Category: Book Reviews (Page 13 of 40)

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

September 8, 2020 / Monique

The Governor General’s Shortlisted Novel is a spooky tale about two Irish kids who are travelling alone in the English countryside looking for work. They are orphaned and at the end of their means, but luckily get work in a crumbling manor house deep in the woods. Maybe not so lucky.

The villagers call the area sourwoods and even the kids horse doesn’t want to cross the bridge into the woods. The family seems nice enough, but the kids discover it’s the Night Gardener that they really need to fear.

This is a suspenseful read that sent my 7-year-old under the covers by chapter 2. I’d say this book is for 10 and up. It’s spooky and not exactly a heartwarming ending either.

Favourite Moment: Kip and Molly meet an old woman on the road who could be a witch. Her name is Hester Kettle and she is a storyteller who travels about trading songs for lodgings and food. She has a huge sack full of odd things, lots of advice, and meets the pair on a few occasions. Each is a rather entertaining moment in the story.

Kip pulled away. “And there’s a tree—a great big, horrible tree. Every night, the man feeds and cares for it.”
“Is that so?” The old woman was watching Kip with a look that Molly could only describe as hunger.
Molly put a hand on her brother’s shoulder, but she did not stop him. Kip hopped closer, swallowing. “You know every story there is around these parts. So tell us: Do you know one about a man and a tree?”
The woman looked at Kip and then at Molly. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
chapter 30

The Night Gardener is perfect for fans of Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

The Case of the Missing Auntie by Michael Hutchinson

September 8, 2020 / Monique

Book 2 in The Mighty Muskrats Mystery Series is even better than the first.

In the bright lights of the big city, the Mighty Muskrats search for Grandpa’s lost sister who was grabbed in the Sixties Scoop.

The Mighty Muskrats are four cousins from the Windy Lake First Nation, who are incredibly close and often find themselves solving mysteries. In book 1 The Case of Windy Lake, they found a lost archaeologist. Now they are off to the city (Winnipeg) to have fun at the Exhibition Fair. But the Mighty Muskrats get waylaid by other plans. On one of their first days in the city, they meet Brett at the mall. He’s a friend who recently moved away from Windy Lake, but the city has changed him and the kids find out the hard way.

Subtle and overt racism is present throughout the story, but Chickadee and her cousins also meet some great people who help them learn about how the government scooped up and adopted out Native kids to strangers without their parents’ permission. Grandpa’s little sister has been lost to him for decades but he’s started dreaming of her and Chickadee is determined to do what she can to reunite her family.

What I like about Hutchinson’s stories is that they are great mysteries that my son loves to read, and they contain hard truths about Canada’s treatment of First Nations people that all readers show know and understand.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

August 14, 2020 / Monique

https://www.amazon.ca/Poppy-War-R-F-Kuang-ebook/dp/B072L58JW6

The Poppy War is the first instalment in a Chinese-history inspired epic fantasy about empire, warfare, shamanism, and opium.

Rin is a war orphan living in the south part of the Empire, well away from the ruling class in the north. She means nothing to her guardians, who are quite happy to sell her off to a local official in exchange for him turning a blind eye to their illegal opium trade. Rin has other ideas.

Actually only one idea.

Rin convinces the local tutor to help her study for the Keju, the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth who are then taught in the Empire’s elite military academies. Rin needs to score high in order to get into Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan, and the one that will give her free tuition.

As you can imagine, this all comes to pass. Rin’s next battle is against her classmates. She is discriminated against for her dark skin and southern accent. She is belittled for having no martial arts training, for being poor, for being female. But Rin is a fighter and she prevails against all the odds and becomes one of the top students in the school. Just in time to go to war.

This is a novel about tapping into your own powers and being brave. But it’s also about the xenophobic storytelling that informs how people treat each other. Kuang offers readers a rich fantasy, informed by 19th-century colonialism, Chinese history and its shamans and gods. The costs of war are at the forefront of the story and violence plays out in each part of the narrative, from Rin’s war-orphan childhood to the dehumanizing war-time experiments on civilians and soldiers.

There is blood and gore, so it’s not great for sensitive readers. I purchased my copy at Kidsbooks in Vancouver and they emailed to say they were moving from their teen section to adult. That said, I think a mature reader will enjoy the fantasy and also give pause to think about the history informing the novel.

Perfect for fans of Lord of the Rings or Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien.

The Case of Windy Lake (A Mighty Muskrats Mystery) by Michael Hutchinson

August 7, 2020 / Monique

*The Case of Windy Lake* was the co-winner in Second Story Press’ 2018 **Indigenous Writing Contest**

The first book in this mystery series for readers age 9-12 introduces readers to cousins Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee. This inseparable quartet are nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for how they stick together and tromp around the rez solving mysteries. In this story, they need all their wits about them to figure out what has happened to a missing archaeologist working for the nearby mine.

