Laurie’s Picks of Fiction

Fiction is by far my favorite genre and what I spend most of my time reading.  There is nothing better than being transported to another world or time in history or to meet new characters.  Here are a few of my favorite friends! For more information on my current reading list, go to our weekly book review pages.

The late and oh-so-lamented Stieg Larssen's The Girl Who Played With Fire is even better than his first international bestseller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  The "girl" is Lisbeth Salander, the twenty something punked-out computer hacker who helped Mikael Blomquist solve a missing person case in book one. Now she returns, having swindled billions of kronor, traveled around the world, removed several piercings & tattoos, but still as introverted and fascinating as ever. In this ripping good yarn she is accused of killing two journalists about to expose a sex slave scandal in Sweden and only Mikael believes her innocence.  Another great read!

Border Songs, by Jim Lynch, takes place on the Washington/B.C. border (a ditch

really) where the two small towns were once friendly.  With increased security

paranoia south of the border, life is changing for everyone. The main character is

Brandon Vanderkool, a giant of a man who has dyslexia and is prone to building bird's

nests and hollering out their songs at will. As a rookie border patrol his keen senses

lead him to pot smugglers, royalty running from another country and indeed, a

bomb-toting terrorist.  The book's wonderful characters make this a most enjoyable

read.

I love Nick Hornby’s books and in Slam he has written a great book for both young

adults and adults alike.  Our narrator is 18 year-old Sam and he likes skateboarding

and Tony Hawk and he is telling us about how his life changed completely when he

was 16. He gets a girlfriend who gets pregnant and it’s all about his reactions, his

parents, and it is told so well , including nods to current phenomena like Ipods and

JK Rowling.  Loved it!

It’s not too often I sit down and devour a book in one reading... as I did with The Cellist

of Sarajevo, by Stephen Galloway, an absolutely gripping war novel that focuses on

four individuals trying to survive in war-torn Sarajevo. When a mortar attack kills

22 people waiting in line for bread, an unnamed cellist vows to play in the ruins every

day for 22 days and in a city where snipers and bombings are regular occurrences,

this is no easy task.  The other characters include Dragan -- who has sent his wife

and son away and believes that in isolation he is safe -- and Keenan, who everyday

forges his way through dangerous streets and alleys to collect water for his family. My favorite character is Arrow, a university-trained markswoman turned sniper whose job

is to protect the cellist.

Rawi Hage’s first novel, DeNiro’s Game, was a critically acclaimed book nominated

for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award for fiction.  Hage (once a

cab driver in Montreal), won the Dublin /Impac Award in June 2008 (only the second Canadian to have done so, Alistair MacLeod being the first) for DeNiro’s Game, a

novel set in the war-torn streets of Beirut and looking at the lives of two young men and

their aspirations for a new and better life.

     Already being touted as one of the best books of the fall season, Hage’s new book, Cockroach, is a gritty look at immigrant life in Montreal over the course of one very cold winter month.  An interesting companion book to DeNiro’s Game, Cockroach looks at individuals who left their homelands for many different reasons hoping to find a new life elsewhere, but what will that life be like?  This book is full of poverty and oppression and looks at the nature of prejudice.  Hage’s language is astounding and his style is completely his own with prose that is unusual and often dream-like.

Salman Rushdie returns to form with The Enchantress of Florence, a historical novel rich in detail and fine prose which takes place in Renaissance Florence and during India’s cultural summit 100 years later.  Connecting the two is the arrival in India of a mysterious stranger in a multi-colored coat, a magician of sorts whose talents see him in the court of Emperor Akbar demanding an audience as he carries a letter for him from Queen Elizabeth 1.  From the beautiful gardens and grand courts of these eras filled with characters who are enchantresses, magicians, artists and philosophers, The Enchantress of Florence is indeed an epic that examines the differences between the East and West.

At last we have The Angel’s Game, the long awaited second novel to be translated from Carlos Ruiz Zafon bestselling Spanish author (Shadow of the Wind). Once again, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books is the springboard for a novel filled with intrigue, murder and love.

Winter Vault, by Anne Michaels, is on many bestseller lists. It's been 13 years since her first novel, Fugitive Pieces, came out so expectations are high. The story takes place in 1964 on the Upper Nile and involves a British engineer who is working on moving the ancient monument known as Abu-Simbel because the Aswan Dam is about to be built. His Canadian wife is a botanist whom he met when the St. Lawrence Seaway was in its early stages and both know what disruption progress causes.  Not much of a plot, rather poetically (and sometimes frustratingly) written, it's definitely worth a read.

In Alan Bradley’s Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie we meet Flavia de Luce, an 11 year-old chemist who narrates this wonderful book. A body is found in the family’s cucumber patch and when her father is accused of the murder, Flavia sets out to solve the case. Written by a retired school teacher living in Kelowna, there will be a series of six books featuring the marvelous Flavia. Bradley has already completed The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, the second book in the series of Flavia de Luce mysteries... and I can’t wait for more!

The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill is a wonderful historical novel which won this year’s CBC’s Canada Reads competition, and I would say deservedly so.  Follow Aminata Diallo from her home in Africa in 1745 to the slave plantations of the Southern states, up to Nova Scotia and eventually back home.  Not only did I enjoy this remarkable story, but I learned a lot about the Loyalists of Nova Scotia.

People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks, is a terrific novel in which a book is the central character!  Hannah Heath is a rare book expert called to Sarajevo to examine a recently found illuminated manuscript known as the Sarajevo Hagaddah. She finds four clues that link the history of the book as it was preserved and hidden by Christians, Muslims and Jews for over five centuries.

