AltWeeklies Wire
'Egg on Mao' Praises a Truly Brave Iconoclastnew
With the publication of Egg on Mao: The Story of an Ordinary Man Who Defaced an Icon and Unmasked a Dictatorship, Denise Chong has revived interest in the moral heroism of Lu Decheng and his friends Yu Zhijian and Yu Dongyue.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
10-19-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'Land of Marvels' Foreshadows Iraq Debaclenew
John Somerville, Barry Unsworth's archaeologist hero, is a typical Edwardian abroad. He's a wealthy Englishman who means to do well by others, but in Land of Marvels he's at sea in an ocean of stones.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
03-23-2009 |
Fiction
'Through Black Spruce' Charts Epic Flight Northnew
Joseph Boyden's 2005 debut novel, Three Day Road, was a rare flash of literary illumination. A desperate tumble through the heart of darkness, it led us deep into the boreal forest and even deeper into the mud and muck of Flanders during the First World War.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
10-03-2008 |
Fiction
Padma Viswanathan Revives India's Divided Pastnew
On reading a particularly heartbreaking chapter from Viswanathan's intricate family saga, the first-time novelist's aged grandmother took to her bed, feeling upset and perhaps even betrayed.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
04-14-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Robert Bringhurst's Simple Elegancenew
Everywhere Being is Dancing: Twenty Pieces of Thinking is an assemblage of well-considered ruminations, each one distinct but also linked by their creator’s deep erudition and plainspoken literary style.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
01-11-2008 |
Poetry
Tim Flannery Moves From Global Warming to Animalsnew
For Chasing Kangaroos, the Australian professor and paleontologist dives into a marsupial milieu, and its relatively narrow focus may put off recent Flannery converts.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
01-04-2008 |
Nonfiction
'The Bone Sharps': A Study of Conflictnew
Based on the true story of Charles Sternberg, the visionary fossil collector who found his El Dorado among the Drumheller hoodoos, The Bone Sharps is both a historical novel, rich in period detail, and a poignant meditation on dreams.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
11-02-2007 |
Nonfiction
Mary Novik's 'Conceit' Captures 60s Londonnew
Her novel courses through the bustling city, the realm of ghosts, and the various landscapes of attraction; it encompasses theological debate, angling lore, and architecture; and it's strewn with historical figures.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
10-12-2007 |
Fiction
'Teenage' Delivers a Dialectical Thesisnew
Savage charts the cyclical ebb and flow of youth culture, its relationship with greater economic and demographic trends, and its vanguard role in the arts.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
08-13-2007 |
Nonfiction
Spider Robinson: Collaboration Stationnew
He tends to surround himself with gifted minds to make his fiction more realistic.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
05-25-2007 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Spider Robinson, Variable Star
