In Conversation with Sophie Jai author of Wild Fires

With Kaylie Seed

Photo by Sophie Jai

The main themes in Wild Fires are grief and family. Where did the inspiration for these themes come from? Were these difficult to write about?

I thought about the story I wanted to write most before I died. I once heard somewhere that a writer’s debut novel is a “clearing of the throat.” Now that I’ve cleared my throat, I feel like I can move on to other stories. Maybe thousands of years from now, someone – or an alien, even (!) – will stumble upon my book, and experience another story in the catalogue of human stories.

I was keen to write about family because it’s the first social universe we experience before we go out into the world. A house is a world on its own – perhaps the only real world. The space of a family’s house is incredibly intimate, exclusive, and delicate. Any change in its ecosystem can change its balance forever. I think grief is the most disruptive of these changes. It was enthralling to explore.

As this is your first book, what surprised you about the research you had to do and what areas did you dig into to help bring your novel to life?

In researching setting, there wasn’t much surprise for me. I was born and raised in Trinidad, so I could write about the island confidently by drawing from my own memories of its details. Sometimes the saboteur chimed in. It convinced me that I was, indeed, misremembering things, and what I was remembering was wrong, and Trinidadian readers would discover I was a fraud. For example, I remembered a car with a megaphone on its roof that drove around our villages announcing weekly news, like marriages and death. I was sure of the memory and yet unsure at the same time. I ended up Googling it and running it by my family for complete confirmation.

In terms of place though (the house), I wanted to explore the psychology of houses and its effect on its inhabitants. Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space was a steady companion to me for this purpose.

Wild Fires takes the reader between Canada and Trinidad. What did you enjoy learning and writing about these different places and their timelines?

Writing about Trinidad and Toronto allowed me to put in writing what I loved about these two homes of mine. I loved capturing their minute details, special only to my memories and the backdrop to my short time on Earth. I especially loved the contrast between a small, hot island and the wintry, cold city, and that even though one can get on a plane and move across the ocean, grief can take its seat right next to you.

There are many different characters in Wild Fires, who was your favourite character to write and why?

It’s a tie between Sangeetha and Rani. Sangeetha is the bathetic, melodramatic poet of the family. She wears a heavy eyeliner, red lip, and a dotted-on mole that moves with the phases of the moon. On a day in which she felt particular vengeful, she drew her eyebrows on in the shape of devil horns. She is wild, but empathetic, extroverted, but insulated.

Rani, on the other hand, is Sangeetha’s complete opposite. I loved writing Rani’s story because she was a character that other characters simply didn’t understand. In this way, the reader is privy to information that characters in the book aren’t. There’s a shared secret between the reader and Rani. It felt mischievous to write, pitting these characters against each other.

What is your “must-read” book recommendation and what book has had the most impact and influence on your writing?

Jefferey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides taught me the cohesiveness and tightness of good writing and storytelling.

Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s A Ghost in the Throat renewed my purpose in writing as a woman.

Shaun McNiff’s Trust the Process, which I read very early on as a writer, is a beautiful artist’s companion. It’s nurturing, meditative, and kind.

David Chariandy’s Soucouyant showed me (also very early on) that characters like me and my family do exist in fiction, and thus inspired me to put pen to paper.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors who are trying to navigate the publishing world?

Unfortunately, get on the hellsite that is Twitter. Following publishers, agents, book media websites, literary organizations, and emerging writer awards shows you how many opportunities are out there for new writers.

Do you have another novel in the works or a new project you’re working on?

I think so…

Author Biography

Sophie Jai is the author of WILD FIRES (HarperCollins, August 23, 2022). The novel was longlisted for the 2019 Bridport Prize Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award, and she was a 2020 Writer-in-Residence and Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford, and will be a Kellogg Scholar at Oxford from ’22-’24. She is an alumna of the Humber School for Writers in Toronto where she studied under Olive Senior. She was born and raised in Trinidad, and grew up in Toronto. She currently lives between London and Toronto.

Book Review: Wild Fires by Sophie Jai

By Kaylie Seed

Sophie Jai’s debut novel Wild Fires takes a look at intergenerational trauma through the Rampersad family, who emigrated to Canada in the early 1990s from Trinidad. Jai takes the reader through a family saga spanning decades, countries, and cultures, while also focusing on Cassandra, who wants nothing more than to discover the secrets buried in her family's past so that she may better understand the impact they have on the present.

Readers anticipating a traditional plot with Wild Fires will be surprised as this novel does not conform to one. Instead, this novel as a whole is more of an exploration of loss, grief, and family dynamics. There are various timelines that jump around and the pacing of this novel is slow. Since there is a lot going on readers are going to want to give this book their undivided attention as they make sense of what is happening throughout the novel and with each of the characters. Jai includes a family tree at the beginning of Wild Fires which is helpful; the number of characters and subplots can seem daunting at times but Jai’s prose will capture the reader's attention.

Cassandra was not a main character in the way most readers would expect. She is passive and very much on the outside looking in. I believe that Jai did this so that the reader can see how Cassandra deals with grief around herself rather than what is being internalized. Something else to note is that Jai looks at how grief is expressed across different cultures, which may also have played a part in the creation of Cassandra’s personality. There are a lot of strong women throughout Jai’s debut and each of them have a unique voice that stayed true to their character as the book described different times in their family’s history. Those who enjoy stories that explore family dynamics, epic family sagas, and intergenerational trauma will want to pick Wild Fires up.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Peace Keeper by B. L. Blanchard

By Carolina Moriello

“But you know, taking care of someone else means that you need to take care of yourself.”

Twenty years ago, Chibenashi’s life was forever changed. His mother was killed at the hands of his father, who was then sentenced to a lifetime in jail, a punishment rarely used by the Anishinaabe people. Chibenashi finds himself responsible for his younger sister, Ashwiyaa, who was left scarred and traumatized by the murder. He has dedicated his entire adult life to working as a Peace Keeper in his village of Baawitigong and caring for his sister, making sure her needs are put above his own. However, on the evening of the Manoomin festival, another murder occurs in their village—a murder eerily similar to his mother’s. Chibenashi dedicates his time and efforts to solving this case and finding the murderer. What ensues is a tale of discovery and the realization that perhaps Chibenashi’s entire life has been a lie.

