Blurbs, for Vidal, and my blurbs about books I've read and loved recently
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
One of the great joys of my life as an author is being asked by other authors (or sometimes their publicists or agents or editors) to read and if I love it, to blurb their work and share what I loved about it.
I I love to read, and reading consumes hours of my day, every day, so requests like these always make me happy.
So much of our time as authors is spent in front of our computers, imagining and engaging with and recreating characters, their worlds, their experiences. It’s an incredible place to be, but still, it can be a life with more engagement on the page than with people. I genuinely feel privileged to get to be part of a community of people who are so creative and talented, who are innovative and enthusiastic about similar things to me, who care so deeply about writing, on a line level, on an artistic and ideas level.
This allows me to connect and engage, and feel like I’m contributing to the conversation.
I also think it’s easy to forget as writers how important these things are; how formative and essential supporting other writers is, and how much it meant and still means to us.
Even once we’ve published and had work that’s been well received, every time we try a new genre, and try to reach different readers, connecting with other writers is so essential.
I’ve been so grateful recently, as my first graphic novel, Vidal gets closer to its publication date, to have had writers and illustrators whose work I adore, who I hadn’t even met, agree to blurb. I’m so grateful to them. Ken Krimstein, and Amy Kurzweil are two of my favourite authors, artists and graphic novelists, and it’s no exaggeration to say that Vidal wouldn’t have existed without their work. Adam Sol is one of my favourite poets. I feel so lucky, and this kind of generosity is something I always hope to be able to reciprocate.
Here are some books I’ve had the privilege of reading and blurbing recently that I think everyone should read too:
I read a lot of books to my kids, so I’m always excited to read the work of friends and colleagues to them. I was thrilled when Sumaiya asked me to blurb her newest book, and I highly recommend it to you.
Sumaiya Matin, Parsa’s Pithas
Warm, and rich with Bengali culture, including delicious pitha’s recipes and their history, Parsa’s Pithas is a delightful story about a mother and daughter, being an artist and celebrating individuality. Brimming with creativity, authenticity and beautiful familial bonds, author Sumaiya Matin and illustrator Nesba Yousef celebrate Bengali New Year, the messiness of the artistic process, and revelling in all of it. A book destined to be loved by kids everywhere.
Aga Maksimowska, Becalming
Aga Maskimowksa’s Becalming is the elegant, wry and emotionally acute account of Gosia’s visit to her family’s native Poland, and the untangling of thoughts, deceptions, and perspectives that had previously anchored her to her life. Full of rich, precise descriptions and insights that read both as brilliant and conversational, Maskimowska has a created a world both intimate andexpansive, that anyone who has ever questioned their life will relate to deeply. A wonderful and essential read.
Robin Blackburn McBride, River of Dreams
River of Dreams is a beautifully rendered piece of early of early twentieth century magic that leads us into the world of orphanages and sanitoriums, complex family dynamics and a slow burning romance, clairvoyance and the rare unspoken connections between people that linger eternally. Robin Blackburn Mcbride has created a world so seamlessly extraordinary, readers don’t even need to suspend their disbelief. Fans of Alice Hoffman and Heather O’Neill’s Lonely Hearts Hotel will devour her unique insights as quickly and enthusiastically as I did.
Stephanie Wyeld, The Book of Maggie
Stephanie Wyeld’s The Book of Maggie had me from its fearless, wry and morbidly funny opening pages. Maggie’s voice is wonderfully idiosyncratic and her critiques of the fundamentalist church she grew up in will resonate with anyone trying to navigate the world we’re all currently trying to steer ourselves through. A thoughtful and striking debut that will both delight and affect you.
Martha Batiz, A Daughter’s Place
Martha Batiz’s writing is always rich, beautiful and emotive, and in A Daughter’s Place, she recreates Spain’s Golden Age, and the life of Isabel, an illegitimate daughter of Cervantes, with incredible insight and intimacy. Emotionally arresting, with gorgeous descriptions and powerful feminist observations, Batiz is at the height of her literary powers. This novel is a masterpiece.
Lynda Williams, The Beauty and the Hell of It
Lynda Williams is one of the most brilliant and incisive authors I’ve read, and The Beauty and the Hell of it is one hell of a collection. Like the love child of Mary Gaitskill and Lorrie Moore, Williams’ stories are full of sharp observations, complex emotions and sly humour. From the opening story, Matches, to the final, title story, each one is deeply felt, and full of innovation and subversion. Savour each beautifully crafted sentence and paragraph; these stories will stay with you for a long time.
