pickFifteen Dogs (Quincunx 2), by André Alexis (2015 ??)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: Apollo and Hermes grant fifteen dogs human intelligence to settle a bet over whether it is possible for mortals to die happy.
Review: I DNFed this on a first try after it won the 2015 Giller Prize, but I‘ve recently become an André Alexis fan so thought I‘d try again, and I‘m so glad I did. It‘s thoughtful, insightful, and beautifully-written, with memorable characters.⬇️
This is an excellent novel. This cover is atrocious (and I could not resist buying it.)
My French Café is done just as Xavier and Elijah arrive in Arras and meet up with some French soldiers who have heard of them #literarycrew
https://youtu.be/muA0hpZg7-k
#Victober
Intro
Mystery guest
Weekly highlights
Dominion by Addie E. Citchens
Mr. Wrong by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Emma by Jane Austen
Cool Water by Dianne Warren
Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson
Blurred Faces by Allan Radcliffe
Gaza Weddings by Ibrahim Nasrallah
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
Above Us the Sea by Ania Card
Full House by M.J. Farrell
pickAnother IRL club book, this time from August. What for me is an old Canadian classic studied in university, with the main threads being childhood bullying, classism, and art. What I still remember from 35 years ago is the bullying descriptions, girl-on-girl: I can resonate now more with the descriptions of tense adult relationships with men, as well as with other women. Not the greatest fiction I‘ve ever read now, but still worth it.
panIt‘s a book I don‘t regret reading but would not really recommend. Good ideas but the writing was lackluster. The dialogue in this book was truly horrendous. There was not any character development. The climax of the book fell flat because the tension wasn‘t there. Overall, ⭐️⭐️. #hauntedshelf #blackcatcrew
September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, a day which recognizes the atrocities and multigenerational effects of residential school, that the forceful assimilation of Indigenous communities is cultural genocide.
Today, I'll be starting this memoir about the Metis author's harrowing young life as an Indigenous person in Canada. 🧡
so-soIn 1960s Toronto, a young woman develops an eating disorder when she decides to marry the young man she has been having a somewhat desultory relationship with.
There were some laugh out loud moments but most of the time I didn't feel much connection with the main character. But then she didn't seem to feel much connection with herself, so I suppose that was kind of the point.
Bookish Pair: For another contemporary novel with Greek gods up to no good, Julie Berry‘s Lovely War (2019) 5h