The Man Who Forgot How to Read: A Memoir by Howard Engel is not a literary masterpiece but it is a masterful work. Howard Engel, author of the Benny Cooperman detective novels, woke up one day and discovered that he could not read the newspaper. Not the newspaper, books, street signs, any written text. In the night he suffered a stroke that affected the part of his brain responsible for reading. He could write but could not read.

The Man Who Forgot How to Read is Engel’s story of his struggle to regain reading, from the day of the stroke to the day of the manuscript completion that is this memoir. I say it isn’t a literary masterpiece because compared to something like Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ memoirs, this is plain writing. It’s not literary writing that flows into the memoir. It’s the straightforward story of a man who lost a significant part of his identity over night. An author who cannot read.

I do think it is a masterful work regardless. The incredible journey Engel takes in order to read and write and complete not just this manuscript but a new Benny Cooperman novel is worth recognition. Oliver Sacks, who writes the afterword, thinks it’s remarkable as well.

The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engel is published by Harper Collins Canada. Check out their website for more details on the book.

I just finished reading The Good Lie by Don Bailey, novelist and coordinator of the Professional Writing Cooperative Education Program at the University of Victoria. Don is a great self-promoter and initially contacted me in October last year before my trip to Malta. We have some mutual friends, including novelist and editor Wayne Tefs.

Because of Don’s position in the literary community, I felt the urge to give this novel a rather academic reading. But I fought that urge and instead enjoyed it as a novel rather than as a literary exercise. What I like about the book most is that the ending is not the ending I expected.

The novel starts plainly enough. Paul is on a kayak trip, the last in a series of lessons. He and another guest become separated from the group during the foggy return trip. There is a boat that topples them into the water, some panic, and other drama, all of which results in the other guest going into a coma and Paul being investigated as part of a lawsuit.

The quote at the beginning of the book, by Ben Stillwell, Paul’s lawyer, sums up the main thread of the novel: “In this profession you see everything. The thieves, the cokeheads, the pimps and prostitutes–of course they lie. Everybody expects them to lie. But sometimes, the good lie, too.”

This is exactly what Paul does. He lies about Jenny, the other guest, panicking and nearly drowning him. He lies about knocking her off him with his paddle, which likely resulted in her coma. He lies to his wife about the sense of fear and threat he feels about the pending lawsuit. It’s a book of lies.

Normally Paul isn’t the type of character I have any sympathy for. He is a coward. I can’t say he is a redeemable coward but my sympathies for him do increase at the book goes on, and as I mentioned at the beginning, the end of this book is not what I expected.

The Good Lie by Don Bailey is quite an enjoyable read–part literary, part soul searching, part crime drama. Thank you Don for introducing me to The Good Lie.

For those interested readers of fiction, I noticed on Don Bailey’s website, TheGoodLie.com that there is a book club section that offers 27 different questions and conversation points. I definitely think The Good Life is book-club worthy and Don’s dedication to providing a worthwhile website for readers is commendable.

The Good Lie by Don Bailey (published by Turnstone Press).