's voices in dispute over which cereal to buy. Rather than seeing other alternatives besides the two boxes of cereal, Nasreen takes both cereal boxes. Doctor describes believable incidents that help readers to identify and sympathize with her characters, like Nasreen’s father. He curses the broken automatic garage door-opener, which he always talks about fixing. After opening the door, he buckles up to drive the last three meters into the garage. I like the details that demonstrate character traits. Nasreen’s father seems like so many other urbanites. Doctor describes Nasreen standing before the open fridge door for too long, and about how she hurriedly cleans her whole apartment before a guest imminent arrival. Doctor uses parallel constructions with skill. As an example, Shaffiq wonders whether his thinking has become more melodramatic. "Carrying on with his cleaning, he imagines love affairs as he scrubs toilets, conflicts and ruined lives while mopping floors, and heartbreaking betrayals when emptying garbage cans." Is melodrama a condition of a recent immigrant, of a humdrum job, or of a humdrum life? Does melodrama sprout when leisure time is available? Shaffiq wonders at all the Canadian people with such problems. Back home in India, he had never heard of depression, anxieties, shoplifting, and excessive drinking. Salma feels the loneliness from Shaffiq working the night shift. In her loneliness and solitude, Salma reaches out to Nasreen, creating her own melodrama. Nasreen builds her melodrama from her inability to release her former lover, and to deal with the loss of her mother. Do we create our melodrama when we are unsatisfied with our lives, lying to our close intimates and ourselves? Doctor implies that without honesty we will be melodramatic, as happens to the main characters in this book. Once internal dissatisfaction solidifies and peaks in melodramatic reality, then circumstances force the characters to admit and to choose. We are introduced to the lesbian world with a history of Nasreen’s entrance into her own sexual orientation. Exploring Nasreen’s lesbian lifestyle reveals the character of a lesbian relationship, the similarity to heterosexual relationships. The author dissolves the unfamiliarity for mainstream readers by showing the familiarity of relationships between two lovers, no matter what the sexual orientation. I wondered about Salma’s lesbian crushes in India. People crave intimacy. With the cultural restrictions around non-familial relationships of the opposite sex, it is no wonder that Salma develops deep feelings for someone of the same sex. In Canada, Salma finds Nasreen who provides intellectual stimulation, sympathy, and a chance to resolve her badly ended lesbian relationship in India. In turn, Nasreen understands what it is like to be the person who is desired, and pursued. This is one example where Doctor contrasts and layers a relationship allowing us to see situations from different viewpoints, using past events and other relationships. The engagements of a therapist or a psychologist reveal lies or avoidance in the patients’ lives. All the characters including the two whom were in therapy resolve their problems outside of the therapist office. However, other people play the therapist role informally, demonstrating the importance of communication. Doctor beautifully writes, "...Salma and Shaffiq sit awake thinking about all the clues that tell them, they need to mind their marriage." They become mindful of other people and their surroundings that supply clues. Both Salma and Shaffiq have wonderful insightful dreams that hint at resolutions to their marriage problem. Is this book about relationships? Doctor portrays many types, with contrasting viewpoints: inter-racial romance vs. same-race romance, Indian-grown romance vs. Canadian-born romance, mother vs. daughter, father vs. daughter, sister vs. brother, young lovers vs. long-time marriage, lesbian vs. heterosexual, therapist vs. patient. Interestingly, readers can see the similarities and solutions, but the characters seem blinded. For example, Nasreen, a psychologist, goes to see a therapist herself. The therapy sessions demonstrate restricted intercourse with her therapist, and Nasreen avoiding her own grief. She repeats the dialogue with one of her own clients who lost her mother, making Nasreen a questionable psychologist in her current state. I loved this book for its varied themes, layers, meanings, and symbolism. In the end, I believe Stealing Nasreen is about "life", a fresh look at living life through the eyes of recent immigrants to Canada. Publisher on "Stealing Nasreen" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/17#post-38 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 09:12:15 +0000 Publisher 38@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ I will review this book. Publisher on "Stealing Nasreen" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/17#post-37 Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:01:30 +0000 Publisher 37@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0978223306/701-7195923-2009942"><img src="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/graphics/books/stealing100.jpg" /></a> Book Synopsis Farzana Doctor’s highly anticipated novel about queer identities, immigrant life, secrets, and lost loves. <blockquote>Nasreen Bastawala is an Indo-Canadian lesbian and burnt-out psychologist who meets and becomes enmeshed in the lives of Shaffiq and Salma Paperwala, new immigrants from Mumbai. Both Shaffiq and Salma develop confusing attractions to Nasreen. For Shaffiq this causes him to bring home and hide things he “finds” in her office. Salma’s crush on Nasreen harkens back memories and regrets about a lesbian affair that ended badly years ago. </blockquote> <blockquote>Nasreen has troubles of her own. She recently broke up with her cheating girlfriend and is dealing with her father, who has become demanding and clingy ever since the death of her mother a couple of years before. </blockquote> <blockquote>Without knowing what is happening, Nasreen becomes the centre of Shaffiq and Salma’s lives. Each keeps a secret about Nasreen, and in so doing risks their marriage, while Nasreen struggles to come to terms with her mother’s death and her recent break-up. An impulsive kiss sets off a surprising course of events. </blockquote> Farzana Doctor is a Toronto-based writer whose work has been published in Siren Magazine, Trikone, Sightlines 7 Anthology, and Aurat Durbar. She has also co-written a manual for therapists and co-produced a documentary video. She is also a social worker, educator and consultant. <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0978223306/701-7195923-2009942">Buy this book at Amazon.ca</a> or at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/canadianboo06-20/detail/0978223306/002-5454111-2828068">Amazon.com</a> Paula on "Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/13#post-30 Sat, 02 Jun 2007 20:15:47 +0000 Paula 30@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ Review by Paula Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam Dr. Vincent Lam, an Emergency Physician by profession, has aptly utilized his wealth of knowledge and experiences in his debut book Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures. The book comprise twelve interwoven short stories chronicling the lives of Ming, Fitz, Sri and Chen, four young medical students and their lives as physicans. Lam captured the Scotiabank Giller prize for this book So I take you through each of the twelve stories with interesting tidbits to wet your appetite and a critique here or there along the way. How to Get Into Medical School, Part 1 is the opening story. Here you are first introduced to Ming and Fitzgerald, their love affair, the cultural differences that come into play and tips on how to study for exams, compliments of Ming. It worked for “Fitz”. Would-be medical students should take note of this. Of all the short stories, this one I found the pace slow at the beginning and a few sentences written awkwardly but a story that sets the stage for the next eleven stories. Take All of Murphy Along with Ming, you are introduced to two more medical students Sri and Chen, as they enter the ‘bowels’ of the hospital to learn about dissection of the human cadaver. The story is told with sensitivity, compassion and humor. You are given insight as to how each of these students deals with their first dissection and the raw emotions that come forth. Personalities certainly are developing in this segment. Loved the bit about the tattoo – it gave a personality or spirit, whatever you want to call it, to “Murphy”. How To Get Into Medical School, Part II You are back again with Ming and Fitz, and Chen becomes a major player, much to the misery of Fitz. I found this story well written, and you do feel for Fitz as the ‘love of his life’ moves on. The cultural differences between Ming and Fitz are an important factor in this story. Code Clock You meet Fitz again, along with other interns and medical staff as ‘Code Blue’ is called out over the intercom. In a well written story you feel the energy, excitement, nervousness and adrenalin rush as Fitz, along with another colleague ‘run the code’ to get to the patient, who is in cardiac arrest. You have seen these stories on TV but the written word by Lam gives you a much more realistic glimpse into the feelings of those in attendance as they struggle to keep a patient alive. A Long Migration This story rather stands on its own…almost like a ‘sidebar’. It is Chen’s family history, but really centered on his grandfather Yeh Yeh. It’s a great story and Yeh Yeh is so colorful and with Yeh Yeh’s illness, Chen’s interest in medicine is piqued and thus his journey begins. I think a book could be in the making on Chen’s grandfather alone. Winston and Eli In the story about Winston, you travel with Winston through his psychosis as Sri tries to to handle the case with tact and compassion. Sri shows up in other portions of stories and it is his compassion in dealing with patients that comes through. There is a sadness for Sri but then you will have to read the stories to find out. In the story of Eli, Fitz is at the helm, and he must attend to a prisoner who is brought to the hospital by police. Eli is the uncooperative, angry prisoner and has to be held down while Fitz attends to his wounds. There are risks to a doctor’s own health and safety, let alone the police, when dealing with this type of patient. I read about Eli as if I was reading a medical report on a clip board. But what both stories do is show the multi-tasking that doctors have to juggle and the extreme ends of medical cases they must deal with…and therefore the stories are crucial to the overall picture of ‘doctoring’. Afterwards Another patient for Sri – a Code Blue. Every effort is made to save the patient but the patient dies. It is up to Sri to tell the family. He tells the family what they need to hear – with a slightly different version running through his mind But the story does not end there. The patient had his cardiac arrest at a barber shop, or more exactly, in the backroom. The patient’s wife is then on a mission to find out what took place in the backroom. I liked the characterization of the wife – she actually made this story I thought. An Insistent Tide Well the short stories would not be complete without a birth and this is just what this story is about. And Ming is the doctor on duty. An emergency situation develops towards the end of labor which has an interesting development. I found this story one of my least interesting. Perhaps it was meandering about too much before the story got into the actual birthing. Night Flight Dr. Fitzgerald takes to the air on a med vac emergency and the story unfolds. You get a glimpse into what is happening personally to Fitzgerald’s health and see that the stress, strain and sleepless nights are contributing factors, along with loneliness. You start to see a slight unraveling of Fitzgerald. Contact Tracing Remember the SARS epidemic in Toronto, well Dr. Lam captures in this story, just how staff must have been affected. The pressure on ward nurses to work the SARS floor and if they chose not to, what they would have to forfeit in return. Both Fitz and Chen come into contact with the virus and the story moves forward from there. This is one of the best stories in the book. There is so much emotion in this story and you have quite a fondness for Fitz and admiration for Chen who risks his own health to assist Fitz. Before Light Before Light, is the last of the twelve stories and it is a good one to wrap up the series. Chen is the central figure in this story. You go with Chen on his rounds and at the end of the day, you find yourself as exhausted as him. I felt the author really captured the ‘day in the life of a physican’. In Vincent Lam’s Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, I choose to give a little insight into each story, since each stands on its own merits. I did find several of the stories slowly paced in parts, with other stories moving along more swiftly. However, that is a minor criticism. Lam has given us an honest and human glimpse into the hearts, minds and souls of Ming, Fitz, Sri and Chen. I will remember them for a long time. Good book Dr. Lam. I shall look forward to your next literary work. Publisher on "Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/13#post-25 Tue, 22 May 2007 16:02:28 +0000 Publisher 25@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ Paula will review this book instead. Publisher on "Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/13#post-24 Wed, 16 May 2007 08:29:37 +0000 Publisher 24@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ I will review this book. Publisher on "Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/13#post-23 Tue, 08 May 2007 11:22:27 +0000 Publisher 23@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0385661444/701-0913032-4501906"><img src="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/graphics/books/bloodletting100.jpg" /></a> Book Synopsis <blockquote>Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures is an astonishing literary debut, a collection of mature and intricate stories connected through the relationships that develop among group of young doctors as they move from the challenges of med school to the intense world of emergency rooms, evac missions, and terrifying new viruses. . </blockquote> <blockquote>Vincent Lam holds in delicate and sinful tension black humour, investigations of both common and extraordinary moral dilemmas, and a sometimes shockingly realistic and matter-of-fact portrait of today’s medical profession. . </blockquote> <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0385661444/701-0913032-4501906">Buy this book at Amazon.ca</a> or at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/canadianboo06-20/detail/0385661444/002-5392730-1262425">Amazon.com</a> Publisher on "the Story of General Dann and Mara's Daughter, Griot and The Snow Dog" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/12#post-22 Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:40:18 +0000 Publisher 22@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0060530138/702-9319921-9651243 "><img src="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/graphics/books/storyofgeneraldann100.jpg" /></a> Book Synopsis <blockquote>One of greatest living writers, the acclaimed author of Mara and Dann returns us to a future where hope has frozen and died. </blockquote> <blockquote>Dann is grown up now, hunting for knowledge and despondent over the inadequacies of his civilization. With his trusted companions — Mara’s daughter, his hope for the future; the abandoned child-solder Griot, who discovers the meaning of love and the ability to sing stories; and the snow dog, a faithful friend who brings him back from the depths of despair — Dann embarks on a strange and captivating adventure in a suddenly colder, more watery climate in the north. </blockquote> Book Review Are we complacent by nature? Or is our society complacent? And what role do we play within a complacent society? Doris Lessing questions needs, wants, and ambitions in her new book, the Story of General Dann and Mara’s Daughter, Griot and The Snow Dog. Although a sequel to Mara and Dann: An Adventure, Lessing’s latest book can be read on its own. An unfamiliar reader will find the first part tough slogging. Lessing paints a self-centered man first encountering hopeless people in dire deathly circumstances, then finding a complacent society. The complacent society is isolated in an island. "No man is an island," said John Donne. These people believe they are an island unto themselves. Their complacent isolation speaks to their eventual demise. What happens when all our basic wants and needs are met with no sense of adventure left, just a total preoccupation with day to day business? What happens to that society? The people, the culture becomes complacent with no thoughts of the future, or of anyone else outside of their society. Coming from a "world" of desperation, starvation, and violence, Dann single-handedly contrasts the inadequacies of this world. Time passes quickly for Dann. Before we know it, three years have passed. Why would anyone stay in such a monotonous place, as it was a bit boring to read? But that is one of Lessing’s questions she plants in your mind. And hopefully you are awake and don’t enter that complacency by putting the book down, and failing to understand Lessing’s motivations. When Dann finally leaves this idyllic world of tranquillity called the Bottom Sea, he instills the seed of adventure, and desire for quest. He does give back in the only way he can; but in a way that we do not recognize nor value. In his leave-taking, Lessing vividly portrays Dann’s inadequacies to understanding relationships and valuing emotional depth. I hated him for that. But then in a society of complacency and self-centeredness, citizens treat each other in the same manner. Everyone goes his or her own way, with no real need for anyone, just an exchange of money. There’s always a lesson from people we hate. Moreover, Lessing makes us hate Dann for his callousness and disregard of other people in his life. He really does not understand what others have given to him. We are Dann operating with our superficial emotional immaturity in our own superficial city environments. Perhaps, we need to start giving in deeper ways, establishing emotional depths with our city neighbours, instilling seeds of inter-dependencies, and quests of independence from our captive consumerism. Being a sequel, this book may stand-alone if the reader is patient. And you will find your reward and perhaps a desire to read Mara and Dann: An Adventure for the history. I would encourage you to read the first book because you will never look at water in the way you look at it now. But don’t feel obligated to read the series in order. By reading this sequel first, you see Dann through the same eyes that other people see him, not knowing his past. Griot, a loyal friend, who idolizes Dann, asks the important questions about what makes a hero, and about the role that heroes play in our society. A hero, a visionary, is impossible without the detail person. A hero gets bogged down by repetitive negativity in the daily grind. While the detail person motivates and inspires the hero with the small daily successes that snowball and multiply. A hero is a combination of the visionary person and the detail person. Unfortunately, the masses only recognize and reward the visionary person. The lengthy title puzzles me. For those unfamiliar with the first story, the title of the second book speaks of things not true. For those of us who eagerly awaited a sequel, the title attracts and promises direction. The title speaks of blood relationships, human friendships, and loyal animal bonds, a circle that can empower a human, and bring hope for the future. When we carry hope and positive contributions, then civilization moves forward. When we carry death and destruction, civilization moves backwards. History repeats itself. Lessing leaves us to ponder our actions for our future, contrasting past and present societies. Which path will we chose? <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0060530138/702-9319921-9651243 ">Buy this book at Amazon.ca</a> or at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/canadianboo06-20/detail/0060530138/102-2850687-4947336 ">Amazon.com</a> Publisher on "Stolen" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/11#post-21 Tue, 27 Mar 2007 13:54:52 +0000 Publisher 21@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ Stolen By Annette Lapointe Reviewed by CountryDamsel Have you ever met someone who does everything you disagree with and yet with whom you still understand and sympathize? I have. I met Rowan. In this novel I learned to like a drug dealer and petty thief. Fate, in the form of his father’s mental illness, “steals” Rowan’s father, changes his mother, the only female main character in the book, and changes Rowan’s course in life. Later in life, mental illness takes yet another important figure away, Rowan’s first-love. But mental illness is not the only important issue dealt with in this novel. In fact very few important issues are left out in this novel, issues all Canadians hear about just from listening to CBC. Some of the issues are marijuana and drug use; crime in youth, gay and lesbian relations; as well as previously mentioned mental health. This is a novel very relevant to our times. Most the novel is set in small town Saskatchewan, except for a few formative years spent on the west Coast. Those of us from Saskatchewan will relate to the images of Saskatoon, Northern Saskatchewan and rural Saskatchewan. Saskatchewanians understand long bus rides with a driver named Earl on potholed roads to barely existing schools in barely existing towns. We also relate to the necessity of the internet, even if it is dial-up, to keep in touch with the rest of the world. In Rowan’s words: <blockquote>He’s discovered there are two worlds out here. The one he recognized first is scattered, nearly empty. One person every two miles, hunkered in the prairie, close and surrounded by rusting hunks of machinery and the shells of mobile homes. Thinly connected by wires and never filled. The world he found more recently is crowded. … shrank to the size of a fifteen-inch monitor, and it’s impossibly full.” Pg 18 </blockquote> I love Lapointe’s gritty and