From the first page to the last you cannot help but feel for Chibenashi. His life has been dedicated to protecting others and casting aside his own wants and needs. He is a sad and broken man who deserves more. I couldn’t help but feel like his sister was weighing him down. Her dependency on him to care for her and be available to her at any moment was frustrating. However, as the primary support person for her debilitating anxiety and the person who shares her trauma, Chibenashi is unwilling to break this dependency.

This novel was not only interesting and entertaining to read because it was a mystery, but it was also fascinating because it took place in a fictional North America that was never colonized, a world where Indigenous nations developed and the Anishinaabe culture prevailed. Author B. L. Blanchard is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and did an excellent job at creating an authentic setting and incorporating traditions that served the plot well. This alternative history backdrop was the reason why I chose this book. The mystery was an added bonus! However, when it comes to the mystery aspect of the book, if you play close attention you can piece together who the murderer is. Attention to detail is key to solving this murder.

The Peace Keeper is B. L. Blanchard’s debut novel, and the first installment of The Good Lands series. I look forward to reading the rest of this series in the future.

Thank you to Wunderkind PR for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!

Book Review: Sexus Animalis by Emmanuelle Pouydebat Illustrated by Julie Terrazzoni Translated by Erik Butler

By Shantell Powell

Sexus Animalis is a beautifully illustrated and easy-to-read overview of sex in the animal kingdom. It was originally written in French by Emmanuelle Pouydebat, a permanent researcher employed by the French National Centre for Scientific Research at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. Julie Terrazzoni’s illustrations are frame-worthy, and I’d gladly hang them in my house, although upon a double take visitors may wonder why I have a gay dolphin orgy on my wall.

I was raised with a repressive religious background where anything that was not cisgender, heterosexual monogamy was considered an abomination. However, I was also raised on the land around all sorts of animals, which made me wonder why cishet monogamists are outnumbered by “unnatural” sexual practices taking place in the natural world. This book provides a fascinating selection of how cishet sexual interactions are just one small facet of what is actually natural.

While there is nothing unnatural happening in nature, there sure are all sorts of things that some humans may find fantastically strange or kinky. Within the animal kingdom, there are all sorts of sex organs and ways they fit together. Polyandrous, polygamous, monogamous, and self-impregnating creatures abound. So do bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, and interspecies relations. Masturbation is common to many species, and some creatures spontaneously change sex (the basis for Jurassic Park is real).

Penises come in all shapes, sizes, and abilities. Some are detachable. Some are spiked. Some are doubled-up. Some have four heads, and some are prehensile, which comes in handy for scratching itchy bellies. But while there are reams of papers written on penises, there is a woeful dearth of literature on clitorises and vaginas. It seems misogyny in scientific research has spread outside the study of humans. This is a big hole in our knowledge, and for what? The author invites researchers to rectify this oversight. Other sex organs are equally as amazing as penises.

The book is well designed. The typeface is easy to read and has ample margins. I find that many books cram the text too close to the middle of the book, which means you have to spread the pages so far you risk cracking the spine. This is not the case here, and to top it off, the paper is also of high quality.

Although this book is written with an adult audience in mind, it is the sort of book I would have loved as a child. Scientific terminology is used, but the book does not shy away from common slang or puns, which makes me wonder what slang and puns are in the original French version. Kudos to translator Erik Butler for making sure the English version of Sexus Animalis is easy to understand and fun to read. I tore through this book at record speed and enjoyed sharing the illustrations with my housemates. You’ll have all sorts of wild trivia to share after reading this one, and a whole new way of looking at the birds and the bees.

Thank you to MIT Press for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

In Conversation with Jamie Ford author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

With Kaylie Seed

Photo by Eric Heidle

Readers learn about epigenetics (the study of how our behaviours and our environment affect our DNA, essentially changing how it works) and I’m curious, what kind of research did you need to do on epigenetics? Was this always meant to be a central theme in The Many Daughters of Afong Moy?

Fortunately, scientists, biologists, chemists, and geneticists at Emory University, MIT, Sarah Lawrence, and Harvard (just to name a few) have done a copious amount of research and as a writer of fiction I’m able to stand on their shoulders and look taller (and smarter) than I really am. Their trailblazing work is documented in countless scientific papers, which are written for peer review, not pleasure reading. My job was to harvest as much science as I could and present it in a way that would not only be understandable, but compelling. While also projecting where I think this technology might take us in a few short decades.

In a way, it’s analogous to how Arthur C. Clarke proposed the concept of satellite communication in 1945 before Sputnik 1 was launched into orbit in the late 50s. I have this vain hope that the concepts presented in the book might someday become reality, if only so I can iron out the wrinkles in my own epigenetic past.

That was always the central theme, to find a way to relive the past and correct mistakes or reshape regrets for the next generation. Because everyone wants a do-over, right?

As a follow up to the question above, what inspired you to look into epigenetics in the first place? It is a fascinating field of study to read about.

I owe it all to Van Halen. Seriously. My interest in epigenetics began, when my twelve-year-old son, Taylor, found Van Halen on YouTube and declared them the greatest band ever. I’d never played Van Halen’s music for him, but that was my first concert back in 1984 (with David Lee Roth in leopard print Spandex).

At the time, it seemed like a weird parent/child coincidence. Then he fell in love with Genesis, another band I liked back then and I became convinced that in addition to my hairline, overbite, and blood type, Taylor had somehow inherited my dubious taste in music. 

That’s when I began reading everything I could find on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, which is the study of how behaviour and environment can alter the function of our genetic code. It’s also the study of how those phenotype changes in our DNA are heritable, affecting subsequent generations.

Readers may not know that Afong Moy was a real person, that she was known as the first Chinese woman to step onto American soil in 1834. How did you originally learn about her? Did you know that you wanted to write about her immediately or was she a historical figure that stayed with you awhile until you found the right story for her?

Back in the early 90s the San Francisco Examiner ran a full-page dedicated to Asian American Heritage Month. I remember a detailed chronology from 1587, when Filipino sailors first landed in what is now California, to Kristi Yamaguchi winning the gold medal in the Olympics in 1992. On that timeline were things like the death of Vincent Chin, the opening of the Angel Island Detention Center, and the Chinese Exclusion Act, but also a curious mention that read “1834, Afong Moy, the first known Chinese woman in the United States, is put on display in a New York Theater.”

Decades later that I thought about fictionalizing her life, but there didn’t seem to be enough there for an entire novel and her life story ends so mysteriously and tragic. But once I went down the epigenetics rabbit hole, I realized she could become a wonderful root character in a multi-generational story. I could give her a voice as well as a moment of redemption.

There are six different women characters that the reader will follow throughout The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, each set in a different period of time and many based on real life events. Was there a specific character that you enjoyed creating the most, and if so who and why?

I loved writing Greta’s story. Not because I’m a tech executive but I did take computer programming classes at Olympic College while in junior high, so I was kind of a turbo-geek. Or as Greta says, “I’m polynomial in a non-polynomial world.” I can relate to that struggle to fit in. I mean, I was a kid taking Pascal, and everyone else in the HP computer lab seemed like they were in their 70s. (In retrospect, I’m sure they were in their late 20s or 30s and I probably made them feel just as old as they made me feel like a toddler).

And in case anyone’s wondering, after being asked to write a program to track hotel occupancy (and not create video games as I’d hoped) I quit. Thus, becoming that rare fourteen-year-old college drop-out.

As a follow up to the question above, did you find any of these characters difficult to create, and if so who and why?

The hardest was Lai King because most of her story takes place on a ship. Not just any ship, but a steam barkentine. What’s that? Exactly. It’s a sailing ship that also has a steam engine, founded in this liminal space between the old world and the industrial age.

I should mention that despite spending a lot of time on the ocean in my 20s, I now get horribly seasick with even the slightest motion of the sea. Friend (and author) Hugh Howey once invited me to join him aboard his catamaran, which was in Fiji at the time. I said, “You will quickly tire of me barfing over the side.” To which he replied, “Don’t sell yourself short, I would never tire of watching you barf over the side.”

What was your process for writing this story? Did you know from the beginning the way each of the main character’s stories would intertwine or did parts of the story/characters come to you as you were writing?

Honestly, my process involved staring out the window and daydreaming for hours, wallowing in self-doubt, second-guessing myself, worrying endlessly about if I could ever write my way out from under the shadow of my first book, then finally taking a deep breath and going for it.

Since this book has a lot of moving parts, I wrote a fairly detailed synopsis with the story arcs of each character and how the novel would end. But the rest I make up as I go because I enjoy the discovery aspect of writing.

Also worth mentioning is that I always take my opening chapters out for a test-drive by reading them in front of a live audience. If people are dyyyyyyinnng to know what happens next, I keep going. If they’re staring at their phones, then I’ve failed and need to start again.

What is your “must-read” book recommendation and what book has had the most impact and influence on your writing?

My must-read recommendation is Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. It’s an award-winning graphic novel that is both timely and somehow timeless as well. I always recommend that book clubs read at least one graphic novel per year. If not, they’re missing an entire world of literature. In the U.S. we’re like teenagers looking down on other art forms without even trying them. The rest of the world has known graphic novels, manga, and other forms of sequential art transcend the written word and can do more to stir the imagination than film.

As far as the book that had the most impact and influence, I’d have to say the Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. It was the book that turned me from a writer into a storyteller.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors who are trying to navigate the publishing world?

I’m going to quote the late, great Harlan Ellison who said, “Write for the wisest, wittiest, most intelligent audience in the universe. Write for yourself.” Though Jason Mott put it best when he talked in an interview about how at some point a writer needs to decide which is more important, writing for themselves, or writing for money. There’s certainly some overlap and there’s no wrong direction, but as an artist you need to figure out which is more important and lean in that direction. I have so much respect and admiration for Jason because he wrote Hell of a Book doubting an agent or publisher would want it, but it was the book he wanted to write. Oh, and it won a National Book Award.

Do you have another novel in the works or a new project you’re working on? When can readers anticipate it?

Because The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is fairly complex, has so many timelines, and features so many characters, as I was writing it I swore to myself that my next book would be easier. One point-of-view character, one timeframe, and in a contemporary setting. That was my plan. But once I started the research it was clear that plan was wishful thinking. I can’t say what it’s about but it’s another mash-up of historical and speculative fiction. And I will undoubtedly be cursing myself along the way for breaking that promise.

Book Review: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

By Kaylie Seed

Content warning: rape/sexual assault 

It doesn’t often happen that I find myself speechless after reading a novel. I still don’t know if I have the right words to write the praise Jamie Ford’s forthcoming novel The Many Daughters of Afong Moy deserves, but I’m going to do my best to allow this book to shine. In 2045, Dorothy Moy decides to go through an experimental treatment for her struggles with mental illness and what unfolds from that point on changes Dorothy’s life forever. The reader will follow Dorothy but they will also have the opportunity to meet an array of characters as the plot moves through space and time. 

Ford does an excellent job of describing the treatment that Dorothy undergoes and the reader quickly learns that the treatment is meant to alleviate the pain from intergenerational trauma, which is thought to be the root cause of Dorothy’s mental illness. While going through with this treatment, Dorothy has the chance to relive the lives of women in her family. The reader will follow Dorothy and five other women from the Moy family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China during WWII; Zoe Moy, a student attending an alternative school in England; Lai King Moy, a young girl living with her parents during a plague epidemic in San Francisco; Greta Moy, an executive for a dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to arrive in America. Ford has done extensive research into each of the real life events that inspired the characters and what happens to them throughout their lifetimes.

Ford manages to make each of these timelines seamless and unforgettable. Even though the reader is learning about multiple characters and their stories, each of their distinct voices helps the reader distinguish who is who while also being able to see the generational similarities amongst the Moy women. Ford also touches on racism, sexism, and classism in each lifetime and how these have stayed the same yet changed in the generations. Ford’s prose is light yet manages to have an impact that captures the reader's attention and holds it long after the novel is done.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is going to stay with me for a long time. I found myself wanting to know more but at the same time not wanting the story to end; wanting to bask in these women’s lives as they experience heartbreak, love, loss, grief, and pain. I was invested in each of their lives and found them all intriguing, needing to know more about them and how their lives influenced future generations.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Employees by Olga Ravn Translated by Martin Aitken

By Lauren Bell

The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century is a short (136 pages) novel written by Olga Ravn and translated from Dutch to English by Martin Aitken. Both authors should be commended for the lyricality of the prose. The literary devices of imagery and personification were particularly skillful, and I have great admiration for Ravn’s creativity in the novel’s construction.

