BOOK
CLUB
Selections
2015
1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver
604.925.7403 | westvanlibrary.ca
B o o k C l u b S e l e c ti o n s
FICTION
Page
419 Will Ferguson
*All My Puny Sorrows Miriam Toews
*All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
6
*Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Angle of Repose Wallace Stegner
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
The Attack Yasmina Khadra
Await Your Reply Dan Chaon 7
*The Bees Laline Paull The Beggar’s Garden: Stories Michael Christie
The Birth House Ami McKay
8
Black Swan Green David Mitchell
* The Blazing World Siri Hustvedt
The Book of Negroes Lawrence Hill
9
The Cat’s Table Michael Ondaatje
The Cellist of Sarajevo Steven Galloway
Certainty Madeleine Thien
A Complicated Kindness Miriam Toews
Conceit Mary Novik
10
Coventry Helen Humphreys
Crescent Diana Abu-Jaber
11
11
Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese The Dinner Herman Koch
Disgrace J.M. Coetzee
12
The Fault in Our Stars John Green The Golden Mean Annabel Lyon Gone Girl Gillian Flynn The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Headmaster’s Wager Vincent Lam
The Help Kathryn Stockett
The History of Love Nicole Krauss
The House on Fortune Street Margot Livesey The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window
and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Indian Horse Richard Wagamese
The Jade Peony Wayson Choy
Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë
The Language of Flowers Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Last Crossing Guy Vanderhaeghe
Late Nights on Air Elizabeth Hay
13
14
15
*The Lie Helen Dunmore
Life after Life Kate Atkinson 16
A Light Between Oceans M.L. Stedman
Little Bee Chris Cleave
The Little Shadows Marina Endicott Loving Frank Nancy Horan
Lullabies for Little Criminals Heather O’Neill Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand Helen Simonson
Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides 17
The Mistress of Nothing Kate Pullinger
*My Brilliant Friend Elena Ferrante My Year of Meats Ruth L. Ozeki
Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro
18
October Richard B. Wright 19
One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez
The Orenda Joseph Boyden
Out Stealing Horses Per Petterson The Paris Wife Paula McLain The Road Cormac McCarthy Room Emma Donoghue
The Rosie Project Graeme C. Simsion The Secret River Kate Grenville
20
21 The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes The Slap Christos Tsiolkas Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See
The Space Between Us Thrity N. Umrigar
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle David Wroblewski Swamp Angel Ethel Wilson
Sweetness in the Belly Camilla Gibb
These Foolish Things Deborah Moggach Three Day Road Joseph Boyden The Tiger’s Wife Téa Obreht
Tinkers Paul Harding
22
23
Too Much Happiness Alice Munro
The Uncommon Reader Alan Bennett The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Rachel Joyce
Water for Elephants Sara Gruen Where’d You Go Bernadette Maria Semple
The White Tiger Aravind Adiga
24
The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great Eva Stachniak
Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel 25
NON-FICTION
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and
Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
*Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Atul Gawande
The Book of Small Emily Carr
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold
at the 1936 Olympics Daniel Brown
The Hare with Amber Eyes: a Family’s Century of Art and Loss
Edmund De Waal
25
26
*A House in the Sky Amanda Lindhout
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was
Shot by the Taliban Malala Yousafzai
I Feel Bad About My Neck Nora Ephron
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin Erik Larson
The Legend of Colton H. Bryant Alexandra Fuller
27
The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric
28
28
Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom Simon Winchester
My Life in France Julia Child
*North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood,
My Counterculture Family, and How I Survived Both
Cea Sunrise Person
The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in
Canada’s Polygamous Mormon Sect Daphne Bramham
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival John Vaillant
Wait for Me!: Memoirs Deborah Mitford When a Crocodile Eats the Sun Peter Godwin
Zeitoun Dave Eggers
29
T
he Library has 10 or more copies of each book we recommend for book clubs. Our librarians have compiled a package of reviews, author interviews
and discussion questions for each title to foster conversation.
Please choose your books in advance since all copies of a
certain title may not be available at a given time. For details,
ask at the Information Desk.
The *symbol indicates a new book we selected in 2015.
Fi cti o n
419 by Will Ferguson 399 p., 2012
FICTION FER
Ferguson details the lives of three Nigerians and one Canadian drawn
together by the exploitative practice of “419ing” which uses the internet to
swindle gullible individuals. Laura’s father has lost everything through this
scheme and she travels to Nigeria to seek revenge on those responsible.
The terrible circumstances and moral ambiguity of the Africans is vividly
described, creating sympathy even as one condemns the crime.
* All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, 321 p., 2014
FICTION TOE
Yolandi Von Riesen is a twice-divorced struggling writer of rodeo-themed
YA novels with two teenage children from different men. In contrast, her
sister Elfrieda is a beautiful and glamorous renowned concert pianist with a
husband who adores her. Appearances can be deceiving, however, because
even though Elf appears to have everything, she wants to die—and wants
Yoli to help her. When Yoli returns to Winnipeg to deal with Elf’s latest
suicide attempt, she is torn between trying to convince her beloved sister
to live and giving her what she wants. A novel about suicide is bound to be
heartbreaking, but there are moments of hilarity as well, mostly provided by
Yoli, whose self-deprecation, dark wit and (morbidly comical) determination
to stand strong in the face of multiple tragedies bring some levity to the
story. Based on true events from the author’s life, this is an insightful look at
mental illness and its repercussions on family.
*All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, 531 p., 2014
FICTION DOE
A novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in
occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. The
narrative presents two characters so interesting and sympathetic that readers
will keep turning the pages hoping for a happy ending.
6
*Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 477 p., 2013
FICTION ADI
Accepting a scholarship to an American college, Ifemelu escapes Nigeria,
leaving behind her sweetheart, Obinze. Baffled and burdened by racism in
America, Ifemelu begins a provocative blog on the subject. Years later, she
and Obinze reunite and evaluate their relationship. A witty, observant love
story about the challenges of assimilation.
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, 569 p., 1972
FICTION STE
Stegner won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for his novel about a retired historian
who researches and writes about his pioneer grandparents and the American
West. A slow moving story that seamlessly weaves the past and the present
as the professor confronts his own history and failed marriage. A book to be
slowly savored, from one of America’s finest novelists.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 837 p., 2002
FICTION TOL
Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and
rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds
as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisies
of society. This new English translation of Tolstoy’s masterpiece, the first
in 40 years, has been described as the most scrupulous, illuminating and
compelling version yet. In his introduction, Pevear explains how Tolstoy
incorporated real events into his novel, writing several versions before it
emerged in its final form in 1876.
