Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

November 16, 2010 by Christina

Fiction — print. Anchor Books, 1997. Originally published 1996. 468 pgs. Received from PaperBackSwap. Based on a real Canadian murder (allegedly) committed by Grace Marks in 1843, Atwood’s novel examines the murders in a fictional manner and explores the burgeoning field of mental illness during that time. The last couple of books I’ve read have been pretty bad, and I’m so glad that I decided to start Atwood’s novel because it’s just fantastic. Overall, the novel is very well-written with […]

Categories: 2010 Reads, AP Literature, Canada, Chunkster, Fiction, Giller Prize, North America • Tags: Margaret Atwood

Obasan by Joy Kogawa

December 16, 2008 by Christina

Kogawa’s novel is narrated by Naomi, a sheltered and pampered child who is five years old when her life is drastically changed by the events at Pearl Harbor and the Second World War. As a Japanese Canadian, Naomi is separated from her parents, persecuted and eventually placed in an internment camp – common practice in Canada during WWII. “If all this sounds like a bird’s-eye view to you, Nesan, it’s the reportage of a caged bird. I can’t really see […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, AP Literature, Canada, Fiction, North America, Textbook • Tags: Joy Kogawa

The Birth House by Ami McKay

December 15, 2008 by Christina

McKay’s novel is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing and a kitchen filled with herbs and folk remedies. During the turbulent first years of World War I, Dora becomes the midwife’s apprentice. Together, they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Canada, Fiction, North America • Tags: Ami McKay