Cigarette smoke caresses the wooden beams of William Styron’s colonial Connecticut home. The piercing smell of whiskey drifts across the creaking pine floors. In the airy afternoons, one can hear the clacks of dueling typewriters, marking each side of the historic property as their own. But into these bristling nights,[Read More…]
Books
Is ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ a textbook for life?
If you had asked me at age 10 what I most wanted to be, I would’ve said a demigod. No series has ever commanded my attention and captured my affections the way that Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians saga has. His world dances along the cusp of reality[Read More…]
Mothers, daughters, and the spaces in between
Hanna Stoltenberg’s debut novel Near Distance is a quiet look at a mother and daughter occupied by different concerns. Karin, the mother, is worried she is losing her youth, and Helene, the daughter, is worried she’s turning out like her mother. They struggle to bridge this emotional gap between them;[Read More…]
The literary world’s battles to ban and boycott Israeli literary institutions
Content Warning: Mentions of genocide Reading is a political act. Whether it be the choice of what books a predominantly white industry chooses to publish, what books one has access to, or even the privilege of having time to read, literature is not neutral—especially in our current combative political climate. [Read More…]
‘May Our Joy Endure’ explores the cycle of guilt, accountability, and redemption
May Our Joy Endure is the third and most daring novel written by Québecois author Kevin Lambert. Lambert moved to Montreal to study at the Université de Montréal in his late teens, allowing him to offer unique and personal insight into the city’s urban development. This is where he sets[Read More…]
Sally Rooney’s latest masterpiece: ‘Intermezzo’
Since the release of the wildly popular television adaptation of her novel Normal People in 2020, author Sally Rooney’s books have been garnering obsessive attention from young people everywhere. Her three poignant past novels—two of which have been adapted into TV shows—captivated both international fans and those from Rooney’s home[Read More…]
Reading your way through the campus-novel canon
As much as I love Montreal summers for their longer days, warmer weather, and seemingly endless stream of festivals, I spent most of my June and July longing for the fall months to come. This summer, to balance out the endless monotony of an office job, I took on a[Read More…]
‘A Way to Be Happy’ book review: Short stories for a rainy day
A Way to Be Happy is the latest work of short stories by Canadian author Caroline Adderson. Adderson, who currently lives in Vancouver, B.C., has published five novels and several popular children’s books. The eight stories in this collection range from mundane to fantastical, showcasing the benefits of the short[Read More…]
What we liked this summer break
We Are Who We Are (TV miniseries) By Jordana Curnoe, Contributor The HBO miniseries We Are Who We Are, directed by Luca Guadagnino, follows a headstrong army brat from New York City named Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer) who moves to a fictional American military base in Chioggia, Italy. There, he[Read More…]
Remembering Alice Munro
Alice Munro died on May 13, and I ate half a grapefruit every morning for the next week. I first encountered the acclaimed author’s work in school, as Canadians often do. I remember enjoying her stories—particularly the landscapes within them—but was not yet entirely engrossed. Then moments began to emerge[Read More…]