The Attack by Yasmina Khadra, 257 p., 2005
FICTION KHA
Khadra is the female pseudonym of a former Algerian army officer and
author of The Swallows of Kabul. In this cleverly conceived psychological
thriller he attempts to get at the heart of the Israeli-Arab-conflict and
examines what happens when individuals are caught up in an endless and
meaningless cycle of violence. In a nightmarish series of twists and turns,
an Arab-Israeli surgeon finds his life torn apart in the wake of a terrorist
bombing at a local restaurant as he deals with the discovery that his own
wife was the suicide bomber responsible.
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon, 324 p., 2009
FICTION CHA
Who are you? Are you a product of your genetic and sociological history, or
can you invent yourself? Opening with a scene of high tension, Await Your
Reply takes on the momentum of a thriller and draws the reader into the
minds of three strangers whose lives are connected in unforeseen ways. This
intelligent, masterfully crafted work not only keeps you guessing, but also
7
makes you question the concept of identity. Of course, there’s the added fun
of determining who in your book club puts the pieces together first!
*The Bees by Laline Paull, 340 p., 2014
FICTION PAU
Watership Down meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this dystopian allegory that
tackles class struggle, social conformity and totalitarianism, all from within
a beehive. Flora 717 is born into the lowest social strata of her hive, but
there’s something...different about her. Her uncommon skill and insight
allows her to move between social roles and gains her the admiration of her
peers, but also exposes her to the scrutiny of an elite group of bees close to
the Queen intent on protecting the hive’s rigid social order.
The Beggar’s Garden: Stories by Michael Christie, 261 p., 2011
FICTION CHR
Brilliantly sure-footed, strikingly original, tender and funny, this memorable
collection of nine linked stories follows a diverse group of curiously
interrelated characters—from bank manager to crackhead to retired
Samaritan to mental patient to web designer to car thief—as they drift
through each other’s lives like ghosts in Vancouver’s notorious Downtown
Eastside. These darkly comic and intoxicating stories, gleefully free of moral
judgment, are about people searching in the jagged margins of life—for
homes, drugs, love, forgiveness. Tragically comical at times, deranged and
thrilling at others, this is a powerful and affecting debut, written with the
exceptional eye, ear and heart of one familiar with Downtown Eastside
issues.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, 318 p., 2001
FICTION PAT
Somewhere in South America, a lavish birthday party, complete with
opera’s most revered soprano, is being held in honour of a powerful
Japanese businessman. It is a perfect evening, until terrorists break in and
take the entire party hostage. What begins as a panicked, life-threatening
scenario gradually evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and
hostages forge unexpected bonds, and people from different countries and
continents become compatriots. Without the demands of the world to shape
their days, life on the inside becomes more beautiful than anything they
had ever known before. A moving exploration of how people communicate
when music is the only common language.
The Birth House by Ami McKay, 387 p., 2006
FICTION MCK
A young apprentice learns the intricacies of delivering babies and
concocting herbal remedies for various womanly afflictions from a Cajun
midwife. The midwife’s status in the small Nova Scotia community is
8
unquestioned until a medical doctor from town arrives on the scene,
decrying midwifery and urging women to give birth in his newly constructed
maternity ward—complete with chloroform and sterilized forceps. A novel of
friendships, gentle humour and homespun wisdom.
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, 294 p., 2006
FICTION MIT
In 13 connected stories Jason Taylor describes his perilous trek through
schoolyard trials, his budding interest in girls and the simmering tension
between his parents. Straddling the wonders of childhood and the anxieties
of adulthood, he speaks to us in a voice that mingles insight and naivete—
not too cute, not too slick. The result is a novel that’s alternately nostalgic,
funny and heartbreaking.
* The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt, 357 p., 2014
FICTION HUS
When Professor Hess stumbles across an unusual letter to the editor in an
art journal, he is surprised to have known so little about the brilliant and
mysterious artist it describes, the late Harriet Burden. Intrigued by her story,
and by the explosive scandal surrounding her legacy, he begins to interview
those who knew her, hoping to separate fact from fiction, only to find himself
tumbling down a rabbit’s hole of personal and psychological intrigue. Before
she died, Harriet had claimed credit for three shows of contemporary art
that had been the biggest sensations of the previous decade, sending the
critics into a tailspin. So was Harriet Burden one of the greatest artists in
recent memory, having masterminded a puppet show of grand proportions,
or was she a washed-up has-been looking for glory on others’ coattails? An
intricately conceived, diabolical puzzle presented as a collection of texts,
including Harriet’s journals, assembled after her death, this mashup of
storytelling and scholarship unfolds from multiple perspectives as Harriet’s
critics, fans, family and others offer their own conflicting opinions about
where the truth lies.
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, 486 p., 2007
FICTION HIL
Hill’s epic work of historical fiction chronicles the tumultuous life of Aminata
Diallo. We are introduced to her as a young girl in West Africa, and follow
along while she recounts her life after being captured and sold into slavery.
Her journey takes her to South Carolina, New York, Nova Scotia, back
to Africa, and onto London to work with the abolitionists. Gripping and
powerful, Hill creates a tale made memorable by a heroine of incredible
strength and courage.
9
The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje, 269 p., 2011
FICTION OND
In the early 1950s, an 11-year-old boy boards a huge liner bound for
England. At mealtimes, he is placed at the lowly “Cat’s Table” with an
eccentric and unforgettable group of grownups and two other boys. The
boys find themselves immersed in the worlds and stories of the adults
around them. Looking back from adulthood, the narrator unfolds a
spellbinding and layered tale about the magical, often forbidden discoveries
of childhood and the burdens of earned understanding.
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, 261 p., 2008
FICTION GAL
This tense and haunting novel follows four people trying to survive war-torn
Sarajevo. After a mortar attack kills 22 people waiting in line to buy bread,
an unnamed cellist vows to play at the point of impact, still a dangerous
location, for 22 days. With wonderfully drawn characters and a strippeddown narrative, Canadian author Galloway brings to life a distant conflict.
Certainty by Madeleine Thien, 311 p., 2006
FICTION THI
There is no certainty in this life; whether in times of war or in times of peace.
Young Matthew finds his world turned upside down when his father is killed
during the brutal occupation of Indonesia during WWII and then again years
later in Vancouver when his own daughter dies unexpectedly. The story
moves back and forth in time between the two generations through the eyes
of the father, daughter and those they love. A haunting and poetic debut
novel from the Canadian award winning author of Simple Recipes.
