AltWeeklies Wire
'The Wonder' Has a Dancer's Gracenew
The question of passion fuels Diana Evans' lushly imaginative second novel The Wonder.
The Georgia Straight |
Patty Jones |
10-05-2009 |
Fiction
Lisbeth Salander Makes a Blazing Return in 'The Girl Who Played With Fire'new
The late Stieg Larsson's follow-up to the sprawling, expertly plotted crime novel The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is in most ways as gripping as the previous one.
The Georgia Straight |
Brian Lynch |
08-31-2009 |
Fiction
'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
Seriously Funny Parody Rules Graham Rawle's 'Woman's World'new
Graham Rawle's Woman's World is an astonishing concept novel that's not only about the powers of obsession but also, it seems, a product of them. It looks like a book-length ransom note. But it's far more than an elaborate stunt: as soon becomes clear to the reader, Woman's World is a first-rate piece of comedic art.
The Georgia Straight |
Brian Lynch |
02-09-2009 |
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
John MacLachlan Gray's Victorian-era Thrillernew
Like his previous forays into the genre, there's a lot more going on than the pondering of pale corpses in floppy cravats.
The Georgia Straight |
John Lekich |
01-11-2008 |
Fiction
Mario Vargas Llosa Creates Deeply Satisfying Talenew
He remains a giant of South American literature, and in The Bad Girl, a tale of romantic obsession taken to the point of destruction, his sure touch and dexterity are undiminished.
The Georgia Straight |
Mat Loup |
12-17-2007 |
Fiction
Ten Picture Books for Tree-bound Totsnew
Given that there's no new Wii this season, you may just have to suck it up and give some picture books to the preschooler in your life.
The Georgia Straight |
John Burns |
12-10-2007 |
Fiction
Tags: Fiction Reviews
Comix King Adrian Tomine Discusses 'Shortcomings'new
Shortcomings, which took him five years to complete, has stirred controversy partly because of the protagonist's ambivalence about his Asian heritage and partly because it's serious, adult work.
The Georgia Straight |
Shawn Conner |
11-12-2007 |
Fiction
'Long Story Short' is Willfully Bent & Instinctually Wittynew
Like science experiments, these six high-concept short stories drop their misfit characters into cruelly ironic fantasies or harsh hyper-realities.
The Georgia Straight |
Patty Jones |
10-29-2007 |
Fiction
Alice Sebold Loses Humanitynew
The sympathetic tone of The Lovely Bones is starkly absent in Sebold's sophomore fictional outing, The Almost Moon.
The Georgia Straight |
Mat Loup |
10-22-2007 |
Fiction
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
Idealism Fades Away in 'Bottle Rocket Hearts'new
The Toronto grrrl-poet's first novel is brief, charming, and suggestive, but it lacks a shape.
The Georgia Straight |
John Burns |
07-13-2007 |
Fiction
'DMZ' Follow-up Even Darker Than Firstnew
America is split between a hair-trigger authoritarian government and the secessionist Free States Army, with the island of Manhattan the no man's land of the title.
The Georgia Straight |
John Burns |
07-06-2007 |
Fiction
War is Hellnew
Moody's collection of three novellas speaks to war obliquely and directly all at once.
The Georgia Straight |
John Burns |
07-06-2007 |
Fiction