frank writing style. Stolen, a Giller Prize Nominee, is a strong-black-coffee-straight-up type novel. Or maybe something even stronger! This is a story of acceptance. Perhaps a story of how experiences make us what we are. There is suspense in this novel but an important part of the novel is also a love story. Rowan is a man who could hold many labels in our mind and not all labels with good connotations either. And yet – we learn to see beyond the label. I like many things about this book but as a Christian, I found exception in the gay love affair. The author treated Rowan’s love affair with respect, showing the relationship starting small and growing. But the details were more than I wanted to know. This is not a book I would recommend to my mother-in-law. But if you’re looking for a candid, gritty tale that causes you to question your preconceived notions, this is it. Paula on "sugar bush & other stories" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/10#post-20 Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:40:41 +0000 Paula 20@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ Sugar Bush & Other Stories By Jenn Farrell Review by Paula In her book Sugar Bush & Other Stories, Vancouver author and editor, Jenn Farrell has an amazing gift in capturing the essence of the trials and tribulations as girls and young women attempt to enter ‘the society of adults’. The book comprises twelve stories with Sugar Bush, one of the main stories. Each story is unique and powerful and you live the life of the girl the story revolves around…and then the story ends so quickly – and you really want to know more. The author portrays each character so well, that they literally come to life. Each story tells of the life of a young girl moving from puberty to a young woman or a young woman trying to maintain her own independence in today’s society. It deals with the hard facts of many social issues young people deal with. Many make unwise decisions, whether as a twelve year old, or an eighteen year old, with sex, lust, drugs and abuse forming part of their experiences. In many ways some of the stories are sad for you wish a better start in life for them. But each story reflects many truths of today’s society, even though at times we want to turn a blind eye to it. Farrell obviously has her ear to the ‘pulse of our youth’ with dialogue, feelings and settings. Take a moment to savour the short story, Dish Pig. This is the only story that headlines a young man as the main character. He is a dishwasher in a little bar joint, his first job, and he fantasies about ‘eighteen year old Amber, a regular visitor to the bar. As he says, “The one really good thing about this job is Amber – it’s part of the reason I applied here in the first place.” You can literally feel the emotions pouring forth from him as he describes his feelings. Great story. Sugar Bush is marvelous. This story is told in the form of a ‘diary’ but with a unique approach. The last story in the book is Maternity Benefits. Alice is in late pregnancy and needs a job to get a few more paychecks to help pay the bills. Jason her boyfriend was laid-off and is on unemployment insurance and is working on building a grow-op behind their laundry room. So Alice goes job hunting with only a few weeks left in her pregnancy. The author has a great line in the story as Alice prepares to dress for an interview. “She had worn her longest, loosest hippie dress to hide how big she was, and then, right before she left, she put on a pair of old control-top pantyhose to try and mash the baby down.” Alice sets out on an interview, and the story unfolds. It has a twist to the end, and leaves you wondering really what happened. You see the hard side of life in each of these stories. Some of the women will make it in life but some you wonder about. And it also bears asking the question, “Where are the parents and family for support”. And that in itself answers some questions as you read through the pages. Sugar Bush & Other Stories, a pint size book (much smaller than the usual sized novel of today) but is packed with power it its writing. I look forward to reading a full length novel from Jenn Farrell at some point. Publisher on "Stolen" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/11#post-19 Wed, 07 Mar 2007 15:08:36 +0000 Publisher 19@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ CountryDamsel will review this book. Publisher on "sugar bush & other stories" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/10#post-18 Mon, 05 Mar 2007 13:47:53 +0000 Publisher 18@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ Paula will review this book. Publisher on "Stolen" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/11#post-17 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:03:50 +0000 Publisher 17@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/1895636736/701-4100739-1635513"><img src="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/graphics/books/stolen100.jpg" /></a> Stolen Annette Lapointe Anvil Press's Synopsis Rowan Friesen has made a career of drug-dealing and small-time thievery. He lives a loner's life on the outer reaches of Saskatoon, selling crystal meth to highschoolers and hawking his pilfered loot on the Net. Shiftless and seemingly friendless, he is, at first glance, and unlikely and unlikable protagonist. But as Stolen unfolds, we learn the details of Rowan's life: his well-meaning but self-absorbed mother, his mentally-ill father, and a high school friendship both lustful and incendiary. Praise for Stolen: Stolen, published in fall, 2006, has received the Saskatchewan first book award and the Saskatoon