VPL Recommends
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Savage, Sam The quirky adventures of a rat named Firmin, prove a booklover’s delight. Born in a bookstore, Firmin literally owes his life to the stock-in-trade of Shine Books and lives by the life-rule “good to eat is good to read.” Highly recommended.
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Toews, Miriam Unusual, off-beat novel about a young aunt and her niece and nephew trying to find the children’s father while their mother recovers in hospital from her latest bout of depression. To say that the plotlines are off kilter will in no way prepare the reader for the book’s charm and quirkiness. The dialogue both masks and reveals the characters’ feelings and emotions under layer-upon-coded-layer of hip-speak. A road trip like no other. Enjoy!
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Moore, Brian A Canadian woman living in New York City revisits her past life and marriages in a series of probing flashbacks. A friend of mine considers this one of the finest female narrators ever created by a male author. Critics consider this one of Moore’s finest novels.
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Erdrich, Louise Not quite magic realism and not quite fable, this is my favourite Erdrich novel. An ex-nun, Agnes Vogel, survives a flood and, in a case of mistaken identity, lives out her life on the Little No Horse Reservation as Father Damien Modeste. Charming and touching! This book would appeal to fans of Ruth Ozeki or Barbara Kingsolver. |
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Like Jane Austen before her, Warner knows that there are worse things in life than being a spinster beholding to your family. Despite the outrage her decision causes, Lolly Willowes decides to leave London and settle in the obscure, rural village of Great Mop. Slyly, and with great affection, Warner tells us just what those village ladies were up to on those moonlit nights. A welcome return to this fine novel first published in1926.
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In his final days, the Emperor Hadrian records a testament of his life. We learn of his childhood, his military and political careers and, especially, his relationship with the Greek youth Antinous. Fascinating account that will appeal to fans of historical fiction.
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McLynn, Pauline Another lovely story from McLynn. This one features an intergenerational story set in a small British town called Pennick. (The locals pronounce it as Panic.) Kitty Fulton is caring for her mother, May, as the latter slips into the final stages of Alzheimer’s. The two take a final trip to Egypt where Kitty discovers the world to be a far kinder place than she had imagined. Romantic entanglements, local history, and witty repartee make up the rest of the novel. Highly recommended
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Bi, Feiyu Fascinating account of Xiao Yanqiu, disgraced star of Peking Opera, who in her forties, is offered a come-back role in a restaging of the Moon Opera. Like many of China’s traditional art forms, opera suffered drastic changes during the Cultural Revolution. Although it is tempting to read this slim novel as political allegory, the real pleasure here is the brilliant portrait of its central character. Highly recommended.
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A true eccentric, Joan Grant put herself into a trance-like state and dictated a series of historical novels she says were based on her own past life experiences. Grant offers fine period detail and an unmatchable sense of intimacy. Her Egyptian series is especially good. |
