BOOKWORM
PAIN DEMANDS PRIVACY
In Winter I Get Up At Night by Jane Urquhart, McClelland & Stewart, $36. In the early morning dark, Emer McConnell rises for a day of teaching music in schools in rural Saskatchewan. As she travels the snowy roads in the gathering light, she begins another journey of recollection and introspection.
On winter mornings such as this, there is a moment when as the darkness fades the world turns hundreds of shades of blue.
Jane Urquhart is one of those rare writers who can take readers into the depths of sorrow without it feeling like wallowing. Pain, you see, always demands privacy, whether it gets it or not. Pain does not want witnesses because it does not wish to be remembered and refuses utterly to take responsibility for the humiliation it causes.
In Winter I Get Up At Night takes readers into a Canada many of us may know little about and into a life that seems, paradoxically, ever so familiar. And in doing so, she weaves in larger truths.
Of how “property hunger” drove colonizing.
One tribe, forced out of its homeland by imperial dominance, war, and scarcity, migrates across the sea and forces another tribe out of its homeland.
How Klansmen decided how the “foreigners’” children should be educated in order to become “English”.
How women’s rights evolved “like one move after another in a glacially slow board game”.
And oh, what a cast of unforgettable characters.
It’s one of those books that I consume hungrily, and yet don’t want to part with the characters in the end.
WITHIN THESE WALLS
The City and its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami, Doubleday Canada, $42. At a time when the world seems to want to build more and more walls, Haruki Murakami encourages the reader to pay attention to the subtext. The protagonists are a boy and a girl, teenagers in love. The girl tells the boy about a mysterious town where her real self resides. If the boy manages to find her there she might not recognize him, but he would find his own place and a career in a library as a Dream Reader. He isn’t sure if he should believe her, but one day she disappears. Thus begins a search for lost love. The boy, now a man of indeterminate age, finds his way to the town where unicorns roam, where shadows become untethered from their selves. He finds himself emotionless, shadowless, finding comfort in the company of the girl he loves who doesn’t know their past connection, in a town encircled by a wall that shapeshifts. He befriends a dead man and a reclusive boy with photographic memory. Who would think of a story as convoluted as this? I read it to the very end because I found it intriguing and had to know what this was all about. Am I any the wiser for my time and effort? If I told you I wouldn’t be fair to the celebrated Mr Murakami.
LET’S DO LUNCH!
The Newfoundland Lunch Party by Sonia Day, Friesen Press, $31.99. When a former garden columnist and the author of many gardening books turns her hand to fiction, when the protagonists are described as Sisters of the Soil – eight older women from different backgrounds united by a genuine, uncompetitive passion for plants – well, I couldn’t wait to dig in!
Sonia Day sets the story of their reunion and Hannah’s extraordinary find with its shocking consequences against a lovingly painted backdrop of the rugged landscape, the flora and fauna of Newfoundland. And introduces readers to whimsical local inhabitants and colourful expressions such as mauzy. Which sounds exactly like what it describes, damp and muggy with a kind of mist over everything.
Though a work of fiction, the book is based on historical fact. Wardian cases, did indeed, help transfer exotic plants, including tea, coffee, bananas and sugar, from around the world to Europe and North America and thus transform the landscape, as “genteel upper class ladies quickly acquire Pteridomania, the craze for collecting all manner of ferns”.
It’s a delicious read on many levels – recipes of traditional dishes like Figgy Duff and buckthorn marmalade are included! As are, of course, gardening tips.
ON THAT “GODFORSAKEN ISLAND”
A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao, SOHO Crime, $23.95. 1914, Fiji. Sergeant Akal Singh, on a punishment posting to Fiji – he views the tropical paradise as a “godforsaken island” – is counting down to returning to Hong Kong or to his native India.
Then an indentured Indian woman goes missing from a sugar plantation and he is assigned the case. What was an opportunity for redemption turns into something bigger and evil. Well-researched historical detail brings to life the evils of colonialism in this gripping read.
Nilima Rao brings knowledge of her family history to the narrative – her ancestors had gone from India to Fiji to work in the sugar plantations as indentured labourers.
QUOTE HANGER
Quotes For All Seasons, arranged by Jackie Corley, Hatherleigh, $16.50. I didn’t agree with the first quote for Winter: Winter is not a season, it’s a celebration. But it got me thinking. What does Anamika Mishra see that I don’t?
Then I saw this interpretation of winter by Rachel Cohn: I love snow for the same reason I love Christmas. It brings people together while time stands still.
And now that I am glorying in summer, I inhale Toni Morrison’s take: I have only to break into the tightness of a strawberry, and I see summer – its dust and lowering skies.
