Rebecca Rosenblum: Master of Minutia (and a Hard Right Hook?)

We are proud to report that Biblioboxer Rebecca Rosenblum slugged it out with Dani Couture last night at The Literary Death Match, Toronto. Live from the blow-by-blow: "Round 2: Rebecca Rosenblum (Maclean’s “CanLit Rookie of the Year”), and ReLit award-winner Dani Couture. Couture, suffering from bronchitis, led-off and had the packed crowd on the edge of their collective seats with her excerpt from her novel Alaoma. Rosenblum struck back with a fantastic selection from her book The Big Dream."

What did the judges say? Find out on the Death Match Site, and thanks to Julie Wilson & Todd Zuniga for all their organizing, refereeing, blood-mopping, etc.

The Big Dream has also been receiving the love (not war!) from our friends in the media. Check out Mark Paterson's review at The Rover, where he says: "Rosenblum is an entertaining master of minutia, she has a prodigious ability to take ordinary details and restyle or adorn them in just the slightest way, transforming the mundane into the eccentric. The stories in The Big Dream come alive with orange-juice stained pillows, Zellers jeans, and jam sandwiches ... The Big Dream thoroughly succeeds ... Rebecca Rosenblum is a gifted chronicler of our time."

Salty Ink also praises "Rosenblum as an original, dialogue-strong stylist among Canadian short story writers," and the site features an extensive Q&A on Rebecca's own rose-coloured view of the world, writing, music, what have you. Get the full scoop here.

Last but certainly not least: the National Post's review calls The Big Dream a "clever, penetrating collection" that showcases her "shrewd, razor-sharp, yet deeply compassionate" style. If you haven't checked out The Big Dream yet, it's available online and in better bookstores everywhere.