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Four awesome books from 2013
"The Orenda," by Joseph Boyden, from Penguin Canada Books, is an extraordinary novel. Beautiful language, tight pacing, and a story thick with history make this one of my favourite books of the year.
Vivid details bring 17th-century Ontario to life through the voices of a Huron warrior, an Iroquois girl and a French Jesuit.
“They Called Me Number One” is a nonfiction personal favourite of the year. It tells a story that probes deep into the heart of the sad and brutal impact European settlers and their descendants have had on First Nations culture.
Chief Bev Sellars, the author of, "They Called Me Number One", from Talon Books, gives a straight forward account of her years at St. Joseph's Mission, a residential school in the Caribou region of British Columbia. While recounting her own healing, Sellars leads readers out of the personal desolation incurred by one of the darkest Canadian policies into the brilliance of a life redeemed through determination and love.
I'm excited about tonight's launch at the Cellar Jazz Club of Shaena Lambert short story collection, "Oh, My Darling." I'm looking forward to reading the book which I hear is excellent.
And, so proud of my friend, Ruth Ozeki, who just made the cut for the Man Booker Prize shortlist for her stunning novel, "Tale for the Time Being."
It's been a great year for literature and this year's Vancouver Writers Festival should be one of the strongest ever.
Ruth Ozeki, in a photograph by Linda Solomon
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