The Employees is structured as a series of witness statements compiled by a workplace commission on the Six-Thousand Ship to describe the series of events that lead to the project’s demise. Nineteen objects are taken from the planet New Discovery, and soon after gaining possession of them the crew becomes attached to the objects and begins to long for warmth and intimacy, which dramatically affects their productivity. However, the crew is composed of humans (“those who were born”), humanoids (“those who were made”), and some with bits of both, which further complicates the internal dilemma amongst the crew: is there more to life than just work? and creates divisive lines within their society (humans vs. humanoids, the crew vs. Homebase).

What I liked most about this book and what makes Ravn’s work so thought-provoking is the ambiguity within the text. In each character’s account names are rarely given (for instance, peers are referred to as Cadet O4) and neither is gender, human/humanoid status, or any other identifying information. The little that Ravn gives us is enough to make us realize the characters are complicated and leaves us wanting to know more about them. Clearly, they’re more than just the compliant and one-dimensional crew members they’re expected to be, complementing the integral themes of the individual identity and the collective one. As well, the objects found by the crew are never identified to the reader; they’re only ever described based on the crew’s skewed perceptions of them. With most of the novel falling into this grey area, Ravn can challenge productivity/capitalist constructs, but also other social constructs such as gender and monogamy.

If I haven’t made it clear enough, The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century is a highly rewarding and short read. I very much enjoyed reading this novel and would recommend this it to those who like dystopian fiction, indie reads, and existentialism. Reading it also reminded me of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley because they have similar visions towards the future of humanity.

Thank you to Book*hug Press for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

By Meghan Mazzaferro

Content warnings: death, death of parent, grief, violence, gore, murder, child abuse, emotional abuse, vomit

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron is the sequel to This Poison Heart, which follows Briseis, a young girl with a mysterious power over plants—and their poisons. When Briseis receives word that her last remaining biological relative is dead and that she has inherited a large estate, she and her mothers decide to travel to the country to allow Bri to explore her heritage and powers. But things are not what they appear to be, and Bri learns quickly that both her family and their power are  tied to something dark. Something others are willing to kill for.

I can’t go into any details about what this sequel is about without spoiling book one—and trust me, you do not want book one spoiled for you—but this book dives right in where This Poison Heart left off. This was one of my most anticipated sequels of the year, and overall, I was really happy with it. This book, like the first, is full of queer love, the power of family, and the cost of generational trauma and how that trauma can be healed. While darker in tone than the first, the book addresses all these themes beautifully.

Most of the characters we grew to love in the first book are back, and I was pleased with how most of them were fleshed out. Briseis in particular is a great lead and being in her mind on this journey was emotional and impactful all at once. The first book had some slight romance, and this book explores some romances a bit more. The relationships developed are tender and lovely while still feeling very grounded. This story takes place in a very short time span, and the characters have a lot on their plates, and I appreciate that it never felt like the weight of the plot had to be paused or put down in order to spend some time developing a relationship. The same goes for the platonic and familial relationships that are explored in this book. Everything felt very natural and organic while still respecting the headspaces and mindsets of the main characters.

This book definitely amps up the mythology of the first book, so if you’re a fan of Greek myths in particular or mythology retellings in general, you’ll be very pleased with where this story goes. I enjoyed how this story explored and put an interesting spin on myths, gods, immortality, and powerful objects, and I especially loved how the characters reacted to these types of plot elements. Magical plants are one thing, gods and goddesses quite another, and I appreciated the level of shock and distrust the characters sometimes felt as this world was expanded.

While I did enjoy the plot of this book, and overall, I feel like the story never forgot the urgency of the mission, I do feel like the pacing at times failed to really stress just how much was at stake for our characters. That being said, I still devoured this book. The writing style is great, Bri has a distinct voice and each character leaps off the page. Even though the tone is different, dealing with heavier themes and lacking a bit of what I considered the plant-y wonder of the first book, that distinct voice helped bridge the gap between the two books and make things feel cohesive.

Overall, while not perfectly paced, I found this a satisfying conclusion to a duology that has captivated my attention for the last year. This is a series that definitely can’t be missed if you like urban fantasy stories, mythology, female-driven narratives, and all the plants!

Book Review: Potiphar's Wife by Mesu Andrews

By Shantell Powell

Content warning: racism, enslavement, domestic abuse, sexual assault, miscarriage

Mesu Andrews is a Christian author whose books are inspired by her faith. Her novel Isaiah’s Daughter won the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s Christy Award, and her website offers Bible study and ministry.

Potiphar is a figure in both the Quran and the Old Testament of the Bible. He is the captain of the Egyptian Pharoah’s guard and purchaser of the Hebrew Joseph (of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat fame) as a slave. Impressed by Joseph’s abilities and intellect, Potiphar puts him in charge of his household. Potiphar’s wife Zully, who has a reputation for infidelity, attempts to seduce Joseph. When Joseph doesn’t acquiesce, Zully accuses him of rape.

False rape accusations are a hot topic. They’ve been weaponized—extensively used to fire up racist lynch mobs against Black men. They are also a point of contention for those who are predisposed to disbelieve survivors of sexual assault. The tale of Potiphar’s wife is the seminal false rape accusation story, and I wanted to see how it was approached.

Research-wise, this book is excellent. The author does a good job describing the culture, the religion, and the differences between social classes. Xenophobia and religious prejudice are powerful forces in this book, and Egyptian, Cretan, and Hebrew characters regard one another with varying degrees of mistrust or disdain. The book includes a lot of politicking and intrigue, and sexual control and racism are running themes.

I had a difficult time getting into this book. The story is told from multiple points of view with Zully as the main character. I find her to be an unlikeable protagonist, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I have enjoyed books with despicable protagonists before. The problem here is that although I can get inside her head as a reader. I cannot understand what motivates her to make the decisions she does. She waffles like Hamlet but feels two-dimensional. The book begins well before she ever meets Potiphar or Joseph and shows her obsession with returning to Crete. Trapped in a foreign country, life gets worse and worse for her, and when she eventually makes her move on Joseph, the decision seems to come out of nowhere. The choice doesn’t seem to be in character, and I am unable to suspend my disbelief.

