Understanding one’s ‘own kind of tragedy’
A wild ride of a debut novel portrays an aggrieved widow and self-described “aimless fool.” —Trish Bowering reviews Norma, by Sarah Mintz (Toronto: Invisible Publishing, 2024) $22.95 / 9781778430404
Tag: women
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
Sleuthing Buddhist butler. (Hijinx ensue.)
Lighthearted murder mystery leaves reviewer “with a sense of deep satisfaction.” —Trish Bowering reviews A Meditation on Murder, by Susan Juby (Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2024) $19.99 / 9781443469524
An Everywoman for Iran’s last century
Debut novelist “explores the meaning of love, family loyalty, the struggle for self-expression, and devotion to homeland in times of constant upheaval.” —Daniel Gawthrop reviews Zulaikha, by Niloufar-Lily Soltani (Toronto: Inanna Publications, 2023) $24.95 / 9781771339568
A ‘soap opera in the best way possible’
WWII-set debut novel, a love triangle where the “tension is deliciously gravid.” —Jessica Poon reviews The Cure for Drowning, by Loghan Paylor (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2024) $24.95 / 9781039006454
Cossacks, clairvoyance, and revenge
Historical fiction where the “compelling characters and exciting plot never falter.” —Valerie Green reviews The Jazz Club Spy, by Roberta Rich (Toronto: Simon & Schuster Canada, 2023) $24.99 / 9781982187729
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
Justice and ‘vile things’
Debut novel examines a legacy of hetero-masculine violence… —Trish Bowering reviews She Who Burns, by Myrl Coulter (Altona: Friesen Press, 2023) $21.99 / 9781039166936
Globetrotting historical novels a ‘dynastic tapestry’
Family revelations, social upheaval, and war’s brutality captured in historical fiction…
Vanessa Winn reviews ‘Destiny’ and ‘Legacy,’ by Valerie Green (Surrey: Hancock House, 2023) $24.95
Puzzles of the past
Prairies-set saga relates present to past…
Amy Whitmore reviews Leaving Wisdom, by Sharon Butala (Saskatoon: Thistledown Press, 2023) $24.95 / 9781771872362
#185 Diversity of immigrant women
REVIEW: Wherever I Find Myself: Stories by Canadian Immigrant Women By Miriam Matejova (editor) Halfmoon Bay: Caitlin Press, 2017. $24.95 / 978-1-987915-34-1 Reviewed by Gillian Der First published October 21, 2017 * The third anthology in a series on Canadian women published by Caitlin Press, Wherever I Find Myself, edited by Miriam Matejova, is a…
Read more #185 Diversity of immigrant women
#118 Grubstake angel
Gold Rush Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Nellie Cashmanby Thora Kerr Illing Victoria: Touchwood Editions, 2016$18.95 / 9781771511599 Reviewed by Charlene Porsild First published April 11, 2017 * Thora Illing’s Gold Rush Queen retells the life and times of Nellie Cashman, a beautiful, Irish-American businesswoman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, champion dog musher and lifelong spinster with strong…
Read more #118 Grubstake angel
#95 Wolfgang meets Emily
I Had an Interesting French Artist to See Me This Summer: Emily Carr and Wolfgang Paalen in British Columbia by Colin Browne Vancouver: Figure 1, in collaboration with the Vancouver Art Gallery, 2016 $24.95 / 9781927958780. Reviewed by Elisabeth Otto First published Feb. 27, 2017 * Writer, documentary filmmaker, and cultural historian Colin Browne has…
Read more #95 Wolfgang meets Emily
#91 Nurturing postwar feminism
From Left to Right: Maternalism and Women’s Political Activism in Postwar Canada by Brian Thorn Vancouver: UBC Press, 2016 $32.95 / 9780774832090 Reviewed by Lisa Pasolli First published Feb. 19, 2017 * Canadian women, far from being trapped in suburban homes and domesticity in the late 1940s and 1950s, were active across the political spectrum…
Read more #91 Nurturing postwar feminism
#77 Rubber chicken & pot shops
Surviving City Hallby Donna Macdonald Gibsons: Nightwood Editions, 2016$22.95 / 9780889713208 Reviewed by Ginny Ratsoy First published in Jan. 22, 2017 * In 2010, the small city of Nelson, B.C., attracted the attention of The Guardian for weathering the most recent economic downturn — a feat the esteemed newspaper attributed partly to dollars from marijuana…
Read more #77 Rubber chicken & pot shops
#48 From Soda Creek to best seller
Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival by Bev Sellars Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2016 $19.95 / 9780889229723 Reviewed by Caroline Woodward First published November 24, 2016 * Editor’s note: as happens occasionally at The Ormsby Review, a happy mixup occurs and we end up with two reviews of the same book. For our second review…
Read more #48 From Soda Creek to best seller
#41 Haggerty’s pre-Hippie Vancouver
The Dancehall Years by Joan Haggerty Salt Spring Island: Mother Tongue Publishing, 2016 $20.00 / 9781896949543 Reviewed by Tom Shandel First published November 11, 2016 * Joan Haggerty has always been in a vanguard of very few. Her first book, Please, Miss, Can I Play God (Methuen, 1966), was based on her teaching drama to…
Read more #41 Haggerty’s pre-Hippie Vancouver
#37 Short stories of love & betrayal
Teardown by Clea Young Calgary: Freehand Books, 2016 $19.95 / 9781988298016 Reviewed by Sharon Kurtz First published November 7, 2016 * The twelve stories in Clea Young’s debut collection Teardown are largely concerned with friendship and betrayal. Best friends can become strangers, or worse, sworn enemies. There are childhood friends, jealous friends, friends who sleep…
Read more #37 Short stories of love & betrayal
#36 Eelgrass, cement, serenity
Tod Inlet: A Healing Place by Gwen Curry Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2015 $25.00 / 9781771600767 Reviewed by Peter Grant First published November 4, 2016 * Shortlisted for the 2016 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize, Gwen Curry’s first book, Tod Inlet: A Healing Place, joins a burgeoning, British Columbian literature of place—once more an environmental vision…
Read more #36 Eelgrass, cement, serenity