The collection celebrates the uniqueness of each season and the way the cyclical change plays out in our own lives.
NOT QUITE WRIGHT
To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower, Kensington Publishing, $37. Why do writers use the names and histories of legendary historical figures to sell their books?
In Amanda Flower’s telling – entirely fictional – Wilbur and Orville Wright return to Dayton after the historic 57-second flight of Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. Wilbur accepts an invitation to a friend’s Christmas party and, nervous about leaving his as-yet-unpatented flyer plans at home, takes them with him. There they are stolen from him. Their sister Katherine rises to the occasion to retrieve the stolen goods.
There’s a disclaimer: “Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental”. So what’s the point?
Would I have picked up this book had I known it’s a work of fiction using the names of the Wright brothers for attention? Doubt it.
BUT WHO’S LISTENING?
What She Said by Elizabeth Renzetti, McLelland and Stewart, $34. A passionate advocate for gender equity and one of Canada’s most respected journalists explores the most pressing issues facing women in Canada today.
She covers a wide range: The threats that deter young women from seeking a role in public life; the use of NDAs to silence victims of sexual harassment and assault; the inadequacy of access to healthcare and reproductive justice, especially as experienced by Indigenous and racialized women. The imbalanced burden of care, from emotional labour to childcare...
“The fight for women’s rights was supposed to have been settled. Or, to put it another way, women were supposed to have settled – for what we were grudgingly given, for the crumbs from the table that we had set. For thirty per cent of the seats in Canada’s parliament; for five per cent of the CEO’s offices; for a tenth of the salary of male athletes; for the tiny per cent of sexual assault cases that result in convictions; for tenuous control over our heath and bodies.”
Renzetti explores the nuances of these issues without getting preachy, but with humour and heart. And as a persuasive rallying cry for a more just future.
ADULTING CAN BE SO HARD!
As Good As It Gets by Romesh Ranganathan, Penguin, $19.99. This account of what it really means to grow up was a Sunday Times bestseller.
Watching his friends descend into middle age, his waist thicken with every meal and his finances dwindle to fund his family’s middle-class aspirations, Romesh Ranganathan reflects on the demands of daily life and the challenges of adulting in the modern world.
It’s not quite how “the most in-demand overweight vegan Sri Lankan comedian in Britain” imagined it!
JOIN LORD WIMSEY
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers, Vintage Books, $16. Ninety-year-old General Fentiman has been sitting very quietly all day long in his usual fireside chair at the Bellona Club, oblivious to the hustle and bustle of Armistice Day celebrations when a fellow member finally notices that he is a corpse.
Lord Peter Wimsey realizes he was murdered. Join the famous amateur detective as he figures out who did it and why. First published in 1928.
KIDS WILL HELP YOU WITH THESE!
STEM Activity Lab by Jack Challoner, DK, $26.99. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics combine in 25 fun and easy-to-do projects. Well, easy for the kids, perhaps, maybe not so easy for their parents!
Learn how to make insulating gloves, spaghetti towers, and a harmonica, along with a host of other impressive activities.
ENCHANTING WORLD
The Secrets of Underhill by Kali Wallace, Quirk Books, $24.99. Nick Sixsmith moves from town to town with her mother, a travelling arborist, caring for ironwood groves.
When a dangerous blight threatens these magical trees, they must journey to the city of Mistwood for answers. But dark secrets simmer beneath the surface and as the mystery grows, Nick and her friends have to follow the trail to an enchanting place called Underhill in search of answers.
TEEN REVIEW
By ROMA JHUTTY
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, HarperCollins Publishers, 2018. $25.99. A masterful blend of mystery, time travel, and psychological thriller, creating a riveting read that is bound to keep readers on their toes. Set in Hardcastle Estate, the book unfolds over a repeated cycle of eight days, each day ending in a fatal pistol shot. The catch? The protagonist inhabits a different guest every day, each with their pros and cons.
Stuart Turton’s intricate plot is a masterclass in storytelling, skilfully weaving murder mystery and science fiction. My favourite part of the book was the richness of the characters, particularly the protagonist’s struggle with his fragmented memory and moral dilemmas. Each character hides a deadly secret, and Turton will keep you guessing until the bitter end.
I found the novel to be an exhilarating ride. The complexity of the plot and the innovative premise kept me engrossed. Turton’s ability to create a sense of urgency while exploring profound themes of identity and choice resonated deeply with me. It is one of my favourite books, and it stayed with me long after I finished.
In summary, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a riveting read that challenges conventions and delivers an unforgettable literary puzzle.
• Roma Jhutty is a youth volunteer at Brampton Library.