book award. It was nominated for the Giller prize for fiction. The Giller prize jury said, "It moves with the force of what's right and true and must not be elided." Word magazine said, "Stolen is a powerful and unconventional novel. It marks a very impressive debut." The Globe and Mail said, "Abandon that blockbuster reprint and open Annette Lapointe. The Saskatoon writer's exceptional first novel should be taught in high schools." <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/1895636736/701-4100739-1635513">Buy this book at Amazon.ca</a> or at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/canadianboo06-20/detail/1895636736/105-1505174-1371648">Amazon.com</a> Publisher on "sugar bush & other stories" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/10#post-16 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:47:55 +0000 Publisher 16@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/1895636760/701-4100739-1635513"><img src="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/graphics/books/sugarbush100.jpg" /></a> sugar bush Jenn Farrell Anvil Press's Introduction Sexy, funny, sad, and sweet - sugar bush and other stories are frank tales of sex, love, and longing. These girls and young women navigate their lives in questionable ways, making some ill-advised choices in their quests for individuality. Whether waiting tables in a factory town, skipping school to make out in the cemetery, or wandering alone on rural side-roads, the characters in this collection share an appetite for destruction and an almost pathological need for acceptance and approval. Part breathless teenaged confessional, part wistful looks back, "sugar bush" is a potent cocktail of desires thwarted and fulfilled. Praise for sugar bush: <blockquote>"Jenn Farrell smashes neat ideas - of childhood and adulthood, love and lust, home and away - to find their more interesting edges. Her stories are bright, sharp shards, winking and glittering and drawing blood." - Annabel Lyn, author of The Best Thing for You and Oxygen </blockquote> <blockquote>"Like blues songs pushed through a metal screen, Jenn Farrell's stories distill and reveal the sad humanity of her characters. You'll be glad you've read these tales, and relieve that you're not living them. sugar bush will tear your heart out - but not the easy way." - Calvin Wharton, author of Three songs by Hank Williams. </blockquote> <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/1895636760/701-4100739-1635513">Buy this book at Amazon.ca</a> or at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/canadianboo06-20/detail/1895636760/105-1505174-1371648">Amazon.com</a> Publisher on "In the Skin of the Lion" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/7#post-9 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:38:41 +0000 Publisher 9@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0394281829/701-0566663-3731559"><img src="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/graphics/books/skinlion100.jpg" /></a> Amazon’s Product Description <blockquote>In the Skin of a Lion is a love story and an irresistible mystery set in the turbulent, muscular new world of Toronto in the 20s and 30s. Michael Ondaatje entwines adventure, romance and history, real and invented, enmeshing us in the lives of the immigrants who built the city and those who dreamed it into being: the politically powerful, the anarchists, bridge builders and tunnellers, a vanished millionaire and his mistress, a rescued nun and a thief who leads a charmed life. This is a haunting tale of passion, privilege and biting physical labour, of men and women moved by compassion and driven by the power of dreams -- sometimes even to murder. </blockquote> Submitted by <a href="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/sk/moos.html">Moosomin Book Club</a> in March, 1999 Written by Grace Armstrong who could not be at the March `99 meeting First of all, my regrets that I can't be with you this evening. I was looking forward to hearing others' reactions to this book. I like this book very much but need to read it again, maybe more than once, to fully grasp the way the plot evolves. Although it seemed disjoint, paradoxically that didn't irritate me. On the contrary I felt quite soon that I was in the hands of a master writer. given that quality of writing, you just wanted to go where the characters, the drama, and the lyrical passages led. Unforgettable images: the Finnish skaters at night on the river; skating by the light of cattails; leaping and dancing because they had to have joy, expression, life to cope with the emotion starvation of their daily labour; Temelcoff swinging down from the bridge, catching the falling nun, who then has freedom to choose to disappear into a whole new life. I found the central characters to be interesting and their evolution was believable. Patrick on page 157 describes himself as simply a prism that refracts the lives of Clara, Ambrose, Alice, Temelcoff and Cato. In the end however, he rescues Caravaggio, performs an heroic journey (whether dreamed or actual we are left to decide for ourselves) through the underwater labyrinth. He emerges to set out on the final journey to claim Clara, the enigmatic women he loves most deeply of all. These characters are satisfying, you feel their passions, angers, pains, transformation, growths. The "crow scenes" give the socio-economic context. The masses of labourers in their grinding poverty are well contrasted with the educated rich. In this novel the boundary between myth and history, reality and dreams seems always fragile. Looking back to Butala's writing in Garden of Eden, set in southwestern