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, 246 p., 2004
FICTION TOE
Left alone with her father, 16-year-old Nomi rebels against the conventions
of her strict Manitoba Mennonite community and tries to come to terms
with the collapse of her family. A powerful young Canadian author, Toews
was awarded the 2004 Governor General’s Award for this insightful and
irreverent coming-of-age tale.
Conceit by Mary Novik, 402 p., 2007
FICTION NOV
An engaging and passionate re-creation of 17th-Century England, observed
through the eyes of poet John Donne’s daughter, Pegge, written by a
B.C. author. The story opens with the great London fire of 1666, expands
through the decades, then revisits the charred ruins for an apotheosis of the
macabre. Scenes leap from ecstatic to hellish, probing the carnal, the mortal
and the mystical in fascinating counterpoint.
10
Coventry by Helen Humphreys, 177 p., 2008
FICTION HUM
A perfect gem of a read. During a massive bombing of Coventry on
November 14, 1940, much of the city and the famous cathedral were all but
destroyed. Two women’s lives become entangled as one searches through
the dark and terrifying night for her son, only to find the other woman has
spent much of the night trying to protect the young man from the fires and
the bombings. The women discover that they had met years ago in Coventry
and find solace in each other’s friendship.
Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber, 349 p., 2003
FICTION ABU
This delightful novel combines romance, folk tales and current events to
illustrate the Arab-American immigrant experience. Set against the backdrop
of a Los Angeles community of Iraqi exiles, the author suffuses her story with
dishes and aromas from the Middle East in her belief that food is one of the
most immediate and convincing ways of explaining cultural experience to
another person.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 541 p., 2009
FICTION VER
Coming of age in Ethiopia on the brink of revolution, orphaned twins Marion
and Shiva fall for the same woman, driving Marion from his homeland. But
his past catches up to him in New York, forcing him to place his life in the
hands of the father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him.
An emotionally engaging family saga.
The Dinner by Herman Koch, 292 p., 2012
FICTION KOC
Paul’s disdain for Serge is palpable—he can’t stand the guy with his I-knoweverything-about-wine talk and his everyone-is-looking-or-pretending-notto-look-at-me grin. Paul expects dinner out with their wives to be taxing;
indeed, from course to course, the tension mounts. Inevitably, conversation
turns to their 15-year-old sons and the unspeakable thing they’ve done. A
smart, provocative, darkly comedic novel that asks how far you would go to
protect your child.
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee, 219 p.,1999
FICTION COE
Set in post-apartheid Cape Town on a remote farm in the Eastern Cape, this
is a heartbreaking story about a university professor who courts disaster by
seducing one of his students. He is left jobless and friendless, except for his
daughter, who works her smallholding with her neighbour, an African farmer
now on the way to a modest prosperity. The father’s attempts to relate to his
daughter and to a society with new racial complexities are disrupted by an
afternoon of violence that changes him and his daughter in ways he could
never have foreseen.
11
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, 318 p., 2012
FICTION GRE
16-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her
terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at a cancer support
group forces her to re-examine her perspective on love, loss and life. Sad in
places but also brimming with joy.
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon, 282 p., 2009
FICTION LYO
Lyon recounts the history of Aristotle from the philosopher’s point of view,
concentrating on the time he spent as the tutor of Alexander the Great, a
gifted adolescent with shockingly violent impulses and a passion for warfare.
The balance of extremes becomes a theme as Aristotle attempts to temper
the boy while battling emotional extremes of his own. Lyon’s voice has been
called earthy and frank; thus the grittiness of Classical Antiquity comes alive,
and the reader inhabits the mind of a great thinker afflicted with bilious
swings of mood and energy. Some days Aristotle sleeps and weeps; others
he produces “monuments of work that [are] pure luminous chryselephantine
genius.” Lyon’s own work is one of notable achievement: nominated for all
three of Canada’s major fiction awards, Lyon won the 2009 Rogers Writers’
Trust Fiction Prize.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 419 p., 2012
FICTION FLY
This well-plotted book starts twisting and turning from the moment Nick
reports that his wife Amy has disappeared from their home on the morning
of their fifth wedding anniversary. Naturally, the inattentive husband is the
first suspect, but is Nick really a killer? The relationships in this book are very
intense, and the razor sharp writing will keep you hooked from start to end.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
FICTION SHA
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, 277 p., 2008
This book is as delightful as its title promises. The Guernsey Literary
and Potato Peel Pie Society follows the post-war life of Juliet, a writer who
lives in London and begins corresponding with a man on Guernsey who has
come across one of her books. She quickly becomes fascinated with life on
Guernsey, travels there and falls in love with island life and the people—all
the while delighting readers with letters to and from her friends and the
Islanders. Very infectious in its fun!
12
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 435 p., 2006
FICTION ADI
Biafra’s vicious civil war of the 1960s is the setting for Adichie’s novel. Her
characters are swept up in the violence but, in a wider sense, they are forced
to confront the reality of colonialism, ethnic allegiances, class and race—
and the ways in which love can complicate all of these things. The author
is Nigerian born and writes with her family’s experiences in mind. Through
their pain we see the true cost of warfare—and the meaning of collateral
damage.
The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam, 393 p., 2012
FICTION LAM
Percival Chen is the Chinese headmaster of an English school in Saigon
during the Vietnam War. He ignores political realities and continues to live
the high life until the kidnapping of his son sets in motion a series of events
that result in tragedy for him and the country as a whole. This fascinating
character study, set against the backdrop of chaotic historical events,
explores the complexities of war, familial relationships, love and political
intrigue.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett, 451 p., 2009
FICTION STO
Set in Jackson, Mississippi just as the civil rights movement began, three
women—two black and one white—take a stand in their own way. This is a
poignant and warm tale of social awakening that raises moral questions. Lots
of plot twists and ironic humour make this an old-fashioned and rollicking
page turner.
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, 252 p., 2005
FICTION KRA
This novel, an obscure stolen translation of a Spanish book of the same
name, connects two New Yorkers. Leo is an elderly immigrant who fled WWII
Poland, settled in New York City, and pines for his lost love and his son.
Alma is a teenage girl caring for her widowed mother and her brother. Alma
convinces herself that the key to her mother’s happiness is locked within the
pages of The History of Love.
The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey, 311 p., 2008
FIC LIV
This absorbing contemporary novel opens multiple perspectives on the
life of Dara MacLeod, a young London therapist, partly by paying subtle
homage to literary figures (Keats, Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll) and
works (Jane Eyre, Great Expectations). Through four ingeniously interlocking
narratives, Livesey skillfully reveals how luck—good and bad—plays a vital
role in our lives, and how our childhood legacies may be harder to leave
behind than we hope.
