Rage + sin = freedom
Exceptional essays “elicit gasps, induce chills.” —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Dinner on Monster Island: Essays, by Tania De Rozario (Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2024) $17.99 / 9780063299665
Art & artists
‘To the possibilities and pitfalls’
“…Randy Lee Cutler and Ingrid Koenig, two respected professors at Emily Carr University, received a major research grant to work with scientists at TRIUMF, Canada’s principal centre for particle physics research.” John O’Brian reviews Leaning Out of Windows: An Art and Physics Collaboration edited by Randy Lee Cutler and Ingrid Koenig (Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2023) $45 ISBN 9781773272177
‘Healing power of stitch’
“Readers of this collection will be moved by the brilliance, passion, and honesty of the essays…” Penny Haggarty reviews Sharp Notions: Essays from the Stitching Life by Marita Dachsel and Nancy Lee, editors (Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023) $32.95 ISBN 9781551529257
Velocipedes, elephants, and other mysteries
Circus-set kids book showcases adventure, mystery, and the fight for women’s equality. —Alison Acheson reviews Ephemia Rimaldi, by Linda Demeulemeester (Toronto: Red Deer Press, 2023) $14.95 / 780889957299
A bounty of ‘beautiful borrowed lines’
A “joyous tribute in poetry and prose” to an esteemed poet. —Mary Ann Moore reviews Hologram: An Homage to P.K. Page, by Yvonne Blomer and DC Reid (editors) (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2023)
$26.00 / 9781773861135
Singing ‘bout revolution
A “lively musical and political education” for readers young and old. —Ron Verzuh reviews Rise Up and Sing!: Power, Protest and Activism in Music, by Andrea Warner (illustrated by Louise Reimer) (Vancouver: Greystone Kids, 2023) $26.95 / 9781771648981
A studio by the lake
“Hughes’ love of nature and the communities of the island shine as a record of twentieth century settlers in this lushly illustrated book.” Christina Johnson-Dean reviews E.J. Hughes: Life at the Lake by Robert Amos (Victoria: Touchwood, 2023) $25.00 ISBN 9781771514194
A ‘visually beautiful book’
“Haley seems uncertain how to talk to children, and sometimes the text reads as if she were lecturing from a blackboard.” Kimiko Murakami: a Japanese Canadian Pioneer by Haley Healey, illustrated by Kimiko Fraser (Victoria: Heritage House, 2023) $12.95 ISBN 9781772034677
Love after the (intergalactic) war
An “exhilarating” sci-fi epic whose “each page is a gift.” —Zoe McKenna reviews Shadow Matter, by S.W. Mayse (Calgary: Tyche Books, 2023) $24.99 / 9781989407554
‘Navigating with needles’
“The fibre arts are like a ‘life preserver’ Lee says and as the knitting and stitching kept both editors going, they wondered if others had the same experience.” Mary Ann Moore reviews Sharp Notions: Essays from the Stitching Life edited by Marita Dachsel & Nancy Lee (Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023)$32.95 / 9781551529257
Challenging ‘what the white man want’
Memoirist’s debut novel traces one man’s life-altering experiences in northern BC. —Theo Dombrowski reviews A Season in Chezgh’un, by Darrel J. McLeod
(Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2023) $24.95 / 9781771623629
Illness and ‘the hardness of love’
Poet explores an “illness of the mind” and its effects within a family.
Daniela Elza reviews In the Blood, by Alan Hill (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2022) $20.00 / 9781773860787
We needed a bigger ballroom
“…if you didn’t catch it the first time around, there’s no reason not to own this sweet slice of BC music history now.” Catherine Owen reviews Live at the Commodore: The Story of Vancouver’s Historic Commodore Ballroom (New Updated Edition) by Aaron Chapman (Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023) $32.95 / 9781551529370
An ‘interesting’ Best
Praise in a minor key for this year’s ‘best of’ in short fiction.
Jessica Poon reviews Best Canadian Stories 2024 by Lisa Moore (editor)
(Windsor: Biblioasis, 2023) $23.95 / 9781771965668
Pioneer of ‘West Coast Modern’
“Even among the group of young architects who were transforming Victoria’s post-war urban landscape in the 1950s and ’60s with their ambitious Modernist designs, John Di Castri was an outlier.” Architectural historian Martin Segger reviews Wentworth Villa Architectural Heritage Museum’s recent retrospective ‘John Di Castri, Architect.’
Self-knowledge and lashings of eroticism
An ‘excellent gift for anyone kinky in your life.’
Carellin Brooks reviews Transland: Consent, Kink & Pleasure
by Mx. Sly (Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023) $24.95 / 9781551529318
‘British Columbia’s first professional artist’
“British Columbia’s first professional artist – and her life from birth in a far-flung colony to being a senior citizen here active in the arts demonstrates what determination and resiliency can produce.” Christina Johnson-Dean reviews Sophie Pemberton: Life & Work by Kathryn Bridge (Online: Art Institute of Canada, 2023)
Authors’ origin stories (x 6)
Captivating essays trace authors’ careers from childhood onward…
Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Off the Record, by John Metcalf (editor) (Windsor: Biblioasis, 2023) $26.95 / 9781771965453
Remembering the working west coast
He presents his book as “a story of events I witnessed in a lifetime of living and working in the logging camps and workboats on the BC Coast.” Phyllis Reeve reviews From Camp to Camp, from Dock to Dock: The Work of Doug Harrison, The BC Coast in My Eyes by Doug Harrison (Gabriola Island: Doug Harrison, 2023) $39.95
Familial matters
Buoyant debut novel ponders manhood and Indigeneity…
Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Beautiful Beautiful, by Brandon Reid
(Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2023) $24.95 / 9780889714540