Saskatchewan and Ethiopia. I was struck by the much greater fluidity and poetic ease of Ondaatje's description of life, people and environment of 19th century Toronto. It seems to me that Butala researches well, describes very well, and sometimes reaches identification. Onjaatje also researches thoroughly, yet succeeds in going beyond description, beyond identification even, to writing as art. Butala got close to it in some of her passages describing Ethiopia, I thought, but not in her general writing about south western Saskatchewan. I thought Ondaatje's book to be a gem of Canadian literature. <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0394281829/701-0566663-3731559"><img />Buy this book at Amazon.ca</a> or at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/canadianboo06-20/detail/0679772669/104-0743372-3342318">Amazon.com</a> Publisher on "The Persian Pickle Club" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/6#post-8 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 15:27:14 +0000 Publisher 8@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0312147015/701-4212647-4677127"><img src="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/graphics/books/persian100.jpg" /></a> Submitted by <a href="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/sk/kipling.html">Kipling Book Club</a> Discussion rating 5/5 ***** Book Synopsis It is the 1930s, and hard times have hit Harveyville, Kansas, where the crops are burning up, and there’s not a job to be found. For Queenie Bean, a young farm wife, a highlight of each week is the gathering of the Persian Pickle Club, a group of local ladies dedicated to improving their minds, exchanging gossip, and putting their quilting skills to good use. When a new member of the club stirs up a dark secret, the women must band together to support and protect one another. Discussion We compared the similarities and differences between our bookclub and the quilting club. The proclaimed aim to read books or to sew quilts is not the true focus of groups. The real need is being together and sharing experiences, thoughts, and feelings, and most importantly to claim association with a group. In life, we define ourselves by our relationships and to the groups we belong to. Besides our not being active with our hands, the major difference between the Pickle women and us is our technical advances in networking. We network in so many ways, extra-curricular activities, phones, and the internet. But in the 1930s, the Pickle women did not have such extensive networking options. Their weekly “social” meetings provided the main survival network. Church services appeared not as frequent, nor as a free forum for exchange of ideas. The Pickle women didn’t frequent the town for social reasons, just necessities. We talked about the differences between men and women to meet emotional needs. Men tend to discuss sports, businesses such as farming, or the weather. The accepted stereotype is that men have been trained to deny their emotional needs. But one member suggested that men have always had their emotional needs met, first by their mothers, then by their wives. Men haven’t had to express their emotional needs because wives and mother watch them, and read their body language. Unfortunately by doing so, women have deprived men of the opportunities or “need” to learn how to express themselves. Recent surveys showed married men are happier than are single men. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that survey handy for age breakdowns. How do you keep secrets in a small town? The best way is to not even discuss the secret. In that way the secret can’t be overhead by “outside” people like husbands who drift in and out of the quilting room, or overhear through an open window. The Pickle women had it ingrained to not even talk about it, ever, not even to each other, to prevent “slips”. The quilting club’s involvement maintained a strict cap on Ben Crook’s murder. While the rest sewed, one woman read. This effectively prevented any discussion of the volatile past. The author illustrated the danger of being overheard with Queenie and Velma’s discussion on Velma’s illicit affair with a married man. Queenie’s husband just happened to come to the house, stand hidden outside the open door and listened to the conversation before finally making his entrance. Each woman’s decision to admit guilt, that “I did it,” helped to make blame impossible. The Persian Pickle Club community showed a united front in first getting rid of the evidence, then uniting when the secret was partially revealed. The question arose on whether a past member of the group, Ruby, had been involved in the murder and cover-up. It was tantalizing to speculate on who actually killed Ben Crook. Queenie admitted guilt at the very end, but so had all the others, previously. One member argued that the bond between Rita and Queenie over the stalled car and near rape might make Queenie’s admittance of guilt authentic. But others argued that Queenie’s bond with the Pickle ladies superseded her bond with Rita. Another person wondered if the timing of Crook’s murder coincided with Queenie’s pregnancy. If Queenie got hurt during the struggle, she may have suffered a miscarriage as a consequence of the injury and stress. We don’t believe the husbands were involved in the coverup. For one reason, Crook was buried close to the surface leading us to believe the female sex had buried him. Second, when Blue Massies told Queenie and her husband Grover about hearing of Crook’s body being buried in a drifter camp, Grover wanted Blue to go to the police. Grover emphasized the importance to truthfulness