The CBC sponsors this great forum for readers every year. Five Canadian celebrities present books they love and argue about which one everyone in Canada should read. The discussions are really lively and all the books are probably worth reading.
This year's list includes:
Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan (about a blues musician)
Cockroach by Rawi Hage (about being poor in Montreal)
Annabel by Kathleen Winter (about a child who is born as a hermaphrodite)
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (a companion to her previous book called Oryx and Crake, which explores the aftermath of a world-wide biological disaster)
The Orenda by Joseph Boyden (which is set in New France in the late 1600's and explores the early days of contact between French Jesuits and the Iroquois)
I haven't read all the books, but I would always recommend Margaret Atwood -- she is one of Canada's preeminent writers and both Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood were terrific books that you couldn't put down. They both make you think of the disasters we're facing if we continue to follow our cavalier attitude to the natural world and the environment in which we live.
I am presently reading The Orenda. I read Joseph Boyden's previous book, Three Day Road, which is about aboriginal snipers in World War I, and it was one of the greatest books I've ever read. The Orenda is a very compelling story, but horrifically violent. Some of the images are staying with me, even though I wish they wouldn't. The book is very disturbing in its descriptions of how people torture other people in the hopes of finding peace for themselves. I would recommend it, but warn you that it is very upsetting to read.
No comments:
Post a Comment