Reading like a writer, one of the things I appreciated most in el Akkad’s novel was its storyline, an interweaving of plot that unfolds in two times/spaces: Before and After. Before takes place mostly on the migrant boat Calypso, adrift on the Mediterranean Sea. After is a Greek island, with its uncomfortable mix of locals and tourists. The story moves back and forth from one to other, charging toward the moment in between. The tension that burns in this book is cooking in both the Before and the After plot lines. They each feature a vulnerable main character who is in jeopardy and struggling ..read more

I bought this book on a whim, mostly because I wanted a lighter read than what I had on my bookshelves, and also because I was intrigued by the cover art. I assigned an excerpt from Moshfegh’s novel to my college creative writing class, and many of them seemed eager to read it and happy to have encountered it on the syllabus. I must confess that I myself have found the whole experience of reading this book confusing and irritating. I didn’t enjoy what I was reading, the storyworld that I was inhabiting, or the characters I got to know. My opinion, it seems, is completely out of sync with the g ..read more

“Every time I have sailed the seas, I have had the sense of gliding over the unburied.” Author Lawrence Hill lives in the city that neighbours mine. From about page 10 of The Book of Negroes I cultivated a fantasy of spotting him while I was out grocery shopping, or at the Home Depot, mustering up the courage to hail him from a safe social distance, and showering him with praise for his book. If he then accepted my invitation to grab a take out coffee, there are questions I would put to him, and aspects of craft that I would love to discuss. Reading as a writer, what are some of the things I’v ..read more

Orwell’s classic was on the syllabus in one of my grad school courses, where we were assigned one novel a week to read. I don’t think I even cracked its cover that term. But I’m thankful I bought it and had it on my shelf to rediscover, years later. Reading as a writer, what are some of the things I’ve learned from Coming Up for Air? There are so many strengths to this work, but an obvious one is Orwell’s first-person narrator. George Bowling has an engaging and nerdy sort of self-awareness, and slips from one quirky commentary to another. He is a born storyteller, kind of a Cliff Claven, but ..read more

I wasn’t sure if was going to like this book. Having read it, I’m still not sure if I do. Reading as a writer, what are some of the things I learned from Saturday? I saw Ian McEwan being interviewed by Charlie Rose some years ago and the book piqued my interest at that time. The events of Saturday take place over a single day—an old motif in novel writing, one which structures such famous works as Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Joyce’s Ulysses. It’s a readable, bounded, novel that you could probably accomplish in a Saturday, or a least a long weekend. Digging in, what I found interesting was ..read more

I must admit I’d already watched the movie before cracking open this brilliant novel. I was horrified by the movie, in a good way; it’s a stunning film. The effect of McCarthy’s book on me was less chilling, more haunting. Reading as a writer, what are some of the things I learned from The Road? Sometimes it’s better to leave important things unexplained and unspoken. McCarthy has the confidence to leave certain major questions unanswered. Why is the Earth dead? What happened? How and why did human society descend into the anarchy that rules this vision and storyworld? These questions, which ..read more

“Now the vision she had had—the room, the freedom, the dizzying leap—it was in her head, small, small as a mustard seed, but taking root.” — The Paying Guests I happened to be reading this book when I made a trip to the dentist. The hygienist, when she came to collect me from the waiting room, spotted the huge hardcover in my hands and commented, “That’s a long book!” My impression was that she considered its thickness a point against it. I replied, “It’s an excellent book!” I didn’t bother to tell her that in addition to having an exhilarating experience as a reader, as a writer I was fallin ..read more