Quill and Quire

Fiction: Novels

The Age of Hope

By David Bergen

David Bergen has always been good at literary ventriloquism. Whether conjuring the consciousness of a horny 16-year-old in The Case of Lena S., or envisioning characters traumatized by the effects of war in The Time ... Read More »

September 11, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

★ Sweet Jesus

By Christine Pountney

Christine Pountney’s third novel attempts much more than most novels can handle. Thankfully, the author acquits herself with aplomb. The book’s three main characters ask life’s proverbial “big questions” without seeming precious or sentimental, and ... Read More »

September 11, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

The Western Light

By Susan Swan

Nearly two decades after the publication of her best-selling novel The Wives of Bath, Susan Swan revisits protagonist Mary Beatrice Bradford – M.B. or Mouse for short – in a prequel set in Madoc’s Landing, ... Read More »

September 4, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Y

By Marjorie Celona

Victoria-born writer Marjorie Celona (who now lives in Cincinnati) chose Vancouver Island as the setting for her buzzy debut novel, the coming-of-age story of Shannon, a young misfit with a curly blond halo, a lazy ... Read More »

August 15, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Rasputin’s Bastards

By David Nickle

David Nickle’s latest novel, a thriller with fantasy elements, is overly long and has a highly convoluted plot, both of which serve to undermine the suspense. Rasputin’s Bastards involves several groups of bad guys working ... Read More »

August 15, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Mount Royal

By Basil Papademos

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times: Montreal, 1989. For Johnny, a drug merchant and bisexual prostitute, the metropolis represents “one of the last big Western cities where you can ... Read More »

August 15, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels