Quill and Quire

BOOK REVIEWS

Town House

By Tish Cohen

At age 36, Jack Madigan would seem to be skewing slightly old to be a proper hero of romantic comedy, but no: he fits the role as perfectly as Hugh Grant wears his hair. Author ... Read More »

June 14, 2007 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Between Trains

By Barry Callaghan

The stories in Barry Callaghan’s new collection are written in a plain style reminiscent of Hemingway. And as with Hemingway, there are depths of emotion roiling beneath the deceptively simple surface of Callaghan’s prose. Callaghan’s ... Read More »

June 14, 2007 | Filed under: Fiction: Short

The Milk Chicken Bomb

By Andrew Wedderburn

Welcome to Marvin, Alberta, the fictional landscape of writer/musician Andrew Wedderburn’s debut novel. Starring “the kid,” an unnamed narrator who stands against the backdrop of the local meat-packing plant, amid Russian expatriates, smalltown antiheroes, bonspiels, ... Read More »

June 13, 2007 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Belle Falls

By Sherri Vanderveen

It’s a compelling opening for a novel: on a sunny afternoon, six-year-old Brennan Allister is riding his bike around his affluent neighbourhood when he disappears. Hours later, bruised, bitten, and wearing only his underwear, he ... Read More »

June 13, 2007 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Combustion

By Lorri Neilsen Glenn

Halifax poet laureate Lorri Neilsen Glenn’s second collection consists mostly of free-verse lyrics, prose poems, family memoirs, and occasional observations. Reading it, I couldn’t help but think of Canada Council director Robert Sirman’s recent plea ... Read More »

June 13, 2007 | Filed under: Poetry

Missing the Ark

By Catherine Kidd

Mining the animal kingdom for metaphors for the human condition, this flawed first novel by acclaimed Montreal spoken word artist Catherine Kidd provides a fascinating look into the lives of animals and the craft of ... Read More »

June 13, 2007 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels