Dazzle Patterns by Alison Watt

[dropcap]December [/dropcap]6, 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion. Due to this, may books have been written to commemorate, revisit or try to understand how the Explosion shaped the lives of thousands. The books, past and present have appeared in both fiction and non-fiction genres.

Naomi MacKinnon of Consumed by Ink has undertaken a project to gather and read as many books as she can about the Halifax Explosion, and you can see her list here (including links to her reviews):
https://consumedbyink.ca/halifax-explosion-reading-list/

The following review by Naomi is of a new work of fiction by Alison Watt, and has been published by Freehand Books.

As some of you may know, I have been working on a little project the last couple of years; reading novels that have a connection to the Halifax Explosion.

One of the things I find compelling about reading these books is comparing them. After reading the first couple of books I wondered how different they could be from each other. Will reading these books become like reading the same material over and over?

For the most part, I have been delighted by how fresh each book has felt. And Dazzle Patterns is a shining example of this. Being book #8 on my list, it had its work cut out for it; what more could it say that hasn’t already been said; what kind of story can be told that hasn’t already been told? Writers never cease to amaze me. This is why I love to read.

Continue reading the review of Dazzle Patterns here.

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James M. Fisher is the owner and editor-in-chief of The Miramichi Reader. He began TMR in 2015, realizing that there was a genuine need for more book reviews of Canadian literature. It has since become Canada’s best-regarded source for the finest in new literary releases. James has been interviewed about TMR on CBC Radio and other media sites. James works as a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologist and lives in Miramichi, New Brunswick with his wife Diane and their tabby cat Eddie.