Books By or About CANADIANS
or About Some Part of CANADA
Not necessarily CanLit, but interesting and various.
Vancouver Walks
Discovering City Heritage
by Michael Kluckner and John Atkin
Are you interested in seeing restorations of old houses? Craftsman bungalows? Shaughnessy mansions? The earliest known examples of pre-fabricated buildings in Canada? All will be revealed in this well-designed guidebook, complete with maps and clear directions. Follow the old Inter-Urban streetcar routes, tour Stanley Park, or Chinatown. Follow the old brewery creekside routes by foot or bicycle. Take a break for treats at Wally's Burgers or Benny's Italian Market. Also highly recommended are the walks personally conducted by John Atkin. See his web site for details.
Reviewed by M.S.
Steller Press ................... $16.95
NOW IN PAPERBACK!
Hey Nostradamus!
by Doug Coupland
I think this is Doug Coupland's best book. Progressing from a high school massacre to a revelation of faith, the four narrators of this book lead the reader through situations of surreal, brutal honesty, grief, desperation and love. The final section is superb.
Reviewed by M.A.Z.
Raincoast ................... $21.00
NOW IN PAPERBACK!
Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood
Atwood's future is terrifying in a plausible sort of way and incredibly well written, not to mention a painful joy to read. Don't let the Sci-Fi angle put you off, like all of Atwood's novels, this is really a book about people, not events. I listened to this on audio in my car and suddenly commute wasn't nearly long enough.
Reviewed by JOE
M&S ................... $11.99
I Stand for Canada
On October 30th, Blackberry Books participated in the launch of a new Canadian book, I STAND FOR CANADA, the story of the Maple Leaf Flag.
 |
Canadians are not much for flag waving, but our new flag -- it's less than forty years old -- has had a powerful effect on the national psyche. This is the story of the design and adoption of the Maple Leaf flag which was NOT a easy birth. The book is richly illustrated with photos, most of which are too large to fit in my scanner. However, the two cute flag girls at left are one of the smaller images and they were actually present at the launch in full costume! This event took place in the beautiful Ballard Lederer Gallery which is not quite on Granville Island, but close. So we were surrounded by 18 wonderful paintings by J. G. Freedman. |
 |
Cougar Annie's Garden by Margaret Horsfield
An intriguing story of a pioneer woman who carved a garden out of the wilderness at Boat Bain, in the Clayoquot Sound, in an area accessible only by boat. She survived four husbands – after the death of one, she ran an advertisement for a replacement! She left Boat Basin in her nineties and, yes, she often carried a gun to shoot those cougars.
Contains dozens of photographs, many in colour.
Reviewed by Lucy
Salal Books ...................... $40.00 paper
Baltimore's Mansion
by Wayne Johnston
A memoir detailing excerpts of the parallel lives of the author, his father, and his grandfather. Set on the East coast of Newfoundland, it voices the feeling and opinions of the many passionate anti-confederate Newfoundlanders. A fascinating portrait of the people and the island; from colony to independent confederacy, to Canadian province.
Reviewed by Eleanor
Random House ................................... $18.95
SPUTNIK DINER
by Rick Maddocks
This series of interrelated stories gives the reader a different understanding of the characters in each tale. All are focussed on a small town in Ontario. Maddocks is a Vancouver writer and this is his first book.
Reviewed by Lucy
Random House ......... NOW IN PAPER .......... $21.00
Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson
A perfect contemporary fairy tale. Set in Kitinaat, a young girl comes of age
in a typical B.C. way: through drinking, boys, grandparents' wisdom, ghosts, native art, sacrifice and the observation of animals. This is Canadian myth, childhood and education in a nutshell. The
writing gives democratic attention to family skeletons, high school parties and spiritual parables. Monkey Beach's prose and themes reflect the understanding that the supernatural supports the
prosaic.
Vintage Canada .......................... $17.95
RIVER THIEVES
Michael Crummey's first novel skillfully brings the often-brutal existence of
Newfoundland's first English settlers to life amidst the rugged beauty of its northeast coast. His tough and independent characters encounter love, loss, murder and betrayal in their contacts with
the "Red Ochre" Beothuks, forced far inland in search of "the last safe place".
Reviewed by M.S.
Doubleday Canada ......... NOW IN PAPER ........ $21.00
White Lung
by Grant Buday
An absolutely hilarious novel about a mass production bakery right here in Vancouver
(BC, Canada). Follow the adventures of Klaus, a man who will do anything to keep from following his dream and his wacky buddy, Epp, who finally snaps after one night-shift too many.
Reviewed by Joe
Anvil Press ............................ $15.95
How to Contact Us
Send us a note on What You Are Reading, preferably a book we can stock.- Toll Free: 1-866-685-6188
- Telephone: 604-685-6188 or 604-685-4113
- Fax: 604-689-3570
- e-mail: blackberry@telus.net
Send comments and corrections to our Webmaster: Dale Stewart