Thanks to what's recently become available from my library holds list, I've just finished a run of Canadian fiction. I'm always proud to read powerful and engaging writing by our own authors!
David Bergen's description of the flailing columnist, Morris Shutt, contains doses of both bitterness and fondness. Morris has lost his son, Martin, to the war in Afghanistan, his marriage has ended and his writing has morphed into dull diatribes. In the face of such upheaval, The Matter With Morris asks: where does one rediscover happiness and fulfillment? Morris seeks the answer through a variety of channels: via an American woman who religiously reads his column, by reading Plato and Cicero and in the solidarity of a male-therapy group to name a few. Bergen's strength lies in not showing his readers an easy way out, in pulling us in different directions and in leaving us to decide whether or not the protagonist achieves redemption.
Sarah Selecky’s debut fiction collection explores the themes of lack, destruction and nostalgia. But, even though her stories depict profound emotional and physical volatility, Selecky looks beyond sorrow and regret and finds joyful beauty in the midst of crisis. Ultimately, each selection in This Cake is For The Party shows that vision requires the ability and willingness to look again, to find the cake among the crumbs and scattered shards of shattered porcelain.
