A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
Penny’s masterful writing makes for smooth reading, and her knack for arousing curiosity about what comes next pulls the reader through the book.
Quebec
The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
Penny keeps the reader guessing until the end . . . The Madness of Crowds moves at a brisk pace, with each chapter drawing the reader forward into the next.
No Thanks, I Want to Walk by Emily Taylor Smith
In Emily Taylor Smith’s latest adventure, walking the perimeter of New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula, is another epic journey for the record books.
Still Crying for Help: The Failure of Our Mental Healthcare Services by Sadia Messaili
This is a true story about the suicidal death of a 32-year-old man, Ferid Ferkovic, …
Lightness by Fanie Demeule, trans. by Anita Anand
According to one source, 90% of all anorexics are females. They lose a few pounds but are still not satisfied. They become obsessed with reaching the “ideal” weight, but it’s a moving target, practically unattainable. Such is the case with the unnamed young woman in Lightness by Quebec author Fanie Demeule, which has been translated into English by Anita Anand.
The Art of the Fall, a Play Translated by Danielle Le Saux-Farmer
QC Fiction has released a translation of the play L’Art de la chute, a performance of which QC Fiction Editor Peter McCambridge saw (or experienced, would be a better descriptor) recently in Quebec City.
Blue Bear Woman by Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau
Originally published in French as Ourse Bleu in 2007, Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau’s book has the …
The Little Fox of Mayerville by Éric Mathieu, Translated by Peter McCambridge
Éric Mathieu’s The Little Fox of Mayerville (translated by Peter McCambridge) represents a bit of a departure from recent QC Fiction offerings such as Prague and In the End They Told Them all to Get Lost, which while being ingenious works of fiction, may not have been to everyone’s taste like the Giller-nominated Songs for the Cold of Heart.
Fog by Rana Bose
Fog is suspenseful, conflicting, mysterious and hard to put down. (…) A literate mystery/thriller set in Montreal (on “the Main”) with side trips to Calcutta and Kandahar, this is a superbly written book about a neighbourhood, friendships, justice and belonging.
Walmart: Diary of an Associate by Hugo Meunier, Translated by Mary Foster
Hugo Meunier is a veteran journalist who went undercover as an associate for three months in 2012 to discover for himself just what makes the retail giant tick. The result is his book, Walmart: Diary of an Associate, published by Fernwood Publishing.
The Daughters’ Story by Murielle Cyr
Nadine is banished to a home for unwed mothers in 1950. She’s 15. Her baby daughter, whose father is shrouded in secrecy, is put up for adoption without her permission. Vowing to reunite one day with her daughter, she cuts all ties with her dysfunctional Irish and French-Canadian Catholic family whose past is cluttered with secrets, betrayals, incest and violence.
The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied by Bruce Campbell
The July 6, 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster is a tragedy unparalleled in Canadian history. It resulted in a major loss of life, massive environmental destruction and the evisceration of a small Quebec town.
Motherhood: The Mother of All Sexism by Marilyse Hamelin
When I first received this review copy in the mail, I wasn’t sure what to …
The Carpenter From Montreal by George Fetherling
The story behind The Carpenter From Montreal centres around Jim (in New York) and a large Montreal man known to all as The Carpenter. It is the Prohibition Era, and gangsters control the flow of liquor out of Canada over the border.
Hutchison Street by Abla Farhoud
Translated by Judith Weisz Woodsworth, Hutchison Street (2018, Linda Leith Publishing) is a collection of …