February

February (House of Anansi, 2009) by Lisa Moore
In February, Lisa Moore uses a real-life tragedy (the sinking of the Ocean Ranger off the coast of Newfoundland in 1982) as the basis for a sensitive exploration of grief that won reader Penelope Williams's vote. She wrote:
"This is one of my top ten novels ever. Reasons? Spare beautiful prose, characters you want never to lose touch with because they are as real as family, strong sense of place [ ....] But most of all, her depiction and understanding of grief. How does a young writer understand with such empathy an older woman's feelings? Amazing. Moore is one of the writers today who can pierce your heart with one sentence eliciting an unexpected gust of tears, or causing a whoop of laughter (not the same sentence of course...). Her understanding of the human character resonates like a bell."
Accolades: February won an Independent Publisher Book Award, was named to the Globe and Mail's Top 100 Books of 2009 and was a New York Times Editors' Choice. It also showed up on the shortlist of numerous awards including the regional Commonwealth Writers' Prize, the BMO Winterset Award and the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award.

I enjoyed this book.  Nothing too spectacular.  I'd give it a B-.

Far to Go

Far to Go (House of Anansi, 2010) by Alison Pick
Lucy Valko feels that even though this heartbreaking tale of an affluent Jewish family in Czechoslovakia at the outset of the Second World War was published mere months ago, it's a novel every Canadian should read. She writes:
"A compelling story...but most powerful is the way the author was able to capture it. Alison Pick has a gift of painting the internal and external worlds of her characters with a lightness of depth that makes what is human — beautiful."
Accolades: A September 2010 pub date means Far to Go may still garner a nomination or two in future literary awards. In the meantime, it's had a warm reception from critics, earning a glowing review from the Globe and Mail, among others: "The writing in Far to Go is clean, crisp and unencumbered. Pick never dwells for too long in an image or metaphor, and she creates small moments that are both lovely and frightening."

This book was almost amazing.  It seemed that the author couldhave elaborated a little more and made it a better story.  Almost seemed that she was rushing it to finish at the end, like she had a 300 page limit!  Good read, though.

Drive By Saviours

Drive-by Saviours (Fernwood Publishing, 2010) by Chris Benjamin
Chris Benjamin's tale of a cross-cultural friendship struck a chord with David Cribbs, who wrote "It's highly demonstrative of contemporary Canada: the story of an immigrant and a Canadian born, who meet on the subway, and whose lives come to intertwine. Many can relate to this book, it crosses cultural divides."
Accolades: Drive-by Saviours is hot off the press (it was published in September 2010), so it hasn't had much time to earn any laurels. But it won a rave review from critic Stephen Patrick Clare in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, who called it "one of the finest first narratives to emerge from Atlantic Canada in recent memory. Well-balanced and masterfully crafted with a prose that is both poignant and poised, the work is certain to be considered for literary awards."

It wasn't a page turner, but it was a lovely story.  Nice for a rainy day.

Through Black Spruce

 

Through Black Spruce (Viking Canada, 2008) by Joseph Boyden
Joseph Boyden's haunting follow-up to Three Day Road follows Annie, a young woman hunting her for disappeared sister, and their aging and lonely uncle.Many readers, including Deb Powell, found it stirring:
"It is very moving, emotionally, geographically and historically. Touching an essential essence of Canadian identity, it deserves to be the must-read book of the last decade."
Accolades: This winner of the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize also captured the CBA Libris Award. Fellow Top 40 author Zoe Whittall was one of the novel's admirers; in her review for NOW magazine, she praised it as "a complicated saga that is emotionally satisfying, suspenseful and well crafted."

Loved this book!!!!