13
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
by Jonas Jonasson, 384 p., 2012
FIC JON
An entirely delightful novel about a 100-year-old man desperate to avoid
his birthday party. He sneaks out the window and is off on a series of crazy
adventures that enhance a life well lived. A funny, imaginative look at the
past 100 years through the eyes of a very youthful old man.
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese 220 p. 2012
FIC WAG
Indian Horse was a Canada Reads contender for 2013 and won the People’s
Choice award. A heart-wrenching, beautifully crafted story of an Ojibway
man faced with death if he cannot stop drinking and face his past. A harsh
look at the brutalities of residential schools, set against the backdrop of a
young boy’s dream to play hockey. A powerful testament to the spirit of
forgiveness and a profound reminder of a dark period in Canadian history.
The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy, 238 p., 1995
FICTION CHO
Choy’s first novel reads like a memoir and is a collection of stories about a
family living in Vancouver’s Chinatown before and during World War II. Three
siblings experience very different childhoods as they grow up amongst the
strict structures of a traditional Chinese family struggling with poverty and a
rapidly changing world. Sister Jook-Liang is entranced by her hero Shirley
Temple, while her adopted brother Jung-Sum struggles with his sexuality
and their brother Sekky becomes obsessed with war games. Stepmother is a
house servant and concubine who gradually assumes the role of mother but
can never achieve full status in the home. The complexity of the extended
family is beautifully portrayed by Choy and his descriptions of wartime
Vancouver are memorable.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, 319 p., 1847
FICTION BRO
It’s hard to imagine anyone who hasn’t heard of the story of plain and
penniless Jane Eyre—orphaned at an early age, mistreated by cruel
relatives, banished to an austere boarding school, and hired to be a
governess at Thornfield Hall, home of the mysterious and brooding
Mr. Rochester. Jane encounters hardships and heartbreak and even things
that go bump in the night, but it’s Jane’s indomitable spirit, her quiet dignity,
her sense of justice, her quest for equality, and her yearning for a balance
between freedom and love that resonate with readers and make her the
enduring literary heroine she is today. There’s a reason this classic Victorian
novel has spawned countless film and literary adaptations.
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The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, 320 p., 2011
FICTION DIF
After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, Victoria is unable to get
close to anybody; her only connection to the world is through flowers and
their meanings. Now 18 and emancipated from the system, Victoria starts
working for a florist and realizes her talent with flowers can change the lives
of the people who buy her creations. However, when forced to confront a
painful secret from her past, Victoria must decide how much she is willing
to change. A coming-of-age story about loss, redemption and the power of
love.
The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe, 394 p., 2002
FICTION VAN
Addington Gaunt leaves London in search of his brother who has gone
missing somewhere in the wilds of the American West. This sweeping tale of
Wild West adventure stretches from the colleges of Oxford and the pleasure
houses of London to the rough trading posts of the Canadian prairies and
the Indian villages of Montana. At the centre of this exquisitely crafted tale is
an unusual and moving love story.
Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay, 363 p., 2007
FICTION HAY
Hay explores the relationships, psychologies and motivations of a group
of lost souls working at a small CBC radio station in 1975 Yellowknife. The
North, itself, rises to character-status as rich imagery immerses the reader
in an isolated setting that reflects the yearnings of its inhabitants. While the
novel is replete with bright and witty dialogue, the reader is ever-conscious
of Hay’s omniscient point of view and frequent foreshadowing, which
communicate a tone of resignation, melancholy and foreboding; the threat
of a proposed gas pipeline through Native land also contributes to a sense
of tension. Hungering for life-altering experiences, the friends embark on a
canoe trip that takes them into the Arctic wilderness, where they learn that
fate may be as unforgiving as the land. This 2007 Giller Prize winner is an
artfully crafted, insightful and quotable work about love and self-discovery.
*The Lie by Helen Dunmore, 294 p., 2014
FICTION DUN
Daniel Branwell returns from the battlefields of World War I to the quiet
Cornish village of his childhood. Unemployed and homeless, he accepts the
charity of an elderly recluse who allows him to build a shelter on her land.
When she falls ill, she requests Daniel keep her demise a secret so she may
avoid the indignity of dying in a poorhouse. This is the first of many lies
which shape this poignant novel about the aftermath of the Great War.
15
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson, 529 p., 2013
FICTION ATK
Near the end of this fascinating, intricate novel, a character muses “What
if we had the chance to do it again and again...until we finally did get it
right?” This is the gift (or curse) given to Ursula Todd, born into a loving,
idyllic English home on a snowy night in 1910: she lives and dies repeatedly.
Following Ursula through the many iterations of her lives as she tries to
protect herself and her loved ones from various tragedies, it becomes clear
that even the most seemingly inconsequential decision or circumstance has
the power to change the trajectory of life.
A Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman, 345 p., 2012
FICTION STE
A beautifully haunting and heart-wrenching debut about an isolated
lighthouse keeper and his wife. When they find a baby washed ashore in a
rowboat, they make the fateful decision to raise the child as their own and
unleash a series of moral dilemmas and terrible consequences.
Little Bee by Chris Cleave, 271 p., 2009
FICTION CLE
Two women meet on a beach in Nigeria after a violent incident: Little Bee, a
16-year-old girl, and Sarah, an English journalist. After the initial shattering
encounter, they meet again two years later. As they reunite, they still try to
deal with the events that happened on the beach. This is a compelling and
touching story which unfolds until the very end.
The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott, 530 p., 2011
FICTION END
Set in 1912 and the vibrant world of vaudeville, the story introduces us to
three teenaged sisters who must make a living as a singing act when their
father dies unexpectedly. With only youth and hope on their side, the girls
evolve into true artists. Their journey is brilliantly crafted by Commonwealth
Prize-winning Endicott, who takes us onto the stage and also behind the
curtain to reveal the art of vaudeville—in all its madness, melodrama, hilarity
and sorrow—as the art of life itself.
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, 362 p., 2007
FICTION HOR
Loving Frank is the fictionalized account of the affair between renowned
architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney, a client who,
with her husband Edwin, had commissioned Wright to design a house.
The novel explores and embellishes the intriguing facts: in 1909 Wright
and Cheney each left their spouses and children and embarked together
for Europe; they moved back to the US amidst media frenzy and built the
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“Taliesin” house in Wisconsin; in 1914, truth being stranger than fiction, the
story ended abruptly when Mamah, her two visiting children and several
others were murdered by a disgruntled, mentally unstable employee.
