Fiction Pick of the Week: The Woman who went to Bed for a Year

The Woman who Went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend 2012

Sue Townsend, one of England’s finest comic writers, first started me laughing when she wrote about the hilarious struggles of Adrian Mole. In her latest novel we meet Eva Beaver, a dutiful wife of an adulterous husband and mother of autistic adult twins. She has scrubbed and polished, cooked and catered for her brood, never once complaining or thinking of her own needs.  She even ate out of pots while standing up when the family ate, and they never noticed. After finding tomato soup staining a chair which took her 2 years to embroider, she hurls the entire pot of soup on the chair and so begins her self-imposed exile in her bed which she does not leave for a year. This is her time to rebuild and rethink her life.  Her  transformation is at times full of laughter and tinged with sadness as she gently exposes the foibles and pretensions of the throng of characters who rally around her bedside.   

More Can Lit: The Bride of New France

Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers 2011

This excellent historical novel is about Les Filles du Roi. The main character, Laure Beausejour, leaves the orphanage of Salpetriere to journey to New France to marry one of the male soldiers or fur traders. Ther best friend Madeleine accompanies her on the voyage but dies shortly after their arrival at Quebec City. The novel is divided into three parts: Part 1 is about Laure's time at Salepetriere; Part 2 is about her voyage on the ship to the New World; and Part 3 is about her arrival and settlement at Ville Marie (Montreal).

Appeal factors are strong characterization and vivid descriptions of life in New France and Paris during the 17th century. The main character, Laure, is strong willed and not your "typical" woman of that time period. If you enjoyed The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor by Sally Armstrong, you might want to try this book.

Fiction Pick of the Week: The Good Daughters

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard 2010

The story is set in New England beginning in the 1950s. Rather predictably, two girls are conceived during a storm, born in the same hospital on the same day. The richness of the story comes from each girl telling her life story in alternating chapters. The families are polar opposites with the Planks being 4th generation farmers and the Dickersons frequently moving to follow the get-rich schemes of Mr. Dickerson. Each girl feels a disconnect with their respective family especially during a yearly event that has one mother visiting the other family because of the "birthday sisters". As the years pass, more and more is revealed and the true meaning of "birthday sisters" is revealed. This novel is for fans of family stories and books rich in character . Fans of Jodi Picoult or Kristin Hannah may enjoy this book.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Started Early, Took My Dog

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

Set in Leeds, England this is the fourth book in what has become a series of literary crime novels featuring, Jackson Brodie a “semi-retired” private detective. His current client is an adoptee, Hope McMaster, who hires him to search for her roots, as it seems she has sprung from nowhere. Crimes and murders committed in the 1970s flip to the present where Tracy Waterhouse, who like Brodie is a former police officer, finds herself entangled in the web of intrigue that ensues.

Tracy makes a snap decision that in one rash moment places her on the other side of the law and consequently on the run. Brodie likewise makes a snap decision that is quite out of character when a small dog crosses his path.

Atkinson knits together the plots and subplots with extraordinary style, and her sense of humour lurks around the darkness of her themes. Her characters will chill you and thrill you. As a former winner of the Whitbread Award for Behind the Scenes at the Museum Atkinson has triumphed yet again. You really must read this book.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Now You See Her

Now You See Her by Joy Fielding 2011

A Canadian pick in honour of Canada Day! 

Canadian author Joy Fielding’s latest book is a gripping suspense story set in the Irish city of Cork.  Marcy Taggert travels to Ireland alone, seeking solace for a broken heart.  Her marriage has ended after the loss of her twenty-one-year old daughter, an apparent suicide.  Only her upturned canoe was found floating in Georgian Bay.

Despite her family’s insistence that Devon is dead, Marcy thinks she sees her daughter on a day trip from Dublin to Cork.  She returns the next day to launch a desperate search to discover the truth.  She meets an assortment of interesting characters, some sinister, but the reader is never sure where this story is taking them.

I haven’t read Joy Fielding’s novels in a long while, and am pleased to find that an engaging heroine and a compelling plot are still her hallmark.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Annabel

Annabel by Kathleen Winter

Annabel, a nominated title for the 2011 Ontario Library Association Evergreen award,is an edgy novel about a child who was born a hermaphrodite to a family in a small community in Labrador. The baby’s father, Treadway, wants the child to live his life as a male while his mother, Jacinta, feels that the baby is truly her daughter.

The child is brought to a surgeon who follows the wishes of the father.
The baby is christened Wayne. Wayne has a difficult life living in a male body that requires pharmaceutical interventions to mask his dual sexuality.
Wayne has one true school friend, Wally Michelin, who wants to pursue a career as a classical music singer. A tragic accident results in Wally’s vocal cords being injured. Wayne, on the other hand,is interested in bridges and architecture.

What I liked about the book is that both Wayne and Wally are able to achieve their life dreams regardless of the struggles that they have to endure. The novel has many well-developed characters and aptly portrays the struggles of Wayne, Treadway, Jacinta and Wally. Annabel was nominated for the Evergreen Award, the Governor General's Award and the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Factory Voice

This past Tuesday marked International Women's Day, so we thought it only appropriate to showcase some of our works on womens' issues. The first is a novel about four women working in a military aircraft factory during World War II.

