One-Sentence Book Reviews

Okay, I never post on this blog, but I am still reading a lot of books. So, in an effort to participate, I present my "One-Sentence Book Reviews" --- designed to be almost worthless, but nevertheless in existence. These are all books I've read in the last month or two:

Poetry

Avatar by Sharon Harris --- About 1/3 of this book, the "Fun with 'Pataphysics" section, is worth the cover price, but overall it's not very impressive and the concrete poems are far from noteworthy.

Camber by Don McKay --- This is McKay's "best-of" and it's a solid collection of poems but it's disheartening to see how McKay doesn't really evolve that much over a very long period --- his more recent books, starting with Vis a Vis, are much, much better --- but he's one of the better lyric poets and has a great sense of humour, rare for a "serious poet" (especially in Canada).

As Elected by bpNichol --- Again, a "best-of" but a rather solid one which is far more adventurous than most, owing to Nichol's range --- many of the "standards" and a good introduction.

Shakti’s Words: An Anthology of South Asian Canadian Women’s Poetry by Various --- This book is fucking terrible, with a few exceptions to that rule... a pathetic collection, and poorly collected, with some poets getting about 15 pages, some getting a single page.

Waiting for Saskatchewan by Fred Wah --- A classic set of long poems, very affecting lyrics with some stylistic experimentation, exploring Wah's relationship with his father.


Fiction

The Double Hook by Sheila Watson --- Easily the finest modernist novel by a Canadian, if you haven't read this (or reread it lately) then pick it up again.

Bear by Marian Engel --- My friend Erin Wunker affectionately referred to this as "bear porn," and it is that but so much more... a thin slip of a book which is much riskier and more well-written than a lot of more recent work.

The Clockmaker; or, The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville by Thomas Chandler Haliburton --- A weird collection of short sketches regarding a Yankee in Bluenose country, an old CanLit classic which reads very weirdly now, the book exists mainly because Haliburton was a prominent politician who wrote sketches to spread his opinion that there should be a railway between Windsor and Halifax --- more interesting and quirky than enjoyable.

The Wars by Timothy Findley --- Findley is an exceptional writer and this book is astounding, a slim volume which is incredibly rich, rewarding, and readable.

Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley --- I liked this better than The Wars, which I loved, it's lighter but also more complex and serious, a strange magic realist comedy/gothic about the biblical Noah.

The Insanity Defense by Woody Allen --- This is really a compilation of Allen's prose, his first three prose books (3 books for the price of 1!) and it's very, very funny... if you like silly humour you'll love Allen's little "essays" (although they tend to get repetitive after a while, in terms of tone).


Drama

Leaving Home by David French --- I am a sucker for father/son relationship stories that aren't boring, and this fits the bill... one of the better realist plays I've read, and I don't like realist plays much.

Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature fio Love by Brad Fraser --- This is overhyped but it's still very good, worth reading for sure, dark and clever.


Non-Fiction

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat --- This book is hilarious, Mowat is not a great writer but he's a very competent writer and has a nice ear for deadpan satire, better than you'd expect overall.

The Perilous Trade: Book Publishing in Canada 1946-2006 by Roy MacSkimming --- A fascinating overview of the publishing industry in this country, although relatively depressing... guess the plot... yep, it was sold to the Americans....


I've read a ton of other stuff lately, but this popped into my head or is near my desk. More later, kiddies....