The novel is also a fascinating glimpse into some of the radical ideas of
the intellectual community at the turn of the century. Being based on real
people, the plot is somewhat bound by the facts. But the facts present a
rich and fascinating array of questions concerning freedom, responsibility,
morality, self-actualization and the pursuit of artistic vision.
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill, 330 p., 2006
FICTION ONE
At 13, Baby vacillates between childhood comforts and adult temptation:
still young enough to drag her dolls around in a vinyl suitcase yet old
enough to know more than she should about urban cruelties. Motherless,
she lives with her father, Jules, who takes better care of his heroin habit
than he does of his daughter. Baby’s gift is a genius for spinning stories
and for cherishing the small crumbs of happiness that fall into her lap.
But her blossoming beauty has captured the attention of a charismatic
and dangerous pimp who runs an army of sad, slavishly devoted girls—a
volatile situation even the normally oblivious Jules cannot ignore. Baby will
ultimately realize that the power of salvation rests in her hands alone.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson 358 p., 2010
FICTION SIM
Move over Barbara Pym and Jane Austen, there’s a new keen observer of
the eccentricities, pettiness and pure pleasures of life in town. A delightful
old army man, widowed and at a bit of a loss, finds himself enamoured
of the well-read South Asian shopkeeper in the village. Set firmly in
modern England, surrounded by tradition, family obligation and history,
the characters muddle their way through this comedy of manners with a
romantic twist.
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides 529 p, 2002
FICTION EUG
Ambitious, compassionate, heartbreaking and often hilarious, this
Greek-American epic follows a family from the burning of Smyrna in
1922 by the Turks to suburban Detroit in the seventies. At its heart, a
lovable character christened Calliope is transfigured from girl to boy. Along
with his rare genetic make-up—the outcome of history and ancestry—Cal
has acquired a prescience that grants him the role of family storyteller. 17
The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger, 249 p., 2009
FICTION PUL
Winner of the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Award, this novel is set in
Egypt in the 1860s. Based very loosely on the life of Lady Duff Gordon, the
story revolves around her maid, Sally. When Lady Gordon is diagnosed with
tuberculosis, her husband sends her to Egypt for the dry climate. The lady
and her maid set up house in Luxor and soon become the toast of the town.
Sally gets drawn into an illicit relationship with one of the other servants
and before long finds her life in a state of turmoil. A romantic novel, rich in
historical detail that blends struggles with race, class and sexual morals in an
exotic setting. The novel prompted a number of discussions on the question
of historical accuracy and the right of the novelist to play with the facts to
create an engaging story.
*My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, 331 p., 2012
FICTION FER
Friends Elena and Lila grow up in a poor neighbourhood in post-war
Naples in the 1950s. As they come of age, their paths diverge, each
girl becoming the embodiment of a country in transformation. From
one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors comes a rich, intense modern
masterpiece about the influence of our times on our choices and our
friendships.
My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki, 366 p., 1998
FICTION OZE
Jane Takagi-Little is a starving documentary filmmaker who finally lands a job
producing a Japanese television show promoting BEEFEX (US beef export
agency). She takes her crew on the road in search of all-American wives
cooking all-American meat, and to her surprise finds that this assignment
raises questions not just about her own life, but also about sex, love and
fertility. Aikiko is a Tokyo housewife who each week has to cook the “Meat of
the Week” from the latest episode of the TV program My American Wife! for
her husband, an advertising executive working with BEEFEX. Ozeki brings
these two worlds together, tackling questions concerning the beef industry,
cultural differences, gender roles and sexual exploitation. You will laugh and
later cringe reading this novel whether you are a vegetarian or just looking
for a fantastic, funny and thoughtful read.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, 263 p., 2005
FICTION ISH
Ishiguro, recipient of France’s Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
and the Order of the British Empire for service to literature, tells a dystopic
version of what could have been in our near past. Three friends who live at
Hailsham, an unusual orphanage/boarding school in the English countryside,
reveal the secrets of their pre-determined fates. Never Let Me Go is an
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eloquent warning about the inadequacy of medical ethics, and how we
define and redefine humankind.
October by Richard B. Wright, 241 p., 2007
FICTION WRI
One of Canada’s best writers brings us another well-crafted, understated
and moving story of ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Here he
looks carefully and respectfully at death, memory and love. An almost
soothing read and not as depressing as it sounds.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, 422 p., 1970
FICTION GAR
A masterpiece, both highly comic and deeply tragic, this novel follows one
hundred years in the life of the mythical town of Macondo as seen through
the eyes of the Buendía family. Civil war rages throughout, hearts break,
dreams shatter and lives are lost in this unforgettable novel that introduced
the world to Latin American fiction and became an icon of magic realism.
The Orenda by Joseph Boyden, 490 p., 2013
FICTION BOY
An epic tale set in 17th Century Canada when the arrival of Europeans—
traders and Jesuit priests—begins the demise of the Wendat (Huron) and
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people. We are drawn into this wild, brutal world
through the viewpoints of three courageous characters: Bird, a Wendat
warrior; Snowfall, a young Iroquois woman; and Christophe, a Jesuit priest.
Though the descriptions of ritual torture are difficult to read, they are critical
to understanding Huron and Iroquois culture, and are only one part of this
vibrant story that sensitively and humanely examines the history of First
Nations and colonialism in Canada.
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, 258 p., 2005
FICTION PET
Three years after his wife’s accidental death, a 67-year-old man settles into an
isolated cabin near Norway’s southeastern border with Sweden and reflects
back to the summer when he was fifteen and he and his friend went out to
“borrow” some horses. The novel’s incidents and lush but precise descriptions
of forest and river, rain and snow, sunlight and night skies are on a par with
Cather, Steinbeck, Berry and Hemingway, and its emotional force and flavour
are equivalent to what those authors can deliver, too.
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, 324 p., 2011
FICTION MCL
The novel is based on the story of Hemingway’s first marriage and life in
Paris during the 1920s. The young Ernest and Hadley fell madly in love, left
family and comfort behind, and moved penniless to Paris at the height of
19
the jazz age. Their short but passionate and often volatile marriage is set
against a city bursting with tremendous creative spirit. Hemingway once said
of Hadley, “I wish I had died before I ever loved anyone but her.” This novel
is a tender look at a man who is often known more for his machismo and
taste for martinis before lunch than as a family man who wore his heart on
his sleeve.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy, 241 p., 2006
FICTION MCC
A frightening apocalyptic vision, this novel is narrated by a nameless man,
one of the few survivors of an unspecified civilization-ending catastrophe.
He and his young son are trekking along a treacherous highway, starving and
freezing, trying to avoid roving cannibal armies. They are saved from falling
over the edge of hopelessness by their fierce belief that they are “the good
guys” who are preserving the light of humanity.
Room by Emma Donoghue, 321 p., 2010
FICTION DON
For five-year-old Jack (sired by the man who abducted his mother to an
impenetrable shed), Room contains the world: Table, Bed, Sink, Ma….Old
Nick, however, comes from Outside when Door goes beep-beep and Jack
hides in Wardrobe. He makes Jack’s heart go dung-dung-dung like Fee Fi
Fo Fum. Yet, Jack is protected—so much so that when Ma divines an escape
plan, Jack cannot fathom to where. Told from Jack’s perspective, Room is
curious, engaging, unique, and even humorous.
The Rosie Project by Graeme C. Simsion, 324 p., 2013
FICTION SIM
Don Tillman is a genetic scientist, a man who lives in a world where charts,
numbers and routines mean everything. He designs a questionnaire to find
himself the perfect bride—so why does he keep wanting to spend time
with Rosie, who as a barmaid, smoker, drinker and “late-arriver” is far from
perfect?
The Secret River by Kate Grenville, 334 p., 2005
FICTION GRE
Felons transported to Australia in the early 19th Century could (with
good behaviour) become landowners. Our hero William Thornhill finally
finds himself on a stunningly beautiful finger of land on the banks of the
Hawkesbury River, a place he has coveted for years. However the Aboriginal
people already living along the river see the land as their own. This novel is
an outstanding study of cultures in collision, where an essentially good man
has to make a disastrous decision.
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The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, 150 p., 2011
FICTION BAR
Tony first met Adrian at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they navigated
the girl drought of gawky adolescence together, trading in affectations, injokes, rumour and wit. They swore to stay friends forever. Then Adrian’s life
took a turn into tragedy, and Tony moved on, doing his best to forget. Now
content in middle age, Tony is surprised by a lawyer’s letter. The unexpected
bequest conveyed by that letter leads Tony on a dogged search through
a past suddenly turned murky. The story of a man coming to terms with
the mutable past, Barnes’ Man Booker Prize-winning novel is laced with
precision, dexterity and insight.
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, 483 p., 2008
FICTION TSI
When an undisciplined four-year-old disrupts a barbecue with yet another
tantrum, a guest intervenes with a slap across the child’s face. Witnesses—
close friends and family—take sides. A modern, realistic look at marriage,
friendship, family ties and the relevance of truths and loyalties therein.
Narrated omnisciently through a collage of very humanly flawed characters,
The Slap is compulsively readable.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, 258 p., 2005
FICTION SEE
An old woman in 19th-Century China reminisces about a lifelong friendship
between the daughter of a humble farmer and Snow Flower, an elegant and
educated girl with whom she shares a correspondence in nu shu, a secret
women’s writing. The two pour out their innermost feelings to one another,
deepening their connection throughout the years, until a betrayal divides
them. A keenly imagined journey into the women’s quarters of Imperial
China, this poignant story is also an absorbing historical chronicle.
The Space Between Us by Thrity N. Umrigar, 321 p., 2005
FICTION UMR
Bhima, devoted servant, and Sera, her employer, are deeply separated by
caste—yet their lives are intertwined by love, deceit and betrayal. Set in two
very different households in modern-day Mumbai and witnessed through
these two compelling women, journalist Umrigar’s novel vividly captures
how the bonds of womanhood are pitted against the divisions of class and
culture.
21
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, 566 p., 2008
FICTION WRO
This debut novel was crafted over a 10 year period by Wroblewski, a
software developer and amateur photographer with a background in
theatre. The story is set on a farm in rural Wisconsin where the Sawtelle
family raises and trains a unique fictional breed of dogs set apart by
personality, temperament and ability to intuit commands and make
decisions. After two tragedies on the farm, Edgar, a mute teen, bravely
sets off with three of his loyal dogs on a dangerous journey. Wroblewski
was inspired by Hamlet and this novel has been favourably compared to
Watership Down and The Life of Pi. The pace is fast with literary thriller
plot twists that culminate in heart-wrenching and tender insight into human
nature, retribution and hope.
Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson, 275 p., 1954
FICTION WIL
Walking out on a demoralizing second marriage, Maggie Lloyd leaves
Vancouver to work at a fishing lodge in the interior of British Columbia.
When the serenity of her new life is disturbed by the irrational jealousy of
the lodge-keeper’s wife, Maggie manages to restore her own broken spirit
and becomes a healer to others. Published in 1954, Swamp Angel is Ethel
Wilson’s best-loved novel and remains an astute and powerful study of one
woman’s integrity and the redemptive power of compassion. David Stouck’s
Ethel Wilson: A Critical Biography will provide book clubs with more food for
discussion.
Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb, 415 p., 2005
FICTION GIB
Deeply committed to the faith she adopted after her ex-pat hippie parents
were killed in Morocco, the rootless Lilly had just begun to find a sense of
home in Harar when she was forced to abandon the city and her nascent
love affair with a politically minded young doctor for a lonely exile in
England. Living among traumatized refugees in London’s grim housing
estates, Lilly, a white Muslim nurse, grieves the people she left behind in the
chaos and civil unrest of Ethiopia.
These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach, 281 p., 2004
FICTION MOG
When Ravi Kapoor, an overworked London doctor, reaches the breaking
point with his difficult father-in-law, he wishes he could send him somewhere
far, far away. His prayer is answered when his entrepreneurial cousin sets up
a retirement home for British pensioners in India. Seven retirees are enticed
by the promise of indulgent living at a bargain price; upon arriving, they are
dismayed to find that restoration of the once sophisticated hotel has stalled,
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and that such amenities as water and electricity are...infrequent. But what
their new life lacks in luxury becomes plentiful in adventure, stunning beauty
and unexpected love.
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, 384 p., 2005
FICTION BOY
An unwavering and frank fictional depiction of WWI trench warfare. Two
young volunteers, bush-raised Cree teenagers with moccasins on their
feet, find themselves unlikely sniper heroes while learning to live under
gunfire, racism, hunger, exhaustion and the gore of their own dying spirits.
Eventually the harrowing and bloody truth of war takes its toll on the two
friends in profoundly different ways. This is a compelling and poignant first
novel from this young Canadian writer.
The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht, 337 p., 2011
FICTION OBR
Remembering childhood stories her grandfather once told her, young
physician Natalia becomes convinced that her grandfather spent his last
days searching for “the deathless man,” a vagabond who claimed to be
immortal. As Natalia struggles to understand why her grandfather, a deeply
rational man, would go on such a farfetched journey, she stumbles across
a clue that leads her to the extraordinary story of the tiger’s wife. Winner of
the Orange Prize for Fiction.
Tinkers by Paul Harding 191 p., 2009
FICTION HAR
On his death bed, his mind delirious, 80-year-old George Crosby recalls
his impoverished childhood in rural Maine where his father, Howard,
an epileptic, abruptly left the family when he learned his wife intended
to institutionalize him. In his mind, George reconnects with Howard
and imagines the life of the father he barely knew yet deeply needs to
understand. In language that is both lyrical and precise, Harding creates a
vivid portrait of two men in early 20th Century New England.
Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro, 303 p., 2009
FICTION MUN
The latest collection from Munro investigates loneliness, regret, loss,
and death in her typically elegant style. Her characters are ordinary people
trying to piece together a life or accept a broken one. Fans of the prizewinning Munro will take pleasure in this book and those unfamiliar with her
work will find a treasure.
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The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, 124 p., 2007
FICTION BEN
Original and subversively funny, this novella from popular British writer
Bennett sends Queen Elizabeth II into a mobile library van in pursuit of
her runaway corgis and into the reflective, observant life of an avid reader.
Guided by Norman, a former kitchen boy and enthusiast of gay authors, the
Queen gradually loses interest in her endless succession of official duties
and learns the pleasure of such a common activity. With the dawn of her
sensibility, plots are hatched by the Prime Minister and the Queen’s staff to
dispatch Norman and discourage the Queen’s preoccupation with books.
Ultimately, it is her own growing self-awareness that leads her away from
reading and toward writing, with astonishing results.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, 320 p., 2012
FICTION JOY
Recently retired Harold Fry has lived a life of dull routine until the arrival of
an unexpected letter changes everything. He embarks on a journey that he’s
unable to explain to anyone, let alone to his wife, and along the way makes
profound insights into his life.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, 335 p., 2006
FICTION GRU
90 years-old and in a nursing home, Jacob recalls working for the Benzini
circus in the 1930s—”the Greatest Show on Earth!” Because of his almost
veterinarian status, he becomes the animal keeper. This is a book full of
conflict, hope, despair, love and trust.
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple, 330 p., 2012
FICTION SEM
A funny story of an oddball woman who disappears from her privileged
Seattle neighborhood just as the family prepares for a cruise to Antarctica.
Then we hear the back stories, most interestingly from her entirely wonderful
young daughter, and we begin to understand this mother who would be
quite unbearable under a less skilled pen. Lots of plot twists to keep you
from putting it down!
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, 276 p., 2008
FICTION ADI
This novel, like the movie Slumdog Millionaire, is a witty parable of India’s
changing society, and it is equally fascinating. The narrator, a young man
from India’s lowest caste, gets a lucky break when he is hired as a driver for
a landlord from his village. Through his eyes we see the brutal injustice and
corruption of Indian society as he perilously rises from servant to middle class. 24
The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great
by Eva Stachniak, 444 p., 2011
FICTION STA
Stachniak reveals Russia’s greatest matriarch from her earliest days in court,
where secrets of the nobility were a valuable currency and ambition a
dangerous weapon. Two young women, caught in the landscape of shifting
allegiances, navigate the treacherous waters of palace intrigue. Barbara is a
servant educated in skills from lock picking to lovemaking, learning above
all else to listen—and to wait for opportunity. That opportunity arrives in
a slender young princess from Zerbst named Sophie, a playful teenager
who will become the indomitable Catherine the Great. An irresistible peek
through the keyhole of one of history’s grandest tales.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, 532 p., 2009
FICTION MAN
In this 2009 winner of the Man Booker Prize, Mantel fictionalizes the
life of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s go-to man for his dirty work. Cromwell
(1485-1540) is the crafty architect of Henry VIII’s annulment from Catherine
of Aragon, the execution of Sir Thomas Moore, Henry’s schism with the
Church of Rome, and the Reformation. Mantel delves deeply into the
psychology of the man behind the throne, painting a portrait of a brilliant
schemer determined to rise above his circumstances by dint of his own wits
and the strength of his own resolve.
Non-Fiction
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo, 256 p., 2011
305.569 BOO
“What was unfolding in Mumbai was unfolding elsewhere, too. In the age of
global market capitalism, hopes and grievances were narrowly conceived,
which blunted a sense of common predicament. Poor people didn’t unite;
they competed ferociously amongst themselves for gains as slender as
they were provisional.” Katherine Boo presents an intimate look at life in a
Bombay slum.
*Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
by Atul Gawande, 282 p., 2014
616.029 GAW
In this bestselling book, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his
profession’s ultimate limitations and failures as life draws to a close. Through
eye-opening research and stories of his own patients and family, he argues
that the goals of medicine should improve the quality of life even in the
process of its ending.
25
The Book of Small by Emily Carr, 245 p., 1942
828 CAR
“Small roamed beach and woods, the dog with her always. Owning him
was better even than she had dreamed.” Who was Small? She was the
embodiment of Emily Carr’s childhood—a phantom child. In this collection
of vignettes, the reader sees life in Victoria, B.C., at the end of the last
Century, as observed by a little girl of intense imagination. Delightful and
memorable storytelling.
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at
the 1936 Olympics by Daniel Brown, 404 p., 2013
797.123 BRO
The 1936 U.S. men’s Olympic eight-oar rowing team—sons of loggers,
shipyard workers and farmers from the American West—challenged and
defeated the elite teams of Ivy League east coast universities. And finally,
in an extraordinary race in Berlin, they stunned the world as they rowed for
gold in front of Adolf Hitler. This book is a portrait of the personalities and
the times, ultimately celebrating the triumph of determination, commitment
and optimism.
The Hare with Amber Eyes: a Family’s Century of Art and Loss
by Edmund De Waal 354 p., 2010
909.04929 DEW
Edmund de Waal is descended from a grand, 19th Century European
banking family, the Ephrussi family. But by the end of the Second World
War, virtually all that remained of their vast fortune was a collection of 264
Japanese wood and ivory carvings called netsuke. De Waal became the fifth
generation to inherit this collection and this memoir is his account of the
collection’s and his family’s history.