A Mercy, probably Tony Morrison’s best novel since Beloved, is set at the end of the 17th century and the founding of America.  At the heart of the novel are four women brought together by Jacob Vaark, a farm owner. Told in their different voices, the novel looks at the indenture of aboriginals, blacks and Europeans to forge a new country and what their hopes and dreams are.  Freedom and mercy can mean different things to different people.

Good to A Fault, by Marina Endicott, was rightly short-lilsted for the 2008 Giller Prize.  When Clare Purdy slams her car into another that carries six homeless people, her life changes drastically.  When the mother of the family is diagnosed with cancer Clare takes in the rest and suddenly her lonely life is full of children, noise and happiness.  This wonderful book examines our motives for being good and for helping others. Endicott currently teaches at the University of Alberta.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Swedish author Steig Larsson is one of the most clever and engrossing murder mysteries I have read in a long time.  Mikael Blomquist has been found guilty of libeling a big-shot businessman and out of the blue he is contacted by Henrik Vanger,  patriarch of one of Sweden's biggest companies.  He asks Blomquist to write his autobiography but that is only a pretense. What he really wants is him to look into the mysterious disappearance of his niece almost 40 years earlier and if Blomquist will do this, he will give him the evidence he needs to prove himself correct and restore his reputation.  The "girl with the dragon tattoo" is Lisbeth Salander, a punked out 24 year-old hacker who helps Blomquist in his investigation.  This is a real page-turner that includes a murder mystery, family sagas, love stories and corporate intrigue.

Through Black Spruce is only Joseph Boyden's second novel and his first was one of my all-time favorites -- Three Day Road, which followed the fate of two young aboriginal men who become scouts and snipers during WW1.  Through Black Spruce takes place in the present in a Cree community on James Bay. The story moves back and forth between the narrative of Will Bird (currently in a coma) as he recalls his life to his nieces Annie & Suzanne.  This is not only a great story that keeps you turning the pages but the voices reflect the ways of aboriginal storytelling. Through Black Spruce was winner of the 2008 Giller Prize.

The Great Karoo, Fred Stenson’s eighth novel, tells the story of Canadians who signed up for the Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1899 to go to South Africa and aid the British in their fight against the Boers.  Fred's attention to detail in both the setting and his characters make this a really enjoyable read, plus I learned a lot about the Boer War.  If you want to read a really good western, try The Trade, Fred’s novel about the fur trade in Western Canada.

The Flying Troutmans, by Miriam Toews is sure to please anyone who enjoyed

A Complicated Kindness, winner of the Governor General’s Award for Fiction in 1994.  That was the story of a 15 year-old Mennonite girl’s view of life when her mother and sister disappear.  Toews has a wonderful grasp of characters and the Troutmans are no exception.   Anyone who has had the road trip experience will laugh out loud at the Troutman’s adventures – emergency stops for basketball, car breakdowns, seedy motels, “quiet contests”, and kids bickering like they are five are all included.  Their family history slowly unfolds and the reader begins to understand why the characters are the way they are, their pasts and their futures.  Look for some award nominations for this delightful novel.

Home, written by bestselling author Marilyn Robinson and a “companion novel” to her Pulitzer Prize winning Gilead.  Set in the early 1960’s in Gilead, Iowa, Robinson revisits the characters in Gilead but from another point of view.  She beautifully examines the return of a prodigal son and the very definition of home. Her writing is exquisite and her characters fully wrought.  Home won the 2009 Orange prize for the best novel written by a woman.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a wondrous family saga covering many generations and includes alchemy and magic. It requires you to pay close attention, but is an unforgettable read.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is one of my favourite books by Irving followed closely by The World According to Garp and many others by this Dickens-like author whose compelling and quirky tales have become classics.

Fifth Business by CanLit icon Robertson Davies was my introduction to this wonderful author whose Jungian yarns lead me to read everything by him, and on his advice also the works of the mythologist Joseph Campbell.

Famous Last Words is probably my favorite book by Timothy Findley, the first of many of his I was to read. The Wars is one of the finest novels ever written on WW1 and what I love about “Tiff” is that all his books are different – murder mysteries, horror stories, family sagas, plays, he wrote them all.

Wayne Johnston’s The Colony of Unrequited Dreams stands in my mind as a true Canadian classic in which Johnston explores the history of Newfoundland as witnessed during the rise of Joey Smallwood.

The Birth of Venus by British author Sarah Durant is a rip-roaring adventure with the culture and beauty of Medici era Florence as its backdrop.  It is also a page turning mystery that had me up all night until I finished!

Three Day Road is Joseph Boyden’s first novel and certainly one of my favorites.  Two aboriginal Canadians go off to WW1 to scout and snipe and try to survive.  Their story is both a gut-wrenching war story and a slow canoe ride that eloquently traces their native roots.

The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens won the Governor General’s Award for fiction in 2007 and deservedly so.  This historical saga begins during the Irish potato famine and follows its main character on a harrowing journey through Europe that eventually leads him to Canada.

The Icefields by Edmonton author Thomas Wharton is a wonderful read with the history of Jasper as its background.  Originally Wharton’s master thesis, this novel was one of the 2008 picks for “Canada Reads” on CBC Radio.

The Gargoyle by Winnipeg author Andrew Davidson was just released in August 2008 and is garnering international acclaim.  A love story at heart, gargoyle is a wonderful weave Dante’s “Inferno” into a modern day story of sex and drugs and rock and roll and redemption.

And some of my other favorite authors:

David Adams Richards, Richard Ford, Isabelle Allende, Rudy Wiebe, Alberto Manguel, Helen Humphreys, Fred Stenson, Alistair Macleod

       

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