Two reviews in for From Mountains of Ice. The first is from Brent Knowles, who I know from SF Canada. Brent Knowles is a freelance writer and game designer (formerly with BioWare). From Mountains of Ice, by Brent Knowles This is a novel by Lorina Stephens. Full disclosure: I am a member of SFCanada of which Lorina is also a member. I don’t really know, other than through SFCanada’s very interesting discussion list. Overall I…
I was not sure what to expect when I picked up Mary Anne Shafer’s novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Probably a good read, if the recommendations I’d read meant anything. A good read? Good heavens, yes! I cannot remember being this profoundly affected by a novel since reading Atwood’s The Blind Assassin. Shafer’s novel, written as a series of letters and telegrams post World War II, is simply a work of…
When I want to turn to literature for pure escapism I often look for Canadian historical fiction writer, Pauline Gedge. Primarily her books are about ancient Egypt, rich tales searing with the heat of the desert, heady with fragrance, passion, plots. So it is this summer, after several rather unsatisfying obligatory reads, I decided to treat myself and delve into The Twelfth Transforming. The novel explores the life of one of Egypt’s more colourful and…
Sometime last year I signed on with Goodreads (www.goodreads.com), a virtual book club where people fill shelves with virtual books and more often than not rate and write reviews. These are not critically acclaimed reviews, and are often disparaged by legacy publishers and authors. To my view, however, the forum Goodreads provides, and the reader reviews posted there, are a grassroots, honest response from the people who count the most in the literary world, besides…
A simply brilliant novel, one of Atwood’s best, and certainly deserving of the Booker. Comfortable with her skill as a writer, Atwood deftly alternates between sections written from different viewpoints and tenses, creating at first what seem to be disparate stories but which, of course, come together in a tense, sometimes humorous, often oppressive, and always insightful tale of relationships, love, betrayal and atonement. Certainly The Blind Assassin should be required reading for any adult….