by Steven Brust Sometimes a sequel comes across favourably when compared to the original. Yendi is most definitely a case of this, improving on what made Jhereg good, while learning from––and fixing many of––the problems of the original, while trying some new things in the process. I’m going to be comparing the two quite a…
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by Jane Urquhart It feels like quite some time since a book came along and both delighted me and terrified me through its superb writing, making me glad that high art still exists in contemporary Canadian literature, though worried that I’m nowhere near creating anything comparable in quality. It should go without saying, then––but I’ll…
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by Steven Brust When reading, I sometimes get caught up with the wrong pronunciation, and I have a far too hard time letting go, even when someone corrects me. I’m thankful that Brust was kind enough to provide a pronunciation guide at the start of Jhereg; this way I hopefully won’t embarrass myself when discussing…
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by Alain Farah Some books really lose me right from the get-go. This could be due to a myriad of reasons, but, in the case of Ravenscrag, it seemed to be because of the author’s misunderstanding of avant-garde, with scenes mashed together that appeared weird just for the sake of being weird. Before long, however,…
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by Ken Kesey Am I a terrible person? To like a piece of literature so criticized for its racism and misogyny seems to suggest as much. And I see the truth in the arguments, though I would suggest that it should be regarded less as racist and misogynist literature, and more as real literature, literature…
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by Helen Humphreys It strikes me as the work of a very talented author to make a war novel dull. I admit that this is, perhaps, a more combative tone than I should be starting with, but I honestly feel that this was at least partly intentional by the author. The Evening Chorus starts us…
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by Evelyn Waugh Some stories feel almost untouchable to me, which isn’t to say nothing exists that can be considered better, and it isn’t to say nothing exists that is similar, but, even with similarities and even with stories that resonate on deeper, more visceral levels, nothing feels truly comparable. In the case of Brideshead…
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by Naomi Klein Rare is it for a book to come along and give you something significant to think about, that sticks with you long after you finish reading––if not fundamentally changing your outlook. I suppose saying that This Changes Everything is such a book shouldn’t be overly surprising, given the title. However, such a…
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by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman How lucky am I to read books back-to-back that actually made me laugh out loud, first Our Man in Havana, and now Good Omens. I hate to admit, however, that Greene’s classic wasn’t the story that came to mind while reading this one. No, that title goes to something…
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by Graham Greene Our Man in Havana has the unique distinction of its place in history more-or-less matching up with its subject matter. The story is about Wormold, a vacuum cleaner salesman from Cuba, being recruited by British intelligence to gather information. Not knowing the first thing about espionage, but still wanting to draw a…
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