A Delicate Storm
Blackfly Season
By the Time You Read This
Giles Blunt
Seal Books
One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to try to read more Canadian Literature. How hard could that be, right? Our country has produced some amazingly talented writers over the last hundred years and there are thousands of great books just waiting to be explored. I could absolutely get lost forever in the novels of Martel, Atwood, Ross, Davies, Blais, Galloway, Laurence, Richler ... you get the idea.
My goal, however, was a little more specific. I wanted to read the books that I wouldn't find in the "Fiction and Literature" section of the bookstore. That is to say, I want to read books outside of the Canadian literary canon. In the past, I've made a pretty big dent in the Fantasy genre by consuming novels by Steven Erikson, Guy Gavriel Kay, Kelley Armstrong, and Charles deLint. A few weeks ago, I decided to look for something in the mystery genre. Enter Giles Blunt.
Set in Algonquin Bay, this series of novels focus on homicide detective John Cardinal and his sometimes partner Lise Delorme. John, like my boyfriend John Rebus, is a complicated man. He sensitive, single-minded, relentless, gentle, funny, caring, and very, very good at his job. Blunt's writing is sharp, fast-paced, yet surprisingly detailed. The best part is that his stories don't come across as formulaic which is why, I think, I was able to read three of his novels back-to-back without getting sick of the characters or the plots. Maybe that's why he's an award-winner. Three sliver daggers out of five.
The Gift of Rain
Tan Twan Eng
Weinstein Books
While it is true that I can still spend hours wandering through the aisles at a bookstore, it is not quite the experience that it once was. Not only are independent booksellers getting harder to find (I'm VERY lucky in that I live within driving distance of The Bookshelf in Guelph,) but the cookie-cutter approach to the big box stores is more than a little depressing. That said, I understand that it is the homogeneity of the business model that affords me such great discounts on the things I like to read. It is a bit of a pickle, isn't it?
So, sometimes to escape the uniform browsing experience and still get a make-me-happy-on-the-inside discount, I purchase books online. That, too, is fraught with issues in that I am now the recipient of all sorts of unwanted book recommendations. "If you liked The Hunger Games, we think you'll love Twilight." Oh please. When it comes to reading novels, I like to go old school and rely on the advice of my friends and loved ones. The Gift of Rain, was one such book. My friend Nigel recommended it toward the end of the summer. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading it, but wow. We've found our second 2011 candidate for the DES book of the year.
The Gift of Rain is set in Malaysia and the bulk of the story takes place in and around the Second World War. The main character, Phillip Hutton, is a 16 year old boy of mixed parentage (British/Chinese), who never seems to fit in. One day, while the rest of his family is off London for an extended stay, Phillip meets a quiet, mysterious Japanese man. As it turns out, Endo-san is renting some ocean front property from Phillip's father and the two solitary, isolated figures develop a relationship. It doesn't take the reader long to figure out that Endo-san is a Japanese spy preparing the island for invasion. It takes Phillip a little longer and when his epiphany comes, it is much too late.
This is an epic story about love, betrayal, and loss and how each are just a matter of perspective. Told using first-person narration and a series of flashbacks, this novel is incredibly beautiful and once you pick it up, you'll have trouble putting it down. Five zen moments out of five.
Cutting for Stone
Abraham Verghese
Vintage Canada
Have you ever read one of those books that just seems to draw you so far into its world that you can't think about anything else? I had that experience a couple of weeks ago while reading Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone. I started it one night over supper at my local hangout. Halfway through the first pint, I was hooked. When the bartender asked if I wanted another, I declined and switched to water. I knew I was going to have a late night.
The story itself focuses on Marion Stone -- who, along with his conjoined twin, Shiva, was born in an Ethiopian mission hospital during the latter part of Haile Selassie's reign. The boys' mother, an Indian nun named Mary Joseph Praise, dies in childbirth. The boys' father, a British surgeon with questionable social skills and more baggage than a cargo hold, goes mad with grief and abandons the babies upon their mother's death. The newborns aren't unwanted for long as another mission doctor is immediately drawn to them and decides to become their substitute mother. She, in turn, shanghais a colleague to assist with their care and not surprisingly, the two of them fall in love. Oh -- and this all happens within the first few chapters. Is it any wonder that I couldn't put it down?
Weaving in and out of the narrative, and as influential as any character in the text, is the novel's setting. I learned more about Ethiopian and Eritrean history and culture from this story than from any news magazine or television piece. The Ethiopia of Verghese's novel is definitely somewhere that I'd want to visit. Whether it exists anymore is immaterial as I will definitely revisit the land through the pages of this novel. Cutting for Stone gets five Hippocratic Oaths out of five.