I found the other characters more agreeable. I liked Potiphar until about halfway through the book, Joseph seems like a decent enough chap, and Ahira, Zully’s maidservant, is an interesting character too. I think that if one of these other characters had been the protagonist, the story may have been more enjoyable for me to read. I just can’t wrap my head around Zully’s inconsistencies. That being said, other readers have enjoyed Zully’s character very much, so this could just be my own personal taste at play here.

Potiphar’s Wife may appeal to readers of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant or The Hippopotamus Marsh by Pauline Gedge.

Thank you, Penguin Random House, for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: An Expensive Education by Nick McDonell

By Dahl Botterill

Nick McDonell burst onto the literary scene when he was only 17 years old with his debut novel Twelve. It wasn't perfect, but it was very good, even without factoring in the age of its author. Composed of tight and efficient prose reminiscent of Hemingway, it took an up-close look at the intersection between privilege, violence, and drugs. There is an almost journalistic sense of immediacy that made it feel particularly real, and this sense of saturation is something that survived his journey into adulthood.

An Expensive Education, published in 2009, showcases a more experienced writer, and a more experienced human being as well. The characters are a little older, and the setting has grown to encompass the world, but that immediacy is still very present. While the setting of this more-than-a-spy story is very much international, its core revolves around Harvard University—it's the sun around which all the varied characters spin. This core presents another link to McDonell's previous work, in that there is a lot of privilege at work here. As in Twelve, privilege and entitlement aren't universal aspects of the cast of characters, but it provides the framework through which they often interrelate.

An Expensive Education follows several very different characters over the course of its duration. Michael Teak is a Harvard-educated spy, present for the death of a revolutionary named Hatashil and the destruction of a village at the indirect hands of his government. Susan Lowell is a Harvard professor who's just won the Pulitzer for her book about that same revolutionary. Her student David grew up in the aforementioned village while his girlfriend uses her privilege in occasionally misguided attempts to do good while furthering her own prospects. Attempts that will eventually lead her to Teak as well. These characters are surrounded by more students, more professors, more academics and pundits, and shadowy puppet masters.

There are a lot of people to keep track of, and a lot going on, and if An Expensive Education has a weakness, it's that one may find themselves far more interested in what happened to some of these characters than to others. Both in the sense of the plot and characters, the political intrigue is occasionally more interesting than the various machinations of the young American elite, but neither aspect is a total miss, and each certainly benefits from the inclusion of the other. On some level, it's telling a slightly different story than it seems to be, and that is perhaps what makes this book something special. There might not be very many authors that could make both war-torn countries and Harvard campuses feel so lived in; McDonell manages to do both while connecting the two via strands of uniquely terse prose, weaving a signature momentum into the tale.

Book Review: The Irishman's Daughter by V.S. Alexander

By Hayley Platt

The Irishman’s Daughter, written by V.S. Alexander, is a historical fiction tale set in 1845 in Carrowteige, County Mayo, Ireland. 

Readers follow the life of Briana Walsh, daughter of the agent of the property she lives on, called Lear House. The tale spans over eighteen months as Ireland sinks into the famine of the mid-1800s, with food becoming scarce and difficult to come by.

The plot of this novel is fairly slow-moving, following the lives of the characters closely. They are not exceptional people. They are an everyday family trying to survive the blight and trying to escape and grow without becoming casualties of the famine.

The beginning of the book transports the reader directly into the vivid greens and rolling hills of Ireland. We see the towns, villages, and local harbours. After reading a few chapters it is easy to picture the area around Briana and know the place she loves so dearly. As the famine sets in, the detail shifts to describe exactly what a terrible state the majority of County Mayo experiences with the loss of all potato crops. Readers see illness, starvation, theft, anger, sadness, and more. It is easy to feel compassion for the characters in this book because their circumstances are detailed so accurately, and they are not at fault for any of the outcomes.

A high point in the novel is when Briana marries her long-time childhood love Rory. However, not long after their vows they have to decide between their wish to save Lear House and their need leave to save themselves and their future. This impossible decision and the reasoning they use feels very real and easy to connect with. Readers follow Briana and Rory’s storylines through a large portion of the book, and it is not clear how the book will conclude and if a happily ever after will exist for them. 

During the quest to survive, readers are taken on horseback across the countryside to see for themselves the way the residents lived in small rural clusters. The heartbreaking tale challenges readers to picture themselves in similar situations to consider what choices they would make if necessary.  

This book is recommended for lovers of historical fiction, especially if you know some of the history in Ireland or are looking for learn more about how a community may degrade in a famine. 

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House Canada for the complimentary copy of The Irishman’s Daughter so it could be read and impartially reviewed.

Book Review: Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks

By Jamie Maletta

Adele Parks is one of the top-selling women’s fiction writers in the UK, selling a whopping 4 million-plus books over the last 22 years. Generally a nonfiction fan myself, I’ve been trying to step out of the box, specifically enjoying psychological thrillers that keep me on the edge of my seat throughout. This was my first experience reading Adele Parks’s work, and I was excited and ready to jump into this book!

Woman Last Seen introduces us to Leigh, a beautiful and fun-loving woman, who falls in love with Mark and his two young sons, inevitably marrying Mark and stepping into the “mom” role following the death of Mark’s first wife. Leigh loves her family and is a devoted wife and mother, loving and raising Mark’s two sons as her own. With no known reasoning, Leigh goes missing and finds herself chained in an unknown location, being starved and beaten, with no way out. Leigh recounts her life and what may have led to this, who may have put her there, and wonders if she’ll ever get out. Mark and the boys struggle with Leigh’s disappearance and the inconceivable information that is brought to light following Leigh’s absence. We’re taken on a journey through her life, while her family deals with the unthinkable.