and rightness with such matters. If Grover had known about the Crook cover-up, his need to tell all to the sheriff would have prevailed and destroyed the women, and their families. Back then, women who killed were monsters. Self-defense wouldn’t hold. How can there be self-defense with one man against numerous women? We had thought it was one woman who had killed him. But it could have been two or three! The Pickle women permitted some lies, based on motivation. When Forest Ann tried to lie about her affair with Doc Sipes, the lie was waved imperiously aside. Only motivation made a lie acceptable, such as the one with Ben Crook’s death. When the Pickle women set an adoption plan in motion for an unwed woman, the plan was fairly typical of the time. People didn’t know the parents of the child or where the child’s parents came from. The motivation behind this lie was also acceptable with the Pickle women. We explored different superstitions in the book. Although different superstitions exist to today, superstitions help us to understand our world and “foretell” a bit of the future. We discussed how the Pickle women and we deal with challenges or disappointments. Sometimes we need someone to shake us up. A good example in the book is when Mrs. Judd came to take Queenie back to the weekly quilting meetings. There had been enough time according to Mrs. Judd, and perhaps a joint decision with Queenie’s husband. Mrs. Judd had been well meaning though she could have been misdirected. We discussed the purpose of the stalled car. The “episode” serves two purposes, a motivating factor for Rita to continue her search to uncover the murderer’s identity. The second purpose is to foreshadow a plausible explanation to the murderer’s identity – being a drifter. Without the car “problems” and near rape, over time, the community would have focused more intently on the “local” murderer’s identity, putting the Pickle women at risk. Different levels of social stratification were evident. This emphasis helped to shift the blame for the murder. The ruling class always blames the disadvantaged. Although Zepha Massies, a hill person, loved quilting and demonstrated great skill, Queenie never even considered inviting Zepha to the Persian Pickle Club. In one way, Zepha would have been more appropriate club member than Rita! Rita had the status and family connections but no quilting skills or desire. Zepha had the quilting skills and desire but no status to gain admittance to the club. There were pretty serious social attitudes for an insider and outsider. Some of the insider/outside attitude still exists in small towns. Newcomers, being in higher numbers today, often form clubs of their own to meet their emotional needs, often with “long-time outsiders”. The book may be slow off the start but is needed for us to identity the women, their characters and social situations. The second half of the book picks up dramatically. This is a good discussion book allowing a “permissible” divergence into personal emotional experiences! <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0312147015/701-4212647-4677127"><img />Buy this book at Amazon.ca</a> or at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/canadianboo06-20/detail/0312147015/103-6343368-2044635">Amazon.com</a> Publisher on "Fall On Your Knees" http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/topic/5#post-7 Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:42:08 +0000 Publisher 7@http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/bkrv/ <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0394281780/702-0055204-3023211"><img src="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/graphics/books/fall-on-your-knees100.jpg" /></a> Submitted by <a href="http://www.canadianbookclubs.com/sk/kipling.html">Kipling Book Club</a> in September 1998 Discussion rating 5/5 ***** Book Synopsis In a Cape Breton mining community, an inter-racial marriage yields a travesty of family secrets among the three daughters and their parents. The eldest and most beautiful daughter pursues an operatic career. The middle child becomes staid and proper filling the care-taking role. Loving the limelight and the attention, the youngest sells her piano-playing and comedic talents in a dead-end club. Discussion Many of the members were easily drawn into the book but found it depressing. We covered the realism of these family secrets: Materia's delightful character over two events such as praying that her husband would not come home and hoping for a death telegram, her coming to life as a pianist while James was away, her understanding of James' weakness, and her frightful dilemma over which child to save in the context of religion and as a parent; James' hateful personality, his efforts to get killed, his different occupations, and his relationships to his wife and children; Kathleen's relationship with her maestro, her diary, and Rose, and her father's destruction of her strong will; Frances' hidden memories, her drive to entertain, her pursuit to get pregnant by a Black American, her surveillance of her grandfather, and her personality change after the birth of her child; Mercedes' perception of Lily as a saint, her actions to hide the family's secrets, and her depiction of the family tree; and finally Lily's background, her journey by foot to New York and her relationship with Rose. <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/canadianboo0b-20/detail/0394281780/702-8546566-4352069"><img />Buy this book at Amazon.ca</a> or at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/canadianboo06-20/detail/0743237188/002-7156999-5480865">Amazon.com</a>