Cynthia Flood in LRC; Sonia Tilson in Ninnau

Two reviews in the past week that are hard to come by online: one, a piece in the Welsh-American newspaper Ninnau & Y Drych, for Sonia Tilson's The Monkey Puzzle Tree, and another for Cynthia Flood's Red Girl Rat Boy in The Literary Review of Canada. Here's what Bob Roser had to say about Sonia's book: "I read several [passages] to my wife Cindy, who was very struck by the language ... The writing is flawless and I found myself drawn in from the beginning by the storytelling." It was also nice to get a more academic treatment of RGRB, with Joel Deshaye of Canadian Literature commenting on Cynthia's use of the politics of mythology (plus an entertaining digression on Rob Ford). Here's his conclusion:

Like metaphors, myths are nearly everywhere. Red Girl Rat Boy tells us
that metaphor and myth are not separate from the so-called real world, but
that they help to define its politics. And while critics may treat the words and
actions of politicians with skepticism, Flood treats most of her characters nonjudgementally—a gesture of respect for them and for her readers.

Happy Thursday, everyone. If you're in Toronto don't forget to check out our poetry panel tonight at Ben McNally books; apparently last night in Montreal was a blast.

"Not for the faint of heart" (Part 2)

Well it was in reference to a certain bell-lettrist from Kingston that I used the faint-of-heart phrase on Monday, but I suspect really what put it in mind was a recent review of Cathy Stonehouse's Something About the Animal. Not for the faint of heart indeed. The Literary Review of Canada is now offering a lengthy, thoughtful, & commendatory look at Cathy's work:

Whether examining the impact of generational cycles of violence, the psychic trauma of warfare or the coming of age in a Lawrencian working-class town, Stonehouse has written a collection of superbly crafted and keenly insightful stories.

The review's available in the print version only, I'm afraid, though a few other essays are available for download via the LRC website. It's a good issue, and worth hunting down. (Especially--she says, elbowing in a plug--since it also features work by Robyn Sarah. Way to go LRC!)