The author really builds a storyline around the backstory and lives of the main characters in the beginning of the novel that felt a little unnecessary in achieving the connection needed to understand each character for the purpose of the book. Once I got into the storyline itself though (around the halfway point), I really started to enjoy it, wanting to read as much as I could. I loved the twists and turns, thinking I had it figured out, but then being pulled in a different direction wondering what would happen next! There were edge-of-your-seat moments, and plot twists that were exciting to read, which is exactly what I look for in a good thriller! For the amount of backstory and time put into the moments surrounding Leigh’s disappearance, though, it wrapped up quickly and suddenly, leaving some loose ends and question marks. I felt no closure in finishing the book. There needed to be more detail and wrap-up as to what happens. I was hopeful for a sequel, thinking maybe the author had decided to release the second part of this story in another book, but it appears her 2022 release One Last Secret is unrelated to her last. I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. That being said, it was an entertaining read and I definitely believe there’s an audience for this book.

Thank you to Harlequin Books for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Friends are Friends, Forever by Dane Liu Illustrated by Lynn Scurfield

By Christine McFaul

Friends are Friends Forever, is a new picture book (2021) written by Dane Liu and illustrated by Canadian artist Lynn Scurfield.

It is Lunar New Year’s Eve. Snow is falling. Grown-ups are bustling around the kitchen cooking silky noodles, crunchy vegetables, and batches of dumplings. Young protagonist, Dandan, and her best friend, Yueyue, are busy with their own New Year’s Eve tradition— - cutting snowflakes out of red paper and turning them into glistening frozen ornaments. For Dandan, New Year’s Eve has always been a special night. But this year, it is all the more special because it’s the last one she will celebrate in Northeastern China. The next day Dandan and her family are moving to America. Dandan has many worries about the people and traditions she will have to leave behind when she moves, but Yueyue is especially hard to say goodbye to. Dandan and Yueyue don’t know when, or even if, they will see each other again. But Yueyue reminds Dandan that no matter where they may end up, “friends are friends forever.”

For Dandan, life in America proves to be unfamiliar and lonely…at first. But when she remembers the parting gift that Yueyue gave her— - a stack of red paper to make their frozen snowflake ornaments— - Dandan finally finds a way to connects with a new friend. And though the next Lunar New Year’s Eve is not exactly like the one that came before, it is still special. It has become a hopeful mix of friends and traditions both old and new.

Liu’s writing is incredibly sensory, evoking the tastes, scents, sounds, sights, and feelings of each moment that she describes. The strength of friendship and tradition is a powerful force throughout the story and balances the author’s exploration of the complex and often bittersweet feelings associated with starting over in a new country. Liu also includes in her back -matter a personal note about her own immigration experience, as well as instructions for how to make an ice snowflake just like Dandan’s (my girls loved trying this one out!).

Scurfield’s illustrations are vibrant, soft, and full of energy. Packed with clever details and subtle emotions, she has a knack for pulling out just the right moments to bring to life— - the poignancy of a hug between two friends saying their goodbyes, a glistening ice ornament hanging from a tree, and family crowded around a table to celebrate traditions.

Friends are Friends Forever is a beautiful and hope- filled book. Given the age of the protagonist (though not stated, she appears to be about six or seven years old) and a slightly higher than average word count, I would recommend this book for the older end of the picture book age range.

Thank you to both Chronicle Books and Raincoast Books for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Plants are My Favorite People by Alessia Resta

By Melissa Barbuzzi

When I heard about Plants Are My Favorite People, I knew I had to get my hands on it. A book about plants with cute illustrations? Count me in! In this book, author (and plant-stagrammer) Alessia Resta (a.k.a. Apartment Botanist) covers everything you need to know to start and grow your plant collection. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned plant parent, this book has something for you!

My favourite part about this book? The plant parent quiz and all the amazing illustrations. The way everything was laid out and written made the book feel warm and made me feel like my best friend was giving me all the best plant tips. I’ve been a plant parent for a little while now and have had my struggles when it comes to certain plants *cough* my fiddleleaf fig *cough* not wanting to behave. Thankfully, I was able to pick up some super handy tips that I hope help me out going forward!

I first started getting into plants because of my mom. Growing up we always had plants around the house and when the weather started getting warmer, you’d always find her outside in the garden. She gifted me my first plant, and I’ve always cherished any plant that is given to me, so this quote from the book made me particularly happy: “Some of my favourite plants are the ones I’ve received from friends because they are associated with that person and that day, and it always brings a smile to my face when I look at those particular plants.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It’s a fun and informative read filled with beautiful illustrations. Whether you have one plant or twenty plants, I think there is something in this book for everyone!

Thank you to Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

By Melissa Khan

Barrett Bloom’s first day of college is disastrous, to say the least. The sheer embarrassment she faces would be enough to make anyone wish for a do-over. So, when Barrett wakes up the next morning—not in the place she fell asleep, but back in her dorm room—she’s surprised to find that it’s September 21st…again! After living through the day again and again, Barrett starts to suspect that she isn’t alone in this frozen pocket of time. She forms a tentative relationship with Miles, the snarky boy from her Physics 101 class, who she discovers has been trapped there for months. Together, the two embark on a journey through time, trying to find their way out of this infinite loop and back to their regular selves.

I’ve always been wary of Groundhog Day-type books because I worry they could become repetitive. The days as Barrett experiences them are interesting and adventurous largely due to how bold Barrett is as a character. Her humour feels authentic, and her voice is charming. From the beginning, I wanted to root for this character. Her feelings about being trapped in a time loop were realistic, whether in her incredulousness, feelings of despair, or hopefulness for all the possibilities it could bring.

The most well-paced and thought-out aspect of the novel was her relationship with Miles, who she couldn’t stand at first. He was the rude boy who humiliated her in class for seemingly no reason and slowly but steadily became closer to her than anyone else had in years. The trauma Barrett experienced from high school that isolated her in the first place didn’t feel like a plot device thrown in just to give her a personality. When the secret of what happened to her unfolded, I found myself near tears, enraged for her. And I wasn’t surprised to learn that Miles shared my reaction. Their romance was sweet and tender, and I loved watching their friendship blossom and grow.

My trick with time travel stories is not to pay too much attention to the hows and whys of what is happening and just enjoy the story for what it is. Suspension of disbelief is the name of the game. I was delighted by the banter between Barrett and Miles and their different approaches to figuring out their predicament. It was so interesting and totally didn’t send me down an existential spiral. However, I do feel like the ending could have been stronger if it didn’t rely as heavily on the “magical” element of theoretical physics. I felt not for the first time reading that some things happen a little too coincidentally, which can take away from better-explained aspects of the story.

