O Man of Clay by Eliza Mood ISBN: 978-1939269959 Publisher: Stairwell Books Publication date: December 2, 2019 Review by Mary Woodbury Ursula K. Le Guin once said that speculative fiction was more about the real world than we usually imagine, and that’s true when it comes to authors writing about […]
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The Morning Star, Karl Ove Knausgård
Translated by Martin Aitken in 2021 and originally published in 2020, The Morning Star has received positive reviews in the media lately. From Penguin Random House: One long night in August, Arne and Tove are staying with their children in their summer house in southern Norway. Their friend Egil has […]
Read MoreThe Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction 2021, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki et al.
The first ever Year’s Best African speculative fiction anthology with 2020 reprinted works from some of the most exciting voices, old and new. Short stories and authors: “Where You Go” by Somto O. Ihezue, “Things Boys Do” by Pemi Aguda, “Giant Steps” by Russell Nichols, “The Future in Saltwater” by […]
Read MoreDew in the Morning, Shimmer Chinodya
Dew in the Morning is a tender, evocative novel of growing up, but in it we see the seeds of many issues which Chinodya will dwell on in his later novels: familial tensions, the taut interplay of tradition and modernity, ancestral beliefs and Christianity…A Bildungsroman, Chinodya captures the centrality of […]
Read MoreStrange Beasts of China, Yan GE
The novel’s environmental ethos is also very much of the now, with numerous, vivid descriptions of urban decay competing with the natural world. As an example, there’s a wistful moment where the novelist sees a bird rise into the air with… “an elongated body and exquisite movements, feathers as pale […]
Read MoreThe Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak
In The Island of Missing Trees, prizewinning author Elif Shafak brings us a rich, magical tale of belonging and identity, love and trauma, memory and amnesia, human-induced destruction of nature, and, finally, renewal. –Penguin Elif Shafak hardly needs any introduction. Her beautifully designed books can be found everywhere, from airports […]
Read MoreBeautiful World, Where Are You, Sally Rooney
Rooney is back with another bookish, epistolary novel — this time following two intelligent young adults navigating their personal lives amid the backdrop of environmental and social upheaval. –New York Times Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to […]
Read MoreDamnation Spring, Ash Robinson
An epic, immersive debut, Damnation Spring is the deeply human story of a Pacific Northwest logging town wrenched in two by a mystery that threatens to derail its way of life. Thanks to Booknet Canada for the BiblioShare plugin.
Read MoreTerminal Boredom: Stories, Izumi Suzuki, et al.
In a future where men are contained in ghettoized isolation, women enjoy the fruits of a queer matriarchal utopia – until a boy escapes and a young woman’s perception of the world is violently interrupted. Thanks to Booknet Canada for the BiblioShare plugin.
Read MoreNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki
This is the Box Set of Hayao Miyazaki’s epic series. Translated by David Lewis and Toren Smith. The publication date represents that of the boxed set, though the series began in 1984. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is an epic fantasy tale written and illustrated by legendary Studio […]
Read MoreChosen Spirits, Samit Basu
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Read MoreWizard of the Crow, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
Commencing in “our times” and set in the “Free Republic of Aburĩria,” the novel dramatizes with corrosive humor and keenness of observation a battle for control of the souls of the Aburĩrian people. Among the contenders: His High Mighty Excellency; the eponymous Wizard, an avatar of folklore and wisdom; the […]
Read MoreLand-Water-Sky / Ndè-Tı-Yat’a, Katłıà
Riveting, subtle, and unforgettable, Katłıà gives us a unique perspective into what the world might look like today if Indigenous legends walked amongst us, disguised as humans, and ensures that the spiritual significance and teachings behind the stories of Indigenous legends are respected and honored. See more at CBC. Goodreads […]
Read MoreWaiting for the Rain, Charles Mungoshi
The award-winning writer Charles Mungoshi is recognised in Africa, and internationally, as one of the continent’s most powerful writers today. This early novel deals with the pain and dislocation of the clash of the old and new ways–the educated young man determined to go overseas, and the elders of the […]
Read MoreThe Old Woman and the River, Ismail Fahd Ismail
The story is about the life-giving powers of women; it is also a story about hope and the possibilities of the human spirit even in the bleakest settings. As it unfolds, the boundary between the real and the fantastical never seems stable. What appears impossible may be possible yet. In […]
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