Short Canadiana Mentions

As some of my readers may recall, I also review books for work, in Library Journal. I can't review those ones fully here because of that, but I wanted to mention some of the Canadian titles I've read for them in the last while. You can read bits of the original reviews at LJ, just follow the links :) 

Definitely Thriving by Kerry Clare 

This is a modern "women's novel", inspired by the work of Barbara Pym. Anyone who can mix Bridget Jones with Barbara Pym has a unique viewpoint! Set in Toronto, this is an entertaining book with some thoughtful themes. Clementine Lathbury gets divorced, moves back to TO and a crummy apartment of her own, gets a part-time job in a book store and tries to figure out her "Eat Pray Love" journey, without the "love" part. Things get complicated!

The Mystic & The Missing Girl / Vikki VanSickle

This one isn't released until September 8, and my review isn't up yet for LJ. But I just read this one and wanted to let you know about it -- it was such a fun read! Drew Benson goes home to her small town to take over her late Aunt's metaphysical shop. And she gets involved with a cold case going back 20 years, while discovering her own psychic abilities. This one was unique and entertaining and will be particularly interesting to readers who are into psychics, tarot etc. 

Leave our Bones Where They Lay / Aviaq Johnston

Memorable read for sure! This collection of linked short stories follows Jupi, an old man who must tell a story to a demanding spirit, Kupik, each solstice. He's getting old so brings in his young granddaughter to train her in the family tradition. Fabulous look at the contemporary North. I thought it was fresh, unusual and a fascinating read.

A Box Full of Darkness

A Box Full of Darkness/ Simone St. James
NY: Berkley, c2026.
337 p.

I'm a big fan of fellow Canadian author Simone St. James. I read all of her books as they come out. This one is another spooky story told in her ghostly family drama style. But it's even more about families than usual. 

St. James returns to Fell, NY, the site of her previous novel The Sundown Motel (a fave for me). Strange things happen in Fell. There are drownings, children having heart attacks at far too young of an age, and finally the disappearance of six year old Ben, the youngest sibling of the three Esmies, a family who left Fell 18 years previously but are now reconvening thanks to a reported sighting of a ghost who may be Ben. 

The three siblings have all dealt with their childhood trauma differently -- Violet, the oldest, sees dead people and has had her life upended because of it in so many ways. Vail, the middle, used to be a diver but he is now a UFO true believer and drifts around the country searching for proof of aliens. Dodie, the youngest, is a brittle personality, living in NY City and working as a hair and hand model, but keeps people far away from her, emotionally. They have to come back to Fell and face up to who they were then and in the intervening years when they didn't really stay in contact too effectively. 

I really liked this. The characters were interesting - the interactions between siblings was unsettling, they were all so prickly and independent, but had to depend on one another as they are pulled back into their childhood trauma. Returning to a childhood home is always a great plot device but here it is to a mostly abandoned, haunted childhood home -- even less likely to lead to warm fuzzies! It had ghostly bits that were scary, but also real life encounters with nasty people. And the need for the siblings to break down and be honest with one another was another plot driver. It was fun read even if the plot wasn't quite as tight as some of her earlier books. 

I Think We've Been Here Before: Facing the End of the World, in Saskatchewan

I Think We've Been Here Before / Suzy Krause
Regina, SK: Radiant Press, c2024.
309 p.

It's the end of the world -- with advance notice. Scientists have discovered some kind of cosmological burst that will reach Earth in two months, just around Christmas time. They announce it to the world. So, prepare for the end. 

Marlen and Hilda Jorgensen receive this news differently. Marlen has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer, so for him it's the end either way; his wife is struggling with their own reality, never mind the apocalypse. Their daughter is in Berlin, and it's not certain she'll be able to return home, what with transportation being knocked off-kilter by the panic and chaos. She has her own issues, meeting someone in Berlin who feels strangely familiar to here. Meanwhile, Hilda's sister is in complete denial, which makes it hard for her husband and teen son to cope, never being allowed to talk about it. 

This was a very unusual take on the end of the world. Set mostly in rural Saskatchewan (with side scenes in Berlin), it focuses deeply on the emotional state of its characters. There is a certain numbness which permeates the story; the world around these characters is quiet -- even in Berlin, we don't really see, hear from, or interact with other characters. It is like these particular characters are insulated somehow. 