I felt giggly reading this story. I smiled countless times as I lived each new day with these characters. It was heartwarming and funny and gave us characters who learned how to be brave and embrace the parts of them that made them unique. I encourage everyone to get to know Barrett and Miles as I did.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster Canada, for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Freezing Order by Bill Browder

By Carly Smith

Freezing Order details the many events—some incredibly surprising and others unfortunately not—in author Bill Browder’s life in relation to tax fraud and money laundering rooted in Russia. The book begins with a recap of Browder’s previous book, Red Notice. Browder’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was beaten to death in a Russian prison. Magnitsky had been investigating tax fraud and money laundering committed by Russian officials, and Putin did not like this at all. As Freezing Order continues, Browder chronicles the ups and downs of working hard to pass the Magnitsky Act, which bans government officials who take part in human rights offences from entering the United States and freezes their assets. Not thinking this is enough, Browder turns to the European Union in hopes of grasping their interest and having the Act passed in EU nations as well. What follows is chaos, including, but not limited to, working with a judge who doesn’t seem to have all his capacities, an attempt of a honey trap on Browder in Monaco, poisonings of his acquaintances, and unexplained passport hiccups.

Browder writes the book like he speaks, which is not to say that the book is filled with colloquial language and casual syntax or grammar. Browder is a smart, well-educated man, and his vocabulary supports this. While he works hard to ensure that readers understand his anecdotes, he does not avoid legal, business, and financial jargon. Photos are periodically included, as well as footnotes, but the story nevertheless can be convoluted at times. This isn’t attributable to poor writing; the story itself is tricky to follow and confusing no matter how it’s presented.

I found myself rereading paragraphs, dog-earring important pages for reference, and making side notes, but this did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. I would have appreciated a glossary and an index and often wished that I could turn to the back of the book and find a page of the names, faces, and most important details of the people Browder writes about. Fortunately, the hard copy offers several blank pages at the back, perfect for jotting down the most important bits.

Unbelievable, jarring, and at times spooky, Freezing Order unveils the power that Putin’s Russia has on the rest of the world. The book’s stories left me with conflicting feelings—cynicism and hope, relief and angst, and frustration, and satisfaction. I felt pulled in many different directions and looked forward to the glimmers of humour that Browder included. Freezing Order is the right book to pick up and delve into when you have  sufficient time and mental energy. You won’t regret having read it.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

By Meghan Mazzaferro

Content warnings: death, animal death, miscarriage, sexism, grief, animal cruelty, animal attacks kidnapping

We have all, of course, heard of Lady Trent, the world’s leading dragon naturalist. But while Lady Trent’s discoveries have been widely published and have shaped our understanding of dragon anatomy and behaviour, she has never gone into detail about her expeditions—until now. For the first time, Lady Trent is compiling all of her experiences into a series of novels, beginning with her childhood and detailing her various adventures (and misadventures) on her mission to learn everything possible about one of this world’s most mysterious creatures.

A Natural History of Dragons is written like a memoir and is told by Lady Trent, an elderly dragon naturalist revisiting the moments in her life that led her to the top of her field. This book explores the young Isabella’s first experiences with dragons and her first expedition to study the creatures for herself. This story balances the whimsy of dragons with a scientist’s eye for detail, exploring dragons not as magical creatures but as animals with all the beauty and terror that comes from studying a wild animal with wings and unusual breath. If you’re a fan of How to Train Your Dragon and are looking for a story with a strong young woman fighting for her passions and studying dragons in all their glory, this book is definitely for you!

The book has a slower pace. It truly reads like a memoir, but Lady Trent has a very distinctive voice, and the balance between young Isabella’s passions and the elderly Lady Trent’s asides and comments on her own actions and the actions of the people around her makes sure that even while the story takes its time, you’ll always be entertained. The pacing might be slow, but it’s also consistent. There is always something happening, whether Isabella is scheming to dissect a tiny dragon or the team is trying to discover a dragon’s nest or a complex conspiracy is being revealed. The plot itself is interesting, mostly following Isabella’s obsession with dragons and the lengths she will go to get to study them. The second half of the book really shines as we begin to see how Isabella will thrive as a dragon naturalist in the future.

I went into this book looking for a story with multiple different dragon species and a person studying them (I wasn’t lying when I said this book has How to Train Your Dragon vibes!), and I really loved Isabella and all the characters’ fascination with dragons as animals to be studied. The book balanced the marvel of dragons as these fantastical creatures with Isabella’s need to understand them from a naturalist perspective, and I enjoyed reading about her experiments and discoveries. I also enjoyed the time period of this book; while the story is set in a fantasy world, it seems to mirror our world around the industrial revolution, and I really liked the story’s exploration of science, the ways in which it was lacking, the technology of the period, and its limitations, and more. And of course, this story explores the sexism and prejudices of the period, and while Lady Trent is still quite young when this story ends, I can’t wait to see her blow away all the men who will underestimate her because of her sex!

This book is only the first in a five-book series, and I, for one, am absolutely obsessed. This book filled a need I never knew I had, and I am so excited to jump back into this world and reconnect with Isabella in the next installment. If you’re intrigued by this premise, don’t worry—it’s a completed series, and all five books are out now for you to read!

Book Review: The Castleton Massacre by Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson

By Erica Wiggins

Content warning: femicide, abuse, domestic violence, stalking

The Castleton Massacre tells the story of the massacre committed by Robert Killins in Ontario, Canada. Robert Killins was a well-educated man working as a minister and went on to kill every woman in his family but one on a night in 1963. Sharon Anne Cook is a university professor and the author/editor of twelve books on Canadian women’s history. Her father is Robert Killins’ brother. Margaret Carson is a retired college instructor and the only female to survive the massacre.

I have always been drawn to true crime books. My pull towards these books was the “why.” Why did this happen, why did they do it—does their brain work differently? The Castleton Massacre caught my attention because I had never heard of it and live only about 4 hours from where it happened and it’s written by family members also trying to make sense of “why.”

“Dad and I are flying to Ontario today to be with your cousins, Peggy and Brian. We anticipate being back in about ten days, but we will call you long-distance when we know more. A terrible thing has happened. Your Uncle Bob has murdered his family, Florence, Gladys, Pearl and little Patsy.”

