Quill and Quire

Fiction: Novels

Dahanu Road

By Anosh Irani

Though the area outside the western Indian city of Dahanu is not an actual jungle, in Anosh Irani’s third novel, the same law applies: “higher eats lower.” Lowest of all are the indigenous Warlis, chained ... Read More »

March 31, 2010 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Girl Crazy

By Russell Smith

Writing about sex can be a tricky affair. The sexual act (and its corresponding emotional components) is both intimate and ridiculous, and if not approached with wit and grace, can appear absolutely ludicrous (see, for ... Read More »

March 15, 2010 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Toby: A Man

By Todd Babiak

The son of two marginally successful hot dog vendeurs in the Montreal suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Toby Ménard is the perfect gentleman. So perfect, in fact, that his face can be seen smiling down from billboards ... Read More »

February 25, 2010 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Blood and Groom

By Jill Edmondson

The death of a son or daughter is capable of producing emotional devastation from which it is nearly impossible to recover. For Thaddeus Lewis, a preacher who travels throughout Upper Canada in the late 1830s, ... Read More »

February 25, 2010 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Love Struck

By Chantel Simmons

Chick lit: love it or hate it, it must be acknowledged that there are good examples of the maligned genre and not-so-good examples. Chantel Simmons’ debut, 2007’s Stuck in Downward Dog, was the former, with ... Read More »

February 25, 2010 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels