Independent Book Reviews for Independent Readers.
(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
The “all fiction” issue of The Fiddlehead literary journal is packed with an amazing amount of short stories and reviews by authors from all over Canada. I have been working my way through it and I have hit several standout stories: Mrs Flood was Here by Sam Shelstad about a woman trapped in her car by a wolf. Another is Mandrill in Repose by Richard Cumyn, an established master of the short story and novella.… Continue reading
Whether it’s racking up international awards or attracting tourists to the east coast in droves, the world has taken notice of Atlantic Canada’s wine. The Wine Lover’s Guide to Atlantic Canada (Nimbus, 2016) is the definitive guide to region, through the blueberry-wine empire of Newfoundland and Labrador, to the isolated terroir of Prince Edward Island, the lush river vineyards of New Brunswick, and the rich coastal and valley wines of Nova Scotia.… Continue reading
Life in the small Newfoundland village of St. Lawrence was not easy in the early 1930’s. The town was still recovering from the tsunami that hit there in 1929. The disaster killed 28 people and left hundreds more homeless or destitute. It was the most destructive earthquake-related event in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history and, making matters worse, occurred at the beginning of a worldwide depression. It was into this environment that Donald Poynter and his new bride Urla Crammond entered upon leaving the U.S.… Continue reading
Aftershock, a 2015 book published by Nimbus is an essential read for those interested in the Halifax Explosion of December 6th, 1917. It was on this date that one of the biggest explosions up to that time in North America occurred in Halifax harbour killing thousands and leaving many more injured and scarred for life. However, as the author states in the preface: “This is not a Halifax Explosion report.… Continue reading
Back in High School English class, we had to read Margaret Laurence’s A Jest of God, which I did enjoy reading, although looking back it might have been too mature a book for teenagers to study in depth. At any rate, any book with a strong and overburdened female living back in the late 1800s/early 1900s is fated to be compared with her beleaguered Manawaka heroines.… Continue reading
I recently had the pleasure of reading two titles from Nimbus Publishing:
Each of these books will appeal to the Atlantic Canada armchair historian and are handy as a reference work in themselves.
The first book, Failures and Fiascos, is subtitled “Atlantic Canada’s Biggest Boondoggles” and is full of good ideas poorly executed, crazy ideas impossible to execute, bad deals, deals that should not have been made and so on.… Continue reading