*A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout, 373 p., 2013
921 L745
This harrowing memoir tells the unimaginable survival story of young
Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout’s abduction in Somalia in 2008 and
captivity of over a year. With strategy, faith and hope she fights to be free
all through her time held hostage. With vivid descriptions and emotions
running high, Lindhout conveys the intensity of her extraordinary journey.
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the
Taliban by Malala Yousafzai, 318 p., 2013
371.822 YOU
A fascinating book about a teenage girl who fights for her right to
education. As a result of her actions, the Taliban shoot her at point-blank
range. Malala’s miraculous recovery and subsequent activism have made
her an international symbol of peaceful protest. She is also the youngest
nominee for the Noble Peace Prize.
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I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron, 137 p., 2006
305.4 EPH
Ephron takes stock—her career (including cooking for Craig Claiborne), her
marriages (there were three), the Apthorp (an apartment on the Upper West
Side of Manhattan she fell in love with for a time), her purse, and of course,
her aging body. She will make you laugh, and feel good about life.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, 369 p., 2010
616.02774 SKL
A remarkable work of non-fiction that reads like a novel—it is a facinating
10-year detective story of a poor African American woman who made one of
the most significant contributions to medical science, and the effect it had
on her family. Henrietta Lacks’ story is also the story of the birth of bioethics
and the battles of whether we control the stuff we’re made of.
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family
in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson, 448 p., 2011
943.086 DOD
In 1933, William E. Dodd is selected US ambassador to Nazi Germany.
Dodd takes his family with him. At first, his daughter Martha is entranced
by the parties, pomp and young men of the Third Reich. But as evidence of
Jewish persecution mounts, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely
indifferent State Department back home. With alarm, Dodd watches as
Jews are attacked and the press is censored. As the year unfolds, the Dodds
experience days of excitement, romance—and ultimately horror as Hitler
reveals his true character. An addictively readable work that speaks volumes
about why the world did not recognize Hitler as a threat until Berlin, and
Europe, were awash in blood and terror.
The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller, 202 p., 2008
921 B915
Fuller’s highly descriptive stories read like fiction but are based in fact. She
created dialogue and omitted some personality traits to make the storyline
of a compelling book. Colton, a young man with limited skills, wants nothing
more than to live in the natural surroundings of Wyoming and support his
family. He has some challenges growing up and says often, “Mind over
matter, I don’t mind, so it don’t matter.” Colton grew up in the 1980s and
always wanted to be a rig worker like his stoic, calm, nature-loving dad. He
earns “easy” money working as a “rig rat” on the oil fields, and we learn
about the impact of the oil industry on his life and the cost to the state and
country. Colton’s story is of lack of chances and fast money as he attempts to
balance his love for life, nature and our need for oil.
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The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist
Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
by Simon Winchester, 316 p., 2008
921 N374
In this fascinating biography, Winchester brings to life Joseph Needham,
the brilliant and eccentric Cambridge scientist who brought to light China’s
historic achievements and innovations during a time when the West
regarded China as hopelessly backward. Winchester touches lightly on these
innovations, but prefers to concentrate on the colourful life of Needham
who, along with being a nudist and communist, had a lifelong affair with the
Chinese graduate student who sparked his love for China in the first place.
My Life in France by Julia Child 317 p., 2006
921 C536
This big, brash girl with no pretensions and a lovely, frank, open-hearted way
of looking at others truly found herself in Paris, where she threw herself into
French life and of course French cuisine. Her wonderful descriptions of Paris
and Marseille in the early fifties were written in chatty prose, as easy and
familiar as her cooking shows on television. She relished the good things in
life and brings that delight to your life as the lucky reader of this book.
*North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My
Counterculture Family, and How I Survived Both by Cea Sunrise Person,
301 p., 2014
921 P467
“We slept beneath layers of bearskins with heated rocks in our beds,”
Person writes, “but even then, we woke up with icy ears and snot frozen
to the tips of our noses.” Growing up in the forest of B.C. and Alberta was
not always ideal! Person recounts with humour and honesty the unique
experiences of her youth. Her childhood certainly was “North of Normal”.
The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys
in Canada’s Polygamous Mormon Sect by Daphne Bramham 464 p., 2008
306.8423 BRA
This is an intricately detailed account of the rise of the fundamentalist
polygamous Mormon sects not only in B.C.’s southern interior, but also in
the well-known mainstream Mormon stronghold of Utah. Vancouver Sun
journalist Daphne Bramham explores the intermarriages and intrigues
among the patriarchs as they fight for control of minds, money, property
and women. This book poses questions about religious tolerance, religious
freedom and individual rights, and where the line needs to be drawn
between them.
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The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival
by John Vaillant, 329 p., 2010
915.704 TRU
The setting is a remote village in Russia’s Far East where life is often very
desperate and difficult. When a tiger seems to be targeting and killing
people, a team of trackers is called in. Vaillant follows the tiger, the
inhabitants of the village, and the tracking team in this wonderful and
compelling true story. He describes how interwoven the human inhabitants’
relationship with the Amur tiger is. You feel empathy for everyone in this
book, including the tiger. Vaillant delves into how the ancient relationship
between man and tiger continues to evolve.
Wait for Me!: Memoirs by Deborah Mitford, 345 p., 2010
942.517 DEV
The Duchess of Devonshire chronicles her remarkable life, including her
eccentric childhood in the English countryside (those Mitford sisters!), her
brush with Adolf Hitler, her marriage to the Duke of Devonshire and her
long-standing friendship with the Kennedy family. As Duchess of Devonshire,
“Debo” played an active role in restoring and overseeing the day-to-day
running of the family houses and gardens, and in developing commercial
enterprises at Chatsworth. She tells poignantly of the deaths of three of her
children, as well as her husband’s battle with alcohol addiction.
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin,
344 p., 2006
921 G591
Peter Godwin’s memoir describes dark times and dark aspects of human
behaviour spanning two continents and half a Century. It is a portrayal of a son’s
effort to rescue his family, and a family’s struggle to belong in a hostile land.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, 351 p., 2009
917.633504 EGG
In this compelling story of resilience and survival, Eggers chronicles the
harrowing experiences of Syrian American Abdulrahman Zeitoun during
Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath of the storm, Zeitoun spends his days
paddling through the streets providing whatever assistance he can to
stranded residents. As the city falls into a state of chaos and disorder, the
injustices that befall Zeitoun reveal the appalling failures of the American
government. A sharply written, powerful and unforgettable story.
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Be sure to check out
our book clubs webpage at
westvanlibrary.ca/book-clubs
September/ 2015