Canadian booksellers weigh in on their favourite books of 2017.

Shot-Blue
Jesse Ruddock
Coach House Books
A quiet, lovely, careful novel. Evokes a sense of “nowhere” rather than a sense of place, which acts as a kind of understated suspense. –Karlene Nicolajsen, Shelf Life Books

 

Brother
David Chariandy
McClelland & Stewart
We’re really getting a positive response for Brother by David Chariandy. It’s been pointed out that how the book portrays Toronto’s burgeoning rap community in the 1980s is spot on. Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race by Naben Ruthnum is another book that’s so detailed and authentic. Coach House Books is putting out great stuff  – they also published The Last Word by Julia Cooper, another favourite. –Kyrell Grant at A Different Booklist, Toronto 

 

The Only Café
Linden MacIntyre
Random House Canada
What an important story – hard at times, but so eye-opening. MacIntyre is writing fiction, but the story is based on real events. I could not put it down and think it should be on reading lists for book clubs and discussion groups. –Cathy Jesson, Black Bond Books

 

Anti-Gone
Connor Willumsen
Koyama Press
This is the first book by one of our bestselling mini-comics creators. You get an odd combination of super contemporary, minimalist, and economical cartooning – the sort of artistic sensibility you expect from a young author, but with a maturity of voice suggesting a master playwright or screenwriter. –Peter Birkemoe, the Beguiling Books & Art

 

In Search of a Better World: A Human Rights Odyssey
Payam Akhavan
House of Anansi Press
This book is so personal and moving while steeped in big, contrarian ideas. I’m still thinking about it and it’s helped me develop an alternative, more acceptable (to me) explanation for what is causing the problems in the world. –Chris Hall, McNally Robinson