| Literary Critics' Circle
Reviews |
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Think you've got what it takes to be a lit crit?
On Ontario Today, we held a contest to
find five critics from across the province who'd
be willing to review books for us this year...
and to win the honour, they had to write us reviews
of their lives as books. After an overwhelming
number of entries our judges narrowed it down
to these five:
(click on their names to read their literary life
review)
Sidura Ludwig (Toronto)
Sidura Ludwig’s Life:
In a Nutshell tells the story of a
struggling writer’s joys and frustrations
of being at home with her four-month-old boy.
Ludwig’s strengths lie in her descriptions
(the main character’s post-partum belly
a “deflated balloon with stretch marks
that spell ‘Happy Birthday’”),
and her characters (especially the railway enthusiast
husband). But the writing falls flat when Ludwig
details the baby’s sleep patterns and
stool consistency.
This reader preferred passages on the main character’s
novel and her failed attempts at publishing
it. The book, like a Carol Shields’ novel,
is most successful when it makes ordinary people
intriguing.
Keelin
McNab (Toronto)
Review of Keelin McNab:
As the purity of her hopes drip from the fangs
of reality, readers are invited to accompany
Keelin McNab on her quest for understanding.
Miraculously surviving numerous trials, our
protagonist trips precariously through life
interacting with an array of cleverly designed
personalities. Her desire to change the world
stirs Keelin to blindly challenge those who
strive to eliminate innocence.
Compelled to find her own methods of resistance,
Keelin reaches out to her comrades, and protects
herself with the written word. Presented in
melodic prose, her story leaves the reader inspired,
but conscious of the perils that accompany hope.
Paul
Rollinson (Waabashine)
Review of Paul's Tale:
The last thing the world needs is another self-published
vanity press non-fiction book written by a voice
from Canada's hinterland.
This improbable story of a briefcase-carrying
nerd from the 50's who moves through the 60's
and 70's unscathed, raises children in the 80's
and 90's, and whose karma apparently is bigger
than his ego is not an histoire that any generation
can relate to.
The final chapter, in which he morphs into a
17th Century rabelasian French priest, reads
more like fiction and is hardly believable.
Chris
Spaleta (Kingston and Goderich)
Review of Christopher:
Genius-child of well-educated and loving parents,
the character of Christopher is a waste of talent.
In school, his charm and intelligence make up
for his disorganisation and laziness.
But when he moves to Ottawa for university,
his comfortable existence is stripped away and
life’s harsh realities loom large for
the first time. Christopher spirals into drugs
and despair as he loses his girlfriend, his
self respect, and eventually his mind.
Spaleta spins the story of a fallen genius reaching
for something just beyond reason. Laden with
philosophical insights and traces of mysticism,
Christopher is an instant classic.
Virginia West (Toronto)
Review of Virginia West:
The Great Lesbian Novel
There is nothing novel about this story. It
begins with the birth of a little white girl
to loving, middle-class parents living in suburban
Ottawa (yawn).
We follow her through her happy childhood and
into her mildly tumultuous teens from which
she emerges a lesbian. Woo hoo! Finally, something
spicy!
Unfortunately, but for one year of wild-oat
sowing, the protagonist settles into the predictable
process of choosing a mate. After three increasingly
longer, though ultimately unsuccessful relationships,
she finds Cheryl, her soul-mate (barf).
The book ends with the birth of their son and
the promise of a fully sanctioned marriage on
some future date (snore).
I was hoping for an deep, dark journey into
the lesbian world but this was a formulaic Harlequin
Romance.
A guaranteed best-seller.
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Every week, we pair up two of the
critics' circle to review a book for us, and then
the listeners vote on which critic should continue
to the next round.
Hear the circle so far:
Mark Frutkin's book Fabrizio's Return
(published by Knopf Canada) reviewed by
Sidura Ludwig and Keelin McNab (both from Toronto)
 Listen
(runs 11:49)
Lori Lansens' The Girls
(published by Knopf Canada) reviewed by Sidura Ludwig
(from Toronto) and Virginia West (from Toronto)
Listen
(runs 10:46)
Vincent Lam's Bloodletting And Other
Miraculous Cures
(published by Doubleday Canada)
reviewed by Sidura Ludwig (from Toronto) and Paul
Rollinson (from Waabashine)
Listen
(runs 10:34)
JB McKinnon's Dead Man In Paradise
reviewed by Sidura Ludwig (Toronto) and Chris Spaleta
(Goderich)
Listen
(runs 14:19)
 Next
up: Kim Moritsugu's book The Restoration
of Emily (published by Simon & Pierre Fiction)
Find
out more about this book.
If you have a suggestion for an Ontario author whose
book you'd like to see reviewed, e-mail
us.
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Some Great Thing
Colin McAdam
29/06/05
We spent a night recording the observations and
opinion of the Gab and Gobble club here in Ottawa
and Wednesday June 29th was your opportunity to
join in on the discussion of the book in our second
hour phone-in. |
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Part
1[runs
21:57] Part
2[runs
27:58]
Part
3[runs
23:32] Part
4[runs
27:49] |
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All That Matters Wayson
Choy
25/05/05
We spent a night recording the observations and
opinion of the Bent Over Pages Book club here
in Ottawa and Wednesday May 25th was your opportunity
to join in on the discussion of the book in our
second hour phone-in.
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Part
1[runs
21:57] Part
2[runs
27:58]
Part
3[runs
23:32] Part
4[runs
27:49] |
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The Last Heathen Charles
Montgomery
27/04/05
Magic. Myth. Religion. Faith. What makes one
person believe and another doubt?
That's the central question of Charles Montgomery's
award-winning book "The Last Heathen",
which we're examining today as part of the Ontario
Today Book Club.
The book tells the story of Montgomery's journey
through the Melanesian islands seeing how Christianity
met black magic, and his own encounters with spirits,
ghosts, tall tales and religion... questioning
everything from whether it matters if Jesus really
walked on water to if the snakes and sharks can
be controlled by sorcery. What did you think of
Charles Montgomery's "The Last Heathen"?
Winning book from the Charles Taylor
Prize. |
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Part
1[runs
21:57] Part
2[runs
27:58]
Part
3[runs
23:32] Part
4[runs
27:49] |
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| A Complicated Kindness
Miriam Toews
30/03/05
Miriam Toews won a Governor General's award for
her book "A Complicated Kindness". Now
here's your chance to say whether or not you thought
that accolade was deserved. Does the mix of comedy
and tragedy work? |
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Part
1[runs
21:57] Part
2[runs
27:58]
Part
3[runs
23:32] Part
4[runs
27:49] |
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| Charles Taylor Prize 2005
28/02/05
There's $25,000 on the line for one author
who'll nab the Charles Taylor Award for Literary
Non-Fiction. All four of the nominees have nabbed
heavy-duty praise for tackling heavy-duty subject...
Patrick Lane for his examination of his own alcoholism
and dark family history... Paul William Roberts
for his angry attack against American involvement
in Iraq... Charles Montgomery's exploration of
religious clashes in Melanesia... and Christopher
Dewdney for his dissection of all areas of the
night from sunset to sunrise. How will the jury
decide? And who's likely to take home the prize?
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Part
1[runs
22:30] Part
2[runs
28:00]
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2004 Book Club Archives
Follow this link to see our 2004
Book Clubs
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