Thursday, 09 May 2013 18:38
Canadian Ethnic Studies "highly recommends" Baldur's Song to "readers who think history is dull"
Published in Book Reviews
Gudrun Björk Gudsteins, an English Professor from the University of Iceland, reviews David Arnason's Baldur's Song in U of M's Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, Volume 43-44. Gudsteins appreciates Arnason's fantastical take on historical events, writing that, "above all this [novel] is the saga of the rebirth or revival of the “family” of Icelanders in their new homeland" and that "Baldur’s Song is an ode to the joys and opportunities and bountiful rewards of the new…
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Wednesday, 08 May 2013 18:19
Prairie Fire Review of Books praises Kristian Enright's poetry debut
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Poet Steve Locke reviews Kristian Enright’s award-winning collection of poetry, Sonar, in Prairie Fire Review of Books' most recent issue. Locke applauds Enright for side-stepping the archetypes and clichés that his subject matter invites and writes that, rather, "Enright successfully steers right into the heart of his central speaker by pitting the characteristics of his abstract mind against itself." Locke writes that, by challenging "the conceptualization of madness and creativity," Enright has created a narrative,…
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Tuesday, 07 May 2013 16:32
Locus Magazine on Thunder Road: "reality jostles with the supernatural"
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Locus Magazine reviewed Chadwick Ginther's urban fantasy Thunder Road in their April issue, praising Ginther for striking a balance between the "real" and the "supernatural": "Without a trace of antagonistic empires, vast armies, or the schemes of eldritch sorcery...Ginther write[s] fantasy that resonates the deepest when it strikes close to home."
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Wednesday, 01 May 2013 17:32
Rhubarb on Dora Dueck's What You Get at Home: "Everything about it is engaging"
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Rhubarb Magazine praises Dora Dueck's What You Get at Home in their Spring Issue, writing that "everything about it is engaging." Reviewer MaryLou Driedger notes that at the heart of these short stories are "women discovering their voices" and that "the ultimate pleasure of reading What You Get at Home is the author’s creative prose, which often sounds more like poetry. Readers will find themselves going back to certain passages many times to savour them."
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Tuesday, 26 February 2013 17:02
MB Herald Calls What You Get at Home "Profoundly Moving"
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The Mennonite Brethern Herald has published a glowing review of Dora Dueck's short fiction collection, What You Get at Home. Tracing the presence and importance of everyday objects in Dueck's collection, and the ways in which these objects are representational for the people and relationships that surround them, Angeline Schellenberg writes that these stories are neverthleless, "not just about lives, but the power of the written word." Schellenberg praises Dueck's "powerful" stories for "getting at…
Tuesday, 05 February 2013 16:31
Sun Times says there is "no better book" for hockey fans than On the Fly
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Wayne Tefs' fan memoir On the Fly was featured in a Christmas edition of The Owen Sound Sun Times as one of two books to "help those missing their NHL fix." Andrew Armitage writes that, "for hockey fans, there could be no better book, one that is told with the passion and ecstasy of a true fan with a deep understanding of the game." Tefs' descriptions of solidarity through fandom resonate with Armitage, who sees…
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Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:47
Quill & Quire calls Thunder Road a "fast-paced, thoughtful novel"
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Chadwick Ginther's urban fantasy debut, Thunder Road, is reviewed in the Januray/February 2013 issue of the Quill & Quire. Reviewer Robert J. Wiersema praises Ginther for "handl[ing] both the mythic and human aspects of Thunder Road with considerable skill." Wiersema concludes: "Thunder Road is a fast-paced, thoughtful novel, and news that it’s the first in a trilogy is welcome indeed." Read the full review in the January/February 2013 issue of the Quill & Quire, available…
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Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:18
Prairie Fire Review of Books calls What You Get at Home "very satisfying"
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"What You Get at Home is a collection of 15 very satisfying short stories by Winnipeg author Dora Dueck. ...Perhaps the most poignant of the stories is 'My Name Is Magdalena.' A woman attends a writing class but writing a story brings back so many tragic memories – of moving from Ukraine to east of the Urals, then back again, and then, during World War II, having to flee with three young sons before the…
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Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:43
Prairie Fire Review of Books calls Dating "an enjoyable romp through later middle age"
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"This novel is an enjoyable romp through later middle age – it’s about time this stage of life was explored – and the pursuit of romantic happiness. ...As Williamson describes in immaculate detail, finding love in late middle age is a dangerous pursuit. All the individuals, including Jenkins, are damaged goods carrying the baggage of a lifetime. Given this, one could expect Dating to be a depressing novel – but it’s not. Somehow, hope persists.…
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Tuesday, 08 January 2013 17:32
The Mennonite Historian reviews What You Get at Home
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Dora Dueck's recent collection of short fiction, What You Get at Home, is reviewed in the December 2012 issue of the Mennonite Historian. The review praises Dora for "developing deep characters with surprisingly few words" and her exploration of themes such as "loss, success, disappointment, faith and community."