AltWeeklies Wire
Lydia Kwa’s 'Pulse' is a courageous piece of fiction.new
It’s always pleasurable to read a novel set in Toronto, but the key to Pulse is Kwa’s spare yet evocative prose.
NOW Magazine |
Susan G. Cole |
04-02-2010 |
Fiction
'The Amazing Absorbing Boy': Trinidad to T.O.new
When his mother dies, comic-book-obsessed Sammy leaves Trinidad to live with his strangely distant dad in Regent Park. Everything about his new city fascinates the teenager, and he dives into his experience with eyes and ears wide open.
NOW Magazine |
Susan G. Cole |
02-05-2010 |
Fiction
John Irving is Once Again in Full Control of the Narrative in 'Last Night In Twisted River'new
In his latest book, Irving entertains with the grace of a novelist who knows how to be funny without hitting the reader over the head.
NOW Magazine |
David Silverberg |
11-16-2009 |
Fiction
Douglas Coupland's New Novel 'Generation A' is Funny Yet Disturbingnew
Douglas Coupland caught the spirit of his own time in his breakthrough Generation X. Now he's figured out how to tune into the zeitgeist of the future.
NOW Magazine |
Susan G. Cole |
09-21-2009 |
Fiction
'Amphibian' is a Sweet and Smart Book for Optimists of Any Agenew
Nine-year-old Phineas Walsh, the narrator of Carla Gunn's Amphibian, makes you feel like you've been cornered on the playground by a sensitive and intelligent young boy who's going to tell you his observations about the world. Hilarious and affecting, he's something special.
NOW Magazine |
Zoe Whittall |
08-17-2009 |
Fiction
Saskatchewan Writer Delivers a New Russell Quant Mysterynew
Aloha, Candy Hearts, the sixth in the cheeky Russell Quant series, finds our favorite gay private investigator enjoying a whirlwind weekend in Waikiki with his sexy long-distance lover, having surprised himself by saying yes to a proposal of marriage.
NOW Magazine |
Lesley McAllister |
05-29-2009 |
Fiction
'The Bible Salesman' is a Rollicking Readnew
Borrowing Scriptural tropes and themes from Southern literature and folklore, Clyde Edgerton weaves a wryly amusing Southern gothic tale about faith, the perils of gullibility and optimism and the ever-present temptation of evil.
NOW Magazine |
David Jager |
11-17-2008 |
Fiction
'Red Dog' is Truly a Poet's Novelnew
I love it when poets take on a sprawling narrative, plumping up sentences with images so striking you feel like taking out your highlighter.
NOW Magazine |
Zoe Whittall |
11-03-2008 |
Fiction
'Through Black Spruce' is a Muscular Novel Worthy of All the Hypenew
Joseph Boyden's second novel is stunning at being a million things at once, but at heart it's a page-turning campfire story told by one person to another in hushed tones, heartbeat to heartbeat.
NOW Magazine |
Zoe Whittall |
11-03-2008 |
Fiction
'The Soul of All Great Designs' Goes Off the Railsnew
Neil Bissoondath can really write, but in his latest novel he gets trapped by his own unworkable premise.
NOW Magazine |
Susan G. Cole |
10-14-2008 |
Fiction
The Worst Thing About 'Be Good' is That it's Too Shortnew
Though a cover blurb for Stacey May Fowles's first novel proclaims it to be essential reading for women in their 20s, Be Good is also essential for 20-something men.
NOW Magazine |
Jacob Scheier |
10-14-2008 |
Fiction
'So Many Ways To Sleep Badly' is an Original, Visceral Reading Experiencenew
I give it extra points for including a sex-worker theme that avoids all the overdone stereotypes.
NOW Magazine |
Zoe Whittall |
10-06-2008 |
Fiction
Irvine Welsh's Wimpy 'Crime'new
Welsh, known best for his druggy humor, gleefully scatological bent and the gruff pub vernacular of his characters, plays it amazingly straight and close to the vest in his most recent novel, Crime. So close and earnest, in fact, that you can hardly believe you're reading Welsh.
NOW Magazine |
David Jager |
09-29-2008 |
Fiction
Tags: Irvine Welsh
Paul Auster's New Novel Ruminates on Post-9/11 Family Schismsnew
Auster's new novel ruminates on the fault lines and schisms within a marriage, a family and the landscape of post-9/11 America.
NOW Magazine |
David Jager |
09-08-2008 |
Fiction
Why is Andrew Pyper Wasting His Time on Thrillers?new
The bestselling Toronto author, who won the Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel, has immense talent, but you get the feeling he's taking the easy route churning out whodunits.
NOW Magazine |
Susan G. Cole |
09-02-2008 |
Fiction