Most mystery / detective series are firmly placed in white, middle-class neighbourhoods but this community is full of characters from Ugly Fish, a hunting and fishing guide, to Denice, the kids’ activist cousin, to various Elders and company men working at the nearby mine.

The First Nation residents are no fan of the mine or the bone-digger, but they also want to rescue the lost man. The Mighty Muskrats are keen to find him too, and show their Uncle (the cop) just how helpful they can be.

The underlying story is that of the conflicting feelings about the mine. On the one hand there are good people working there who need the job to support their families. On the other, there are environmental concerns about water and air pollution, how the mine changes the land and the locals ability to fish and hunt.

Overall this is a fun mystery, and a story about the ties between families, neighbours, and communities.

Michael Hutchinson is a member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation, north of Winnipeg. He currently lives in Ottawa, Ontario where he works at the Assembly of First Nations, which advocates for First Nation families and communities across Canada.

This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

July 14, 2020 / Monique

A riotously funny, emotionally raw New York Times bestselling novel about love, marriage, divorce, family, and the ties that bind—whether we like it or not.

And a terrible motion picture. Read the book.

The death of Judd Foxman’s father is not a surprise but what is surprising is that his dying request is that his family sit shiva. The whole family shows up for seven days and nights, struggling to not kill each other. Judd’s two brothers and his sister, plus their partners and kids, have many secrets and grievances that are on full display.

To that end, it’s a very funny book about a dysfunctional family and all the ways they undermine any love they have for each other. They are certainly happy to see day seven roll around. But, like all books that become films, there is a happy(ish) ending.

Heartbreaking and sidesplitting.

Perfect read for fans of Less by Andrew Sean Greer or Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner.

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante

July 12, 2020 / Monique

Winner of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) is a playful read about grief and the lost of a good friend. Plante structures the novel as encyclopedia entries for a TV show called “Little Blue.” Little Blue is set on an isolated island and is a quirky program that is part Robinson Crusoe, part Corner Gas, part Curb Your Enthusiasm. It’s Vivian’s favourite show.

Vivian is the narrator’s friend who has passed away. Vivian is the narrator’s truest friend, the person who she first confided to about being queer, the friend who made life worth living because she was fun and vivacious Vivian!

Perfect read for fans of Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette. Little Blue is disarming, it’s social commentary, it’s emotive—all the feels—and multi-layered. Plante is experimenting, and that’s a notable reason to give this one a read.

The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre

June 22, 2020 / Monique

The greatest espionage story of the Cold War.

Description: Macintyre’s real-life spy thriller is a slow start with a fast-paced finish. I loved it. The spy and traitor here is Oleg Gordievksy, a senior KGB officer who spies for MI6 from 1974 . That seems like an understatement. His secrets are priceless. And the book is full of name dropping to demonstrate the breadth of information Gordievsky shared and the impact on bringing the Cold War to its end.

Gordievsky advised Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, on Britain’s Cold War policies. He outted a number of spies and identified networks throughout Europe so those posing as diplomats were ejected. In the end, Gordievsky received the Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and Saint George from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace where he was recognized for services to UK security.

The book is based on more than 140 hours of taped interviews with Oleg Gordievksy, who appears to have an infallible memory. Names like Putin and Aldrich Ames come up, and it’s easy to see how yesterday’s Russian playbook of fake news and mistrust are still unfolding today.

Favourite moment: Oleg is summoned back to Russia and fears that he has been exposed. The chapter “Cat and Mouse” opens with this:

In Moscow, Gordievsky checked the locks again, praying he might be mistaken. But no, the third lock, the dead bolt he never used and had no key for, had been turned. The KGB was on to him.
chapter 12, The spy & the traitor by ben mcintyre

Perfect read for fans of John Le Carré or In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. The Spy and the Traitor is full of ideologies, betrayal, and intrigue. The glorious days of the Cold War spy — harrowing.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

April 24, 2020 / monique.trottier

The Glass Hotel is Emily St. John Mandel’s awaited novel. Her previous was Station Eleven, which won the Arthur C. Clark Award, the Toronto Book Award and was nominated for several others. Station Eleven was about a pandemic. The Glass Hotel is about the collapse of financial markets. Hm.

Station Eleven was genius. And I was holding my breath for The Glass Hotel. It’s so hard for an author to deliver one masterpiece after another. I love love love The Glass Hotel.

Description: Vincent is a bartender at a remote resort in Caiette, BC. The hotel is absolutely gorgeous, with a stunning glass lobby and restaurant that looks out at the ocean. This is where she meets the hotel’s owner Jonathan Alkaitis. Alkaitis works in finance and leaves Vincent with a $100 tip and a proposition that leads to her becoming his wife. Well, technically they are not married. Her job is to be young, beautiful, attentive. And she’s everything Jonathan needs her to be. He’s the ultimate scam artist and running a Ponzi scheme that collapses. He takes a lot of people down with him. But ultimately this is not a sad book, nor a suspenseful book. It’s really about what it’s like to lead alternate lives, or rather to recognize there are different realities to each life. That’s the part I loved.