But I found this thoughtful, with some intriguing elements that would be very discussable. There are funny bits, and touching bits, too. I loved the daughter's story, and found this an engaging read. I am originally from Saskatchewan so it is nice to see a story like this taking place, rooted in small town Saskatchewan. For me, this was fresh and interesting, even if I'm still not quite sure about that ending! Well worth searching this one out, in my opinion. 

 

Two Mrs. Pollifax

More Mrs. Pollifax in my quest to read the whole series - this time two books that work together almost as two volumes of the same story. They take place both in the US and an imaginary African country, Ubangiba. I thought it was a bit unusual to have this imaginary country, rather than the finely evoked real places in all of her other books. But listening to a lengthy author interview, I discovered that these two books were written during a time that she was suffering from a form of agoraphobia, and couldn't travel for research. So this choice makes more sense. I didn't feel that same sense of exploration and interest, though, because of the imaginary nature of the country. Still, these worked together well and had some new, intriguing characters. 

Mrs Pollifax Pursued / Dorothy Gilman
Recorded Books, 2011, c1995
read by Barbara Rosenblat 

This first story sets up the premise - Mrs Pollifax drives her husband Cyrus to the airport and when she gets home and feels something is up, she searches the house and discovers a young woman, Kadi Hopkirk, hiding in a utility closet. She had escaped from men trailing her a couple of days before. Mrs. Pollifax is of course interested in the story and decides to rescue Kadi, driving her back to NY City. But things go wrong, as Kadi's pursuers catch sight of them and trail them. Mrs. P, fortunately, has important friends -- and thinks quickly. She pulls in to a busy hospital and calls her CIA contacts from the ER. 

They rescue and deliver Mrs. P and Kadi to an unexpected safe house: a travelling carnival. The story has a lot of fun with the characters and the setting of a carnival, and Mrs. P discovers new depths to herself! She also puzzles out why Kadi was being watched (her connections to Ubangiba, where she grew up thanks to her parents medical mission) and they end up travelling to Ubangiba to see the conclusion of Kadi's involvement. This one felt really escapist and light, thanks to the imaginary political setting of this invented African country. I loved the carnival and some of this story, but didn't find it as engaging as the others so far in the series. Still, the next book carries on this tale.
 

Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer / Dorothy Gilman
Recorded Books, c1996.
read by Barbara Rosenblat

Mrs. Pollifax and Kadi head back to Ubangiba to see the coronation of Kadi's childhood friend Sammat. They are special guests of the government, but that doesn't mean there aren't shenanigans to deal with. There have been a rash of violent killings in the capital, where the victims are slashed with what looks like lion's claws. The catch is that there are no lions in Ubangiba. Rumours of supernatural causes abound, causing Sammat political difficulties. 

Mrs. P is on the case - she explores the area quite fearlessly, and gets involved with locals in the way that she always does. And thank goodness, because the silent, grim bicycle seller named Moses turns out to be integral to the plot, and their survival! There isn't that much of a mystery going on here, and definitely not the exciting spy thriller sense of the other books -- this is an imaginary country, and there is no CIA involvement here. This duo of books is probably the weakest in the series because of these elements. Mrs. Pollifax is always delightful to read about though, so while they are not the best of this series, I still liked them well enough.  

The Hundred Dresses

 

The Hundred Dresses / Eleanor Estes; illus. by Louis Slobodkin
NY: Clarion, 2014, c1944.
93 p.

A bittersweet, classic children's book for today's review. Wanda Petronski is a new student, in a school full of well-off children. The girls in her class, especially one named Peggy, make fun of her for her Polish name, the fact that she wears the same faded blue dress every day, and after a little while, for her outrageous claim that she has more dresses at home: “A hundred of them. All lined up in my closet.”

Peggy's friend Maddie feels bad about the way that Wanda is treated, but not enough to say anything -- she's afraid she'll be next if she does. But then Wanda stops coming to school, and they wonder what's happened to her. Shortly after, the school art prize is going to be announced, and when the students enter their class, there are 100 beautiful sketches pinned up to view -- all of the hundred dresses that Wanda had drawn before her family moved to the more friendly big city. 

Wanda has also left instructions for two of the sketches to be given in particular to Peggy and Maddie, as she created them with the girls in mind. Maddie realizes that she made the wrong choices, that speaking up is always the thing to do when something is happening that she is uncomfortable with. The lessons in this story are gentle and not overly didactic, they arise out of a naturally told story. And sadly they are still so relevant 80 years after this was written. 