Sue Murtagh, We’re Not Rich
Sue Murtagh’s debut short story collection, We’re Not Rich, is sensitive and brilliant. From her precise, carefully wrought descriptions to her note perfect inner monologue, Murtagh navigates complex and at times devastating subjects, from a mother losing her son (Saving Spiderman) to a fraught teenage friendship (Is This My Christine?) to a secret family history of Holocaust resistance (Train Stories, Abridged) Her stories often contain a great deal of dark wit and wry humour, from marriages that fall apart (Siesta Key) to intricate sibling dynamics (Lost Purse) to navigating adult dating (Patches) In fact, the whole collection is so sophisticated and assured, it’s hard to believe that it’s Murtagh’s first. A wonderful read.
Charles Palliser, Sufferance
When we think of the Holocaust, or indeed, any genocide, there is often the question of complicity: how does a person living among it allow everything to happen without resistance? What delusions and lies do they tell themselves to make the indefensible possible? Charle’s Palliser’s Sufferance begins with a disquieting elegance and ends on a note so chilling, I could hardly sleep. His unnamed narrator tries to tell his story as dispassionately as possible, and yet Palliser’s brilliance is in revealing his casual antisemitism and misogyny subtly enough to render the reader unsure of where the story is going. Like a combination of Holocaust survivor Aharon Applefeld’s Badenheim 1939, and Orwell’s 1984, with a touch of the darkness of Cynthia Ozick, Sufferance is exceptional, and a must read at times like these.
Karen Smythe, A Town with No Noise
Karen Smythe is a brilliant and insightful observer of her character’s inner lives, and A Town With No Noise is no exception. Smythe is a master at articulating tension between Samara and J., between their expectations and the reality that hides behind the facade of Upton Bay, and Samara’s discoveries of certain character’s pasts. Smythe’s descriptions are gorgeous and poetic, her pacing deft and precise. A beautiful novel that I couldn’t put down.
Karen Smythe, This Side of Sad
“Sensitive and authentic, This Sad of Sad brims with introspection, wry humour, and Karen Smythe’s signature literary grace. The story will remain rooted in your heart and mind.”
Tanya Turton, Jade is a Twisted Green
“Jade Is a Twisted Green is full of everything I love most: note-perfect dialogue, unforgettable voice and some of the most beautifully observed, sensory descriptions of Toronto since Dionne Brand’s What We All Long For or Catherine Hernandez’s Scarborough. A gorgeous, insightful look into queer relationships and identity, cultural expectations, and complex family relationships. Tanya Turton is a powerful, incredible talent.”
Wayne Ng, The Family Code
Wayne Ng’s brilliant novel, The Family Code hooked me immediately. I was deeply invested in his protagonist Hannah, desperate to know what would happen next. Ng’s
characterization is beautiful and utterly convincing. He writes with the perfect balance of grit and
beauty, compassion and stark reality, always aware of his character’s motivations, imploring the reader to observe without judgement. My favourite books explore difficult people and their psychology, and Ng’s writing is sharp and insightful. Though his characters often misstep, they are all complex and three dimensional. I can’t recommend it enough.
Menaka Ramans Wilms
The Rooftop Garden
I had the honour of reading Menaka Raman-Wilms’ beautiful novel, The Rooftop Garden as one of the judges for Guernica Edition’s 2021 novel contest. I was struck immediately by her gorgeous, sensory imagery, her pacing, and her soaring and unique voice. I read this book in a single sitting, instantly invested in the artful, discerning biologist Nabila and her childhood friend Matthew. From her evocative settings, to her carefully drawn tensions, to her astute political observations, Menaka Raman-Wilms is a major talent to watch for.
Suzanne Craig Whytock, Murder Most
Suzanne Craig Whytock’s Murder Most is sharp, engaging and incredibly entertaining from its opening paragraph.With an excellent ear for dialogue, and a darkly playful narrator, Craig’ Whytock’s latest novel is as wickedly funny as her Leacock prize nominated previous work, full of as many unexpected twists and careening turns. A riveting and thoroughly delightful read.
George Lee, Dancing in the River
George Lee’s novel, Dancing in the River, had me from its opening paragraph, which references Hemingway, and the writing material provided by his unhappy childhood. With vivid sensory details, lyrical language and beautiful, precise descriptions, Lee brings us directly into childhood in China, bringing the reader with him in to his aim, as he described in his book’s opening, of being both “the experiencer and the experienced.” At the end of the book, the reader feels transported into a story that simultaneously feels both fable-like, and undoubtedly real. Dancing in the River is a story that will stay with you for a long time.
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