The authors took the time to carefully research and interview those touched by this story and compiled the information into a succinct timeline. They began with Robert’s family in the 1900s and moved through the years. They carefully included illustrations that help to clarify the details and create a personal connection to this family.

Reviewing true crime stories can be challenging, as the details are generally well known. In this story, the authors use this tragedy to shine a light on how women were treated at the time and how they are still treated. Killens was abusive to this family, verbally, and physically. His wife, Florence, left him and was unable to divorce him. She moved across the country and Robert followed. When she moved in with her new partner, he would build shacks near where they lived to keep an eye on the family. Florence stated on multiple occasions that she was scared for her life. Reading the progressively erratic behaviour that Robert exhibited was terrifying. You can see it escalating, and it is unfathomable that this behaviour was acceptable. Even after the massacre, he was highly spoken of, and it was suggested that Florence “brought it on” by living with a new partner. It was eye-opening, distressing, and heartbreaking to read the account of how these women lived and died.

The statistics in this book are horrifying, and it is a difficult read. I would set it down only to be drawn back in with the hope that my question of “why” would be answered. I felt more of a personal connection to this story, as it came from a survivor and family member of Killens. In telling their story, they shed light on domestic violence, stalking and the lack of resources, especially in rural communities. This is such an important topic and caused me to pause and reflect. I don’t want to say that I enjoyed this book, as this topic is so challenging, but I am coming out better informed and aware of changes that still need to be made. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading true crime.

One final note, while this story is incredibly shocking, I found hope that the two young survivors were taken in by a stable family and able to be supported in adulthood. While this night will never be forgotten, there is a light in them reflecting and creating this book.

Thank you, Dundurn Press, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon

By Robyn Rossit

Content warning: toxic relationship, kidnapping, addiction, death, violence

After reading and enjoying Hannah Mary McKinnon’s 2021 release, You Will Remember Me, her latest release, Never Coming Home, was a highly anticipated release for me this year. It is a story about Lucas Forester, a man who married the wealthy and sophisticated Michelle. While her wealth was enticing, her lavish spending habits and attitude towards anyone who was beneath her status left something to be desired. Lucas has a plan to inherit his wife’s fortune, but unfortunately, because of an iron-clad prenuptial agreement, this involves taking out a hit on her. Lucas is smart and ensures every track is covered while falling into the role of the grieving husband. However, when a photo and mysterious note appear on his doorstep, he realizes that someone is onto him.

I really enjoyed that Never Coming Home was told from Lucas’ perspective. A thriller told from the villain’s point of view is always a refreshing change from the usual formula. I found Lucas’ narration style reminiscent of Joe from You by Caroline Kepnes. He’s arrogant, intelligent, and a bit of a sociopath. That being said, he is a very unlikeable main character—which he is fully intended to be. He is manipulative and very entitled. But to be honest, all of the characters in Never Coming Home were unlikeable. Michelle looks down her nose at people and mistreats Lucas almost as much as he mistreats her. At one point, I said out loud that the only character I liked was the dog.  

Lucas’ upbringing was less than easy. Brought up by a father who had a gambling problem, as well as an alcohol problem, had him taking care of the two of them much earlier than he should have had to. This was a theme that is woven throughout his story. His obligation was to continue to care for a father who didn’t really take care of him.

For the most part, the pacing of the story is very consistent. Hannah Mary McKinnon is a brilliant writer and really knows how to execute plot twists and turns. Similar to the last book I read by her, I was not able to completely guess the ending. I did find the ending happened a little too quickly, but at the same time, the last few chapters were highly engaging. Thankfully I had no reason to put it down when I got to the final stretch and enjoyed the ending in one sitting.

While Never Coming Home, in my opinion, did not quite measure up to You Will Remember Me, it is still a welcome addition to the thriller genre. It is certainly quite dark and will have readers on the edge of their seats. Hannah Mary McKinnon knows how to weave a dark and twisty story.

Book Review: A Convergence of Solitudes by Anita Anand

By Melissa Khan

Young and in love, Sunil and Hima travel from Partition India to foreign Montreal. Sunil, a dreamer, knows he has so much to offer, but early signs of schizophrenia stop him from reaching his potential. Hima, frustrated with how hard her life has become since journeying away from her home, must do what she can to keep her family afloat. Their older sons have left for school, and their youngest, Rani, is left to grow up in a house and a world where she’s unsure of where she fits. Her only solace is through Sensibilité, a popular Québécois band whose political support for a free province influences their music.

Rani becomes obsessed with Serge, the group’s frontman, and is delighted when she one day stumbles upon the opportunity to babysit his adopted daughter, Mélanie. Years later, Mélanie comes to her office where she works as a guidance counsellor and the two women’s lives become tightly interconnected.

This was a surprising book for me. I did not expect the layers of meaning it could hold. The more I think about the story, the more I realize how deeply these characters could relate to each other. My favourite relationship was between Mélanie and Rani, particularly Mélanie’s ability to make Rani understand how special her family’s history is. It’s common for first-generation Canadians to take for granted the journey and sacrifice their parents made to bring them to this country and disregard the culture they left behind. I understood Rani’s impulse to consider herself Canadian, and more so Québécois. But Mélanie’s struggle with her adoption and hunger for the knowledge of where she came from was a refreshing reminder that our past, and our family’s past, stay with us.

I appreciated the parallel drawn between Partition India and the Quebec referendums. Both Sunil and Hima and Rani got to experience their country divided and the hardships that come with such political unrest. Rani’s ignorance of the struggles her parents faced was depicted so well throughout the novel.  

This novel was certainly character-driven, and I both loved and hated how disjointed the story could be at times. I found myself forgetting little details while reading, which made some of the story confusing. But I liked that it made each part of the story digestible and easy to read. There wasn’t a ton of plot necessarily but it gave a glimpse of who these characters were at that particular part in their lives.

I truly enjoyed reading A Convergence of Solitudes. It forces the reader to look at each character’s perspective and understand exactly where they are coming from. You must first understand their struggles and frustrations so that you may understand their actions. And we see through their triumphs and small moments of happiness that these are enough for a good life.

Thank you, Book*hug Press, for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.