The Factory Voice by Jeannette Lynes 2009

This story has something for everyone: strong female characters, Canadian setting, fast-moving plot, aviation and engineering, war time, fugitives, a cranky old pilot, romance and intrigue. It is fun!

With a wad of bills stuffed into a cherry jar, Audrey runs away from her parents and the threat of marriage to a boy she calls, Clabber-face. With a one-way ticket to Fort William-Port Arthur, she folds herself into a train seat near a lady with spectacles poring over some papers on her lap. Little does Audrey know they are both going to the same place and will one day become important in each other’s lives. Along with wire-haired Audrey, the reader meets Ruby, Jimmy, Florence, Reggie and others. They all converge at the factory where airplanes are put together for the war effort, and the newsletter, The Factory Voice tells their stories. Amongst the trivial newsletter stories of life on the factory floor are stories of betrayal and intrigue impacting the lives of the main characters.

What is also a joy about this book is the colloquial language, the idioms, the research into the products used, the songs on the radio, fashions of the late
1930s/early 1940s. No, we didn’t have Lucky Strikes in Canada during those years, but we can forgive a small lapse of research as Jeanette Lynes has brought us a light-hearted story of some of the most interesting characters to come along in a while. I hope Lynes keeps on writing – she has a swinging style that captivated ......at least this reader!

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Even Silence has an End

Even silence has an end: my six years of captivity in the Colombian jungle by Ingrid Betancourt 2011

This is a gripping, true account of Ingrid Betancourt’s ordeal as a political hostage that lasted six and a half years, dominating news headlines around the world. In 2002 Betancourt, then the Colombian presidential candidate for the Green Party, was abducted by the FARC, a guerilla terrorist organization. Held captive in the Amazon jungle, she joined other hostages such as a campaign aide, fellow politicians, and members of the Colombian and American military through grueling marches in the dense, dangerous jungle, communal living in makeshift camps, and bouts of hepatitis and malaria, all under constant guard while the Colombian, French, and American governments tried to negotiate their release. Betancourt describes the deplorable conditions she and her fellow hostages endured, as well as her numerous escape attempts, through to her triumphant rescue carefully orchestrated by the Colombian army in 2008. Her story of hope and faith amid incredible despair is truly inspirational. This is a remarkable read that will stay with you long after the last page.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Poison

Poison : a novel of the Renaissance by Sara Poole 2010

The setting for this first novel by an American author is 1492 in Rome. Francesco is the heroine, employed by Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia to protect his family. She is a poisoner, educated in the art of both producing and preventing poisoning, the weapon of choice in these dangerous times.

This is a fascinating tale of the notorious Borgia family that keeps the reader spellbound with the treachery reaching from the Jewish ghetto to the Vatican. As Francesco pursues her father's killer, she tries to protect the Borgias from numerous enemies and stop a diabolical plan of widespread destruction already in the works.

Excellent characterization, a compelling plot, and the first person narration by Francesco gives the story a credible immediacy. It is impossible to set down and needs a sequel soon.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Oxygen

Oxygen by Carol Cassella 2008

Carol Cassella’s first novel “Oxygen “is a mix of medical thriller and relationship novel.

Dr. Marie Heaton, an anesthesiologist, experiences a profound professional and personal crisis when an intellectually disabled girl dies in her care during a routine surgery.The autopsy reveals that the girl had an undiagnosed heart problem that may have led to her death. The girl’s mother launches a lawsuit against the hospital and medical team who operated on her daughter. An audit of the drugs administered during surgeries that Dr. Heaton worked on points out many discrepancies in drugs recorded and administered. The head of the Anesthesiology Department is convinced that Marie is a drug addict. Marie is aware of who the true addict is but is afraid no one will believe her. She is forced to take a leave of absence until the lawsuit is resolved. During this time Marie decides to visit her dad and sister in Houston. Her father, a retired history professor, is losing his sight and is struggling with day to day living. During this difficult period Marie has been helped by her boyfriend, Joe, who is also a doctor at the hospital.
What I liked the most about this novel is the mix of suspense and the realistic characters who are portrayed. You want to keep reading to see what will happen to this very likeable doctor.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Somewhere Inside

Somewhere inside: one sister’s captivity in North Korea and the other’s fight to bring her home by Lisa and Laura Ling 2010

If you watch CNN or other American news networks, you may recall the incident in 2009 in which Laura Ling, reporter for Current TV and sister of reporter Lisa Ling (formerly of The View television show), was captured, along with a colleague, by North Korean soldiers and tried for illegally entering the country. Laura, Euna Lee, and others were filming a documentary about North Korean defectors at the time of their capture. The incident received wide media attention, thanks to Laura’s and Lisa’s political connections, which reached all the way to the White House. After months in captivity in one of the most secretive nations in the world, Laura and Euna were tried and convicted, and sentenced to 12 years of hard labour in one of North Korea’s infamous gulags. Nothing less than a visit from former President Bill Clinton would convince its leader, Kim Jong-il, to grant them a pardon. In their book about the ordeal, we hear from Laura as to what exactly happened to her during her confinement, and from Lisa describing the many efforts that went into securing Laura’s and Euna’s release. An absolutely fascinating read, especially for those who followed the story in the news.

