Guest Review

Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta (Guest Post)

Note: For the past three summers, Naomi of the Consumed by Ink book review blog and I have been swapping a book review. This year I reviewed The Afrikaner by Arianna Dagnino for her site, and she has written a review of the critically-acclaimed book by Jamaican-Canadian author Zalika Reid-Benta, Frying Plantain (2019, House of Anansi Press)*. Naomi writes from Truro, Nova Scotia and reviews a broader range of CanLit than I do, although we sometimes review the same book, which is always interesting!… Continue reading

The Afrikaner by Arianna Dagnino

For the third year in a row, Naomi of the Consumed by Ink book review blog and I have guest-hosted each other’s reviews and my review of The Afrikaner by Arianna Dagnino can be found there. Her reviews are remarkable for their insight and perceptiveness of a novel’s strengths and weaknesses. I encourage you to follow her reviews of CanLit. Often, we review the same books and it’s fun to see what each other takes away from a book.… Continue reading

Perfect World by Ian Colford

(This is a guest review submitted by Naomi MacKinnon of Consumed by Ink.) Naomi often reviews books that I can never get around to reading, and such is the case with Ian Colford’s Perfect World.)

We first meet Tom as a 13-year-old living in rural Nova Scotia with his parents and new baby sister. But ever since his sister was born, his mother has been having what his father calls “spells.” They are disturbing enough to Tom that he tries to stay out of the way of his mother when he can.… Continue reading

Malagash by Joey Comeau

(The following is an excerpt from a review written by Naomi MacKinnon at Consumed by Ink. It is reproduced here in part with her kind permission.)

Malagash is a gem of a book. And I can’t think of anyone I wouldn’t recommend it to.

The title of the book refers to the community where the story is set. Malagash is located along the north shore of Nova Scotia and is one of those places you can easily pass through without knowing you are there.… Continue reading

Peninsula Sinking by David Huebert

(The following review is reproduced in part by the kind permission of Naomi MacKinnon of the Consumed by Ink book review blog. – James)

at the cover of this book. It couldn’t be more stunning. With stories to match. Peninsula Sinking is David Huebert‘s first short story collection. He has won the CBC Short Story Prize, the Sheldon Currie Fiction Prize, and the Walrus Poetry Prize, and is the author of one poetry collection We Are No Longer the Smart Kids in Class (which I haven’t read).… Continue reading

Dazzle Patterns by Alison Watt

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.… Continue reading

I am a truck by Michelle Winters

Once again, I am grateful for Consumed by Ink’s superb coverage of the books on the 2017 Giller Prize list. Here’s another one that Naomi allowed me to take an excerpt from. Author Michelle Winters is originally from New Brunswick and now lives in Toronto.

Trucks play a big part in this story of a rural Acadian couple who have been together for almost 20 years.… Continue reading

Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill

The nice thing about book bloggers is their willingness to share their posts on books I would like to read, but just can’t work them into my “to-be-read” stack. Here’s another Giller shortlist book reviewed by Naomi at Consumed by Ink.

What I love so much about reading the Giller books is that there are always surprises. I’m often reading books I hadn’t heard of before, books from authors I’ve never read before, and books I know very little about.… Continue reading