But aside from that, the descriptions of the dresses and the imagination that Wanda shared with the class are all so lovely and I really enjoyed picturing the drawings that she'd created. A lovely read, with so many touching elements. 

(first published at FollowingTheThread.ca)

The Dream Stitcher

The Dream Stitcher / Deborah Gaal
Anchor House Press, c2018
295 p.

This was a random discovery for me, via my library, and a great find. It's a novel that moves between the USA in 2008, and WWII Poland, following a family line of women. It starts out rather fantastical, and has elements of magic throughout, particularly in regards to embroidery. But it also has realistic historical content and strong characters.

Goldye is the titular Dream Stitcher: in Poland she discovers an uncanny skill at embroidery early on (readers will know why). She's taken in by Kaminski Fabrics, and stitches magical wedding dresses for Christian brides. When the Germans come, Mr. Kaminski claims her as an Aryan niece from France, and Goldye changes her name to Anna to survive. But she is still in love with her Jewish resistance fighter, and uses her magical embroidery to fight in her own way. She's so good that a German officer takes interest in her, and requires her to accompany him to France to interpret the mystical imagery of the Bayeux Tapestry, which the Nazis are convinced tells of their victory. 

In 2008, we meet Maude, recently widowed and in financial straits. She has to take her mother out of the home she's been in, too expensive to continue it. When she moves her mother Bea home, she brings along a large recreation of the Bayeux Tapestry that the nurses say she stitched while there, even though Maude has never known her mother to sew anything at all. Maude's pregnant daughter also moves home, and they try to understand the family secrets that start leaking out, especially due to the large tapestry Maude has hung in the living room. 

I thought this was a fascinating read. It melds history, fantasy, mystery and some thriller-y bits too. Plus there is a lot about the magical power to stitch reality that Goldye holds, and what it can and can't accomplish. There are a couple of troubling scenes of sexual violence, during the war, readers should be aware. It can be hard to read, but it's all disturbingly real. The historical elements are strong and the WWII sections are compelling. 

When we hit the contemporary chapters, it is fascinating to feel the difference in narrative tone. Maude is flippant and childish at times, and the writing reflects this. It's like the whole story turns into Maude's story with a minute adjustment to tone. I thought it was really interesting! Maude's story slowly begins to link into Goldye's but what I thought was coming was not what was finally revealed. What a great build up to the conclusion, it surprised me. 

This was an unusual read, unexpected and memorable. I'm still thinking about it. The embroidery was a key part to the book, and makes me want to go see the Bayeux Tapestry - it's in England starting this fall, at the British Museum, for the first time in nearly 1000 years. That would be fascinating. 

But the characters and the creative storytelling are also fresh and engaging here. I am so glad I stumbled across this book. 

(first published at Following The Thread)

 

Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief

 

Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief / Dorothy Gilman
read by Barbara Rosenblatt
Blackstone Audio, c1993.

Another trip for Mrs. Pollifax! Her latest assignment is to take some photos at a small funeral in Virginia, then deliver them to her old friend Farrell in Sicily. He has specifically asked for her and Cyrus, but as usual Cyrus is busy with something else and Mrs. P goes alone (I do find it amusing how Gilman regularly gets rid of Cyrus, after introducing him in Book 5). 

Nothing that Mrs. Pollifax does ever turns out as easy as promised. Here, she is met in Sicily by Kate, a young woman also from the CIA but who is on holiday and just doing a favour. But their trip to meet Farrell turns into a car chase, rescue and retreat to a safe house of sorts - Kate's aunt's country house where she is staying. This aunt turns out to be almost as mysterious as the men searching for Farrell. 

This book was a bit slow for me, with most of it taking place within one house. There is some adventure beyond its walls, and an unlikely romance for Farrell too, but overall it's not as dramatic or eventful as some of the others. The plot can be a touch thin at times. 

However, it is always enjoyable to see Mrs. P and Farrell back together, and the main element that is tying this story together is a suspected assassin who they put behind bars some books ago, who Farrell is sure he has seen in Sicily. The resolution of that is a little amusing but definitely suitable for an Emily Pollifax story. This one was just okay for me, but there was still that layer of social commentary that made it worth reading.