Favourite moment: Everyone underestimates Vincent, the trophy wife. But she’s smart, knows she’s playing a role, and does it perfectly. There’s a moment when Jonathan’s daughter Claire has exposed his crimes.

When it did finally collapse, when he was finally trapped, the wrong woman was there with him. Although Vincent impressed him, at the end, despite not being Suzanne. The tableau: His office in Midtown, the last time he was ever in that room. He was sitting behind his desk, Claire crying on the sofa, Harvey staring into space, while Vincent fidgeted around with a coat and shopping bag and then sat and stared at him until he finally had to tell her: “Vincent,” he said, “do you know what a Ponzi scheme is?”
“Yes,” Vincent said.
Claire, from the sofa, still crying:”How do you know what a Ponzi scheme is, Vincent? Did he tell you? Did you know about this? I swear to god, if you knew about this, if he told you …”
“Of course he didn’t tell me,” Vincent said. “I know what a Ponzi scheme is because I’m not a fucking idiot.”
He thought, That’s my girl.
page 235, The Glass hotel

Perfect read for anyone who loved Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, or anything by Michael Lewis.

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar

March 3, 2020 / Monique

Description: I discovered this novel at Hagar Books, which always has a lovely display in the window. I loved the fun colours on the cover, I haven’t read many Iranian authors, and the book was published by Europa Editions–a publisher I recently discovered.

Azar’s writing reminds me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree has that 100-Years-of-Solitude. It also reminds me of Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing. Azar’s writing is beautiful, the story is spellbinding yet sad, there’s a mystical element to the storytelling, and Azar has an interesting and playful voice.

I say it’s like Thien in that we are deep into the worst of Iran’s Islamic Republic Revolution. It’s hard to read about the grief of a family, young men hanged without trial, children killed in fire bombs. From Thien, I came to better understand China’s Cultural Revolution. From Azar, I got a good introduction to Persian storytelling and traditions. Plus the book is littered with literary quotes and references!

Favourite quote: I love the fairytale elements, the tricksy jinns, the sister who turns into a mermaid. The opening paragraph is reflective of the overall tone of the novel:

Beeta says that Mom attained enlightenment at exactly 2:35 P.M. on August 18, 1988, atop the grove’s tallest greengage plum tree on a hill overlooking all fifty-three village houses, to the sound of the scrubbing of pots and pans, a ruckus that pulled the grove out of its lethargy every afternoon. At that very moment, blindfolded and hands tied behind his back, Sohrab was hanged.
chapter 1

Perfect read for fans of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing.

The Porpoise by Mark Haddon

February 19, 2020 / Monique

Mark Haddon is probably best known for his bestseller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which won 17 literary prizes and was made into an acclaimed stage play. I’m a Haddon fan. But I didn’t love this novel. Haddon’s recent works re-imagine myths and legends and turn them into contemporary stories. In this novel Darius and the yacht, the Porpoise, become Pericles, the prince of Tyre.

Description: The novel opens with a terrifying plane crash. I started reading this novel the week that Kobe Bryant’s plane went down and it was eerie. Then there is one violent moment after another as we weave between different versions of the Darius character across time. This is not a linear novel, many of the male characters are unlikeable, if not despicable.

The baby who survives the plane crash is raised by her wealthy, overprotective AND incestuous father. Yuck. She eventually starves herself to death. The Darius in this story is a potential suitor and saviour but he’s beaten almost to death by the father and escapes. Or maybe dies and in another universe because Pericles.

Pericles also loses his wife and daughter in a crash — this time it’s a ship. But actually they both survive, unbeknownst to him. There are a few lovely moments in the lives of these women when mythical beings save them, or they save themselves.

Basically this is a novel about shattered families. Asshole men. And women who are beaten down yet survive.

Favourite quote: Marina (daughter of Pericles) escapes her foster family (who were plotting to kill her) and she’s being hunted by soldiers. She’s already escaped her kidnapper / assassin.

She slides swiftly into a profound sleep in which she runs with a band of women across rolling grasslands, over hard, packed sand, through fine columns of leaf-light between trees. They turn into deer and she becomes a deer running with them. Their speed is thrilling, the earth spun to a blur by their hooves. Then they become a thousand arrows falling from the clear sky, into bark, into grass, into fur, into flesh. They are women and deer and arrows and this is no contradiction. They they are the wolves tearing into the flesh of the dying horse and tearing out the slippery liver and kidneys of the man who kidnapped her, and this is both terrifying and absolutely right, the way lightning is terrifying and absolutely right. They snap away the white ribs with their powerful jaws and yank out the lungs and she knows without question that this is precisely how he died.
The Porpoise by Mark haddon

Perfect read for those who like Greek Myths with a contemporary twist. I’d choose The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood over this one though.