Fiction Pick of the Week: In the Kitchen

In the Kitchen by Monica Ali 2009

From the author of the critically acclaimed Brick Lane, this new novel is set “in the kitchen” of a large London hotel. Gabriel Lightfoot is the chef and main character. He dreams of having his own restaurant, but he must contend with the UN that is his kitchen, where everyone speaks a different language and everybody is underpaid. When a Ukrainian porter is found dead in the cellar, Gabe’s life begins to unravel. His personal life, as well as his professional life. A powerful portrayal of a man whose life is slowly spiraling out of control.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Wife's Tale

With Canada Day this week, we thought we would highlight some Canadian works!








The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens 2009

Fans of Lori Lansens will enjoy another tale set in Leaford Ontario; Mary Gooch is a large woman who has been married to “Gooch”, her high school sweetheart, for twenty-five years, and they have slowly drifted apart. Mary’s weight and frame of mind have limited her life in many ways; however, all this changes when, on the eve of her 25th wedding anniversary, her husband disappears. Mary feels compelled to abandon her sheltered life and pursue her husband across North America. This adventure is the catalyst for Mary to change and meet people who are kind to her. Mary is forced to
learn new skills and to discover the true person who used food to control her life.
The book will appeal to readers who enjoy character studies and Lansen's portrayal of the stresses of obese women is very poignant.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Loving Frank

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan 2007

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan is beautifully-written account of a period of time in the life of renowned American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Taking place at the turn of the 20th century, the story introduces us to Mamah Borthwick, a client of Frank’s who falls in love with him after she and her husband commission his firm to design their new home. Both of them married to others, Mamah and Frank embark on a love affair spanning several years, shocking friends, family, and strangers alike. As their affair makes front page news, the two are forced to make choices about their marriages, parenthood, and their careers. Mamah has an especially hard time since, as a wife and mother, she is expected to live for her husband and children, despite her professional and personal aspirations. Horan’s debut novel blends fact with fiction as she incorporates real events and people into her fictitious account of how the lives of everyone close to Mamah and Frank were changed forever by their refusal to conform to societal conventions. Fans of Frank Lloyd Wright will also appreciate the many descriptions of, and references to, his architectural philosophy and designs. A story of love, art, and the desires that drive us all, Loving Frank will stay with you long after you’ve read the last page!

Fiction Pick of the Week: Sweet Mary

Sweet Mary by Liz Balmaseda 2009

Mistaken for a notorious cocaine queen, single mom and successful real estate agent Mary Guevara is desperate to clear her name and regain custody of her son. Even though the charges against her are eventually dropped, suspicion remains. So, feisty Mary learns how to fire a Glock, infiltrates the drug world and enlists the aid of an old lover to hunt the drug queen down. With fast paced action, smart dialogue and strong female characters, this debut novel would appeal to those who like Janet Evanovich’s heroine, Stephanie Plum.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Under this Unbroken Sky

Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell 2009

Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell is a character rich historical novel set during the Great Depression in Alberta. Teodor Mykolayenko has returned to his family of wife and five children after he served one year in jail for a minor theft. His wife and children have been living in a tiny 2 room cabin with Teodor’s sister and her family of three.

What I liked about the novel was the rich detail that was presented about the living conditions during the Great Depression in the Prairies. Another redeeming feature was the rich and vivid characterization that was featured in the book. The main character, Teodor was a hard working yet stubborn Ukrainian farmer who risked all to feed his family on his sister’s small farmstead. Teodor’s sister Anna was a tragic figure who was so depressed that she disconnected herself from the people who truly loved her. Some of the descriptions in this book are violent and graphic, yet they are effective in presenting an amazing snapshot of the struggles that immigrants faced in the Prairies in the late 1930s.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Prospect Park West

Prospect Park West
by Amy Sohn 2009
In a recent article I read, Prospect Park West was given as an example as chick-lit “grown up”. Indeed, that seems to be the case! As chick lit often does, this novel tackles the lives of women in New York who battle their own obsessions, insecurities and loneliness as they adapt to their new roles as mothers. Prospect Park West differs from typical chick lit in that it is far more graphic than standard fare… as one reviewer commented, “I started blushing on the first page and didn’t ever stop”. I can’t help but think this book was heavily influenced by the Sex and the City series – no topic seems to be off limits and in fact, Amy Sohn also wrote a behind the scenes account of the series called Sex in the City: Kiss and Tell. The book would appeal to those who like strong characters and a plot that moves along quickly as the women get themselves into humourous and often embarrassing situations. If you prefer more left